Florida Governor DeSantis announces big changes to the way Disney World is ran

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at a press conference today where he outlined new measures against Disney World.

Florida vs Disney World

The past year has been turbulent between the state of Florida and The Walt Disney Company. Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Law in 2022.

The Walt Disney Company originally remained quiet surrounding this bill despite pleas from employees and fans for them to take an official stance. Tension built until then-CEO Bob Chapek denounced the bill, but many believed it was too little, too late.

The company has even gone so far to say that they would actively work to get the bill repealed. This caused DeSantis to retaliate in his own public speakings.

The tension between the company and the state continued worsen as state Republicans repealed the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967. Essentially, the law states that Disney is its own governing body in the two cities and land within Orange and Osceola counties.

The bill passed, and Reedy Creek Improvement District officially dissolved. The state of Florida now has power over Disney World, and DeSantis created a new oversight board for the district.

DeSantis retaliates even more

Just before the handover took place, Disney tried one last ditch effort to keep as much control out of the state of Florida as possible. Just recently, Disney made an agreement between the district and the parks/resorts.

This new agreement basically gives Disney most of the control of the district and prevents the new oversight board from making any changes to this agreement until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of King Charles III.

As such, DeSantis even ordered a criminal investigation for legal and ethical violations. In addition, he wants to create more hotel taxes and toll roads in the Disney World area, which affect Guests (that’s you) by making your vacation even more expensive.

Voided Contract and Attraction Inspections

At the press conference today, DeSantis shared that he is planning to announce even more measures against Disney World. The first being he plans to void the contract between the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board (previously Reedy Creek Improvement District) and Disney World regarding Disney’s development rights for many, many years.

Now, everything will need to be passed through the State Legislature.

In addition, DeSantis is ordering for attraction and transportation inspections through the state instead of through Disney World’s private inspection company. This could mean the state may close attractions or even transportation systems like the monorail or skyliner.

We will continue to keep you posted in this ongoing fight. Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and pass this post along to someone else who may be interested in these new developments.