Disney's CEO Bob Iger says settlement agreement with Oversight District is a 'win-win' for Disney

26 days ago in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

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Posted: Wednesday April 3, 2024 1:54pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney CEO Bob Iger has made his first public comments on the recently announced settlement agreement between Walt Disney World and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Announced in late March, the Walt Disney Company and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District proposed a settlement agreement that will potentially see both sides drop their respective lawsuits. Today, Iger described the agreement as a "win-win" for Disney.

The critical points of the agreement from Disney's perspective are that the district commits to reviewing and potentially amending the 2020 Comprehensive Plan, with consultations involving Disney, and that the subsequent negotiations for the new development agreement are linked to Disney pursuing or halting its federal lawsuit against CFTOD and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Responding to a question about investing in the parks, Iger said, "The agreement we reached with the Central Florida tourism oversight district last week will actually enable us to pursue the kinds of significant investment in our Florida parks that you're talking about. We achieved a win-win result with that deal. In terms of our ability to pursue future development opportunities, but also in terms of the 1000s of direct and indirect jobs, and economic opportunity in the state that will come with our investment in new projects. So as we've discussed regarding our $60 billion capital expenditure plans, is much more coming to our parks around the world, including in Florida."

Bob Iger at Walt Disney World

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castlecake2.01 day ago

Yes

Stripes1 day ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt1 day ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee1 day ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o1 day ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian1 day ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt1 day ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude811 day ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian1 day ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude811 day ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.

lazyboy97o1 day ago

You don’t think dropping your bargaining power in the middle is the best strategy in a negotiation?

flynnibus1 day ago

Again… we know nothing except both sides have shown signs of positive attitude and certainty of successful outcomes. What does that mean? None if us know. All we can speculate is… they know a lot more than they have said publicly… and obvious things like "desantis is not perpetual…" were clearly obvious to them when they made these choices.

UNCgolf1 day ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus1 day ago

“Right now…” Yes, we all know this. But again, we don’t know what back room deal they have setup. Who knows… it could even include new legislation promises… Or Disney is just rolling with the hand they are dealt… maybe they have accepted that the time to sunset their advantages of rcid is here… none of us can tell what their true intentions are right now.