Gov. Ron DeSantis Wins Control Over Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District

Policymakers in Florida have granted Gov. Ron DeSantis power to choose the board members who will supervise the development of Walt Disney World theme parks, though questions remain about what the move will mean for taxpayers. 

The approval comes about a year after the Florida Legislature voted to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, an entity that oversees the 27,000 acres in the surrounding Walt Disney World Resort area. 

That decision appeared to be a reaction to the media firm suspending political donations in Florida after the state passed a “don’t say gay” law that restricts gender, sexual orientation and LGBTQIA+ discussions in schools, Reuters reports.

On Friday, the Florida Legislature greenlighted a bill that keeps the Reedy Creek Improvement District in place with its existing tax breaks but grants DeSantis power to select five supervisors that will manage it.

Selected board members can't have any direct ties to the theme parks in at least three years and will need to be confirmed by the state Senate. The board won't have any influence over the day-to-day theme park operations, Reuters reports. 

According to the new bill, in the next 24 months, the Reedy Creek Improvement District will be dubbed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

The entity will collect revenue and provide a range of government services but won't manage its own airport or have the power to build or operate any nuclear power plants.

Over the last 60 years, Disney has self-governed its affairs, including managing its own infrastructure, fire protection, water, sewer and waste removal services.

The company is the biggest employer in the Central Florida area with almost 75,000 workers. In 2021, Disney World theme parks lured 36.2 million visitors, Themed Entertainment Association reported.

Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for the governor, said it was irresponsible for the Florida Legislature in 1967 to have granted Disney full control over the district and said under DeSantis’ administration, Disney is “beginning a new era of accountability and transparency.”

Nevertheless, finance specialists were concerned that without the district, taxpayers would be responsible for close to $1.2B in bond debt.

Also, there was the potentially longer-term issue of whether Orange and Osceola counties would be permanently on the hook for providing services currently provided by Reedy Creek.

“I'm not sure there's ever been an instance where a special district was dissolved without a specific plan in place about how the debt and the services provided by the district would be divided between local governments,” Shepard, Smith, Kohlmyer & Hand associate Jacob Schumer, who is based in Orlando, told Bisnow last year.

Considering the heated political circumstances that prompted the Florida Legislature to originally plan to dissolve Reedy Creek, coming up with such a solution might be problematic. 

“It was a way for Gov. DeSantis to appeal to his conservative base and get more attention nationally, to get his name recognition up among Republican voters all across the country,” said Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida whose specialty is Florida politics.

Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle said in a statement that his team is “focused on the future” and “ready to work within this new framework.”