Florida Legislators file bill to restructure Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District

Feb 06, 2023 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Posted: Monday February 6, 2023 2:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The bill to radically change the structure of Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District has now been filed with the Florida House of Representatives.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has previously said that the legislation will result in Reedy Creek board members being appointed by the Florida Governor and Disney paying upwards of $700 million in Reedy Creek debt.

Notably, the bill says that the following are ineligible to part of the Reedy Creek board - "Any person who, within the past 3 years, has been an officer, owner, director, employee, agent, contractor, or subcontractor of, or has had a contractual relationship with a business entity that owns or operates a theme park or entertainment complex."

Reedy Creek Improvement District, Orange and Osceola Counties: Reenacting, amending & repealing chapter 67-764, Laws of Florida, relating to district; provides for continuation of authority for revenue collection & powers to meet outstanding obligations; renames district; provides boundaries; revises manner of selection of board of supervisors; provides term limits; revises board member compensation; revises powers of board; revises powers of district; provides for transition; provides for continued effect of stipulation between district & Orange County; provides exception to general law.
Effective Date: upon becoming a law
Last Event: Filed on Monday, February 6, 2023 1:41 PM

You can read the full text of the 189 page Reedy Creek bill here.

The action by DeSantis comes in retaliation to Disney's public opposition to the parental rights law, which took place under the ex-CEO Bob Chapek.

Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Ron DeSantis clashed over Disney's opposition to the new law

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castlecake2.06 days ago

Yes

Stripes6 days ago

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

mkt6 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.

Unbanshee6 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

lazyboy97o7 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.

Brian7 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.

mkt7 days ago

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

pdude817 days ago

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

Brian7 days ago

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

pdude817 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.

lazyboy97o7 days ago

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

flynnibus7 days 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.

UNCgolf7 days ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus7 days 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.