For a long time now, Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Disney have been stuck in a tussle, which kickstarted when the House of Mouse dared to openly denounce the former’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and established that it wholeheartedly supports LGBTQ+ rights, resulting in boycotts of the brand by some. But for some reason, Universal Studios, which has theme parks of its own in the state, isn’t facing similar backlash even though it has been publicly promoting its “Love is universal” theme and has even touted that its Universal Orlando resort in Florida welcomes LGBTQ+ visitors and employees with open arms.
While Disney has faced DeSantis’ attempts to strip the company of its self-governing powers and privileges, Universal is on its way to open a new, fourth theme park, Universal Epic Universe, which is currently under construction in Florida.
The different ways the two largest theme park operators are being treated have left many stumped.
Some have rushed to explain how DeSantis is simply taking away Disney’s special privileges and asking it to comply with what everyone else is agreeing to. This particular “observation” talks about the exemption Disney parks enjoy in the case of ride inspections by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. DeSantis has introduced a bill that will end this particular exception. But the point here is that Universal also enjoys the same facility and it has not been made to follow the “new” rule – it is just there to target Disney World.
There are a few ideas about why Disney is getting exclusive treatment from the governor.
The end result of Disney and DeSantis’ very public and loud battle is still uncertain, but if anyone is looking for how it all started, going back to the time when the Mouse House openly opposed the LGBTQ+ repressive bill by the governor while Universal kept its silence might be a good point to begin tracing its journey.