Central Florida Tourism Oversight District schedules a special meeting to discuss Disney's lawsuit

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Posted: Thursday April 27, 2023 3:49pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has scheduled a special meeting for Monday, May 1 2023, at 9:30am.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will meet just days after it moved to nullify Developer Agreements between Reedy Creek and Disney

There is only one item on the agenda, "Board discussion and direction to litigation counsel and authorization to defend District officials sued in official capacities."

The Walt Disney Company filed a lawsuit in a Florida Federal Court yesterday, naming Florida Governor and the entire Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board.

The board includes one of the authors of Florida's controversial Parental Bill of Rights law, Bridget Ziegler, Ron Peri, a former senior pastor of Evangel Baptist Church and now CEO of The Gathering, and lawyers Martin Garcia, Brian Aungst and Mike Sasso.

Disney claims in its lawsuit filed in a federal court yesterday that there has been "A targeted campaign of government retaliation-orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech-now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."

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peter114358 days ago

No. But it’s the start of the process

MR.Dis8 days ago

Does this mean a new agreement has been reached with Disney? I am trying to read between the lines on just what this is saying.

flyakite8 days ago

castlecake2.021 days ago

Yes

Stripes21 days ago

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

mkt21 days 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.

Unbanshee21 days 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

lazyboy97o22 days 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.

Brian22 days 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.

mkt22 days ago

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

pdude8122 days ago

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

Brian22 days ago

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

pdude8122 days 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.