Florida Governor Ron DeSantis aims to further escalate his fight with Disney by imposing tolls on Walt Disney World roads, develop land, and add new taxes to Disney hotels.
Speaking at Hillsdale College, a conservative liberal arts college in Michigan DeSantis said, "So come hell or high water we're going to make sure that policy of Florida carries the day. And so they can keep trying to do things. But ultimately we're going to win on every single issue involving Disney I can tell you that."
These latest comments come after DeSantis recently instructed the Chief Inspector General of the State of Florida to investigate the Reedy Creek Improvement District following the latest developments regarding the state's takeover of the district.
In a move that seems to have out-smarted the state, Disney's final agreement between Reedy Creek Improvement District and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts appears to have severely handicapped the Ron DeSantis-appointed board of the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight board.
Signed into effect on February 8, just as the Florida House passed the legislation to take control of Reedy Creek Improvement District, the new Developer Agreement gives Disney significant control of the RCID landing and prevents the new board making any changes to the agreement.
At a March 29 special meeting, where the board discussed the new Developer Agreement, one member said, "We lose control over everything other than to maintain the roads and maintain the infrastructure." Board member Brian Aungst said, "We gave governmental control to Disney."
The legal council for the new board said that various agreements were made over the past several months that were "unusual" and "suspect." In a brief statement following the meeting, Disney said, "All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida's Government in the Sunshine law."
Speaking at the Annual Shareholder meeting earlier this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger publicly addressed the fight with DeSantis for the first time. He outlined the company's significant contribution to the state of Florida, and he was clear that he views the position of Ron DeSantis as "retaliating against Disney" for its opposition to the Parental Right Bill. And he added that the Governor's response "seems really wrong to me."
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