Disney and DeSantis End Dispute with New $17 Billion Walt Disney World Development Agreement

Jun 13, 2024 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

Posted: Thursday June 13, 2024 4:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney officially ended its First Amendment lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday, concluding a two-year conflict triggered by the company's opposition to the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law.

Team Disney Orlando

This decision followed last night's Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board's approval of a new 15-year development agreement, permitting Disney to invest up to $17 billion to expand its Orlando theme parks.

"Walt Disney World is inextricably intertwined in the fabric of the state of Florida, and the success of Walt Disney World is the success of Central Florida and vice versa," said Brian Aungst Jr., a Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board member. "This agreement provides a lasting, sustainable, and prosperous future for the district, the people of Florida, and the Walt Disney Company."

In a statement, Jeff Vahle, President of Walt Disney World Resort said, "This new development agreement paves the way for us to invest billions of dollars in Walt Disney World Resort, supporting the growth of this global destination, fueling the Florida economy, and allowing us to deliver even more memorable and extraordinary experiences for our guests."

The resolution marks the end of a contentious culture war that dominated headlines in 2022. The legal battle left Disney in a weakened position, as it lost control over the nearly 40 square-mile area surrounding its parks, a privilege it had held since 1967.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed Disney's First Amendment suit in January, ruling that Florida had the authority to revoke the district. Disney had initially planned to appeal, warning that the case had significant implications for the rule of law.

In March, Disney and DeSantis settled most of their disputes, dismissing state lawsuits and agreeing to focus on the new development plan. Disney suspended its federal appeal pending the resolution of development issues.

On Wednesday night, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District voted 5-0 to approve the new development agreement. With the agreement finalized, Disney notified the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday that it was dismissing the case.

"All parties to this appeal hereby stipulate to dismissal of the appeal with prejudice," the notice stated.

CFTOD HQ near Disney Springs

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Dr.GrantSeeker1 hour ago

I remember RCID approving a bunch of infrastructure work for Western Way and the BV Drive intersection right before they became CFTOD. Do we still know if these improvements are going to happen and when? @lentesta I’m tagging you because i vaguely remember you talking about this a year ago-ish, which is how I learned about it in the first place. Unless my memory is totally wrong (which it could be) so I apologize in advance if you never mentioned these improvements!

LAKid531 hour ago

Have you met OC Planning? Their middle name is urban sprawl....

LAKid531 hour ago

It is. I laugh everytime I'm GPSed through property on the way back from MCO. And I think the same on the way home from Port Canaveral. I'd rather make a larger loop around than drive Osceola Parkway to LBV Drive to Western Way to Hartzog.

lazyboy97o4 hours ago

And instead of real solutions people just double down on the causes of traffic.

castlecake2.04 hours ago

The blessing of size lead to urban sprawl on property, the very thing Walt’s EPCOT was trying to fix. One solution could be trying to implement public transit to get Cast living nearby to work, but Orlando’s transit is terrible, and the sprawl across property makes it hard to make an efficient system for moving people. Now with the sprawl surrounding the property, Disney roads are becoming the shortcuts. The isolated feel of entire resort is quickly disappearing.

LAKid534 hours ago

State Road 535 (Avalon Road) North from the intersection at Hartzog is now wall to wall apartment complexes up to New Independence. I had to make a detour to get out of Waterleigh due to road resurfacing and the same is going south. The roads in Horizons West currently can't handle the traffic resulting from the increase in developments. Yeah, it's nice that 429 North of the toll before the Turnpike had been widened, but it's a hot mess in the AM & PM up to that spot. The amount of construction since I bought 2.5 years ago is insane. Don't know HOW they'll widen Western Way once you leave property because there's not much space to add another lane under the 429 overpass. Flamingo Crossings area is growing. And the roads can't handle the traffic.

LuvtheGoof5 hours ago

Western Way was really bad around 5:30 yesterday. And then a few idiots on the turnpike going north decided to have a 4 car pile up, blocking both lanes in the construction area, and our normal 2 - 2 1/2 hour trip took almost 4 hours last night!

LAKid5315 hours ago

My GPS sends me THROUGH property on the way back from MCO. But South on 429 to get there.

LAKid5315 hours ago

Avalon is bad in the mornings & evenings. Now imagine adding a 1400 unit housing project on Hartzog just before the curve to the intersection with Avalon. Which was just widened up to Schofield.

Brian1 day ago

It all comes down to I-4, specifically I-4 west of 535/Daryl Carter down to Hwy 27 (Davenport/Haines City). The GPS apps are essential, even for locals, if you want to avoid traffic, and they direct motorists onto, in many cases, one lane roads that were never meant to handle even a fraction of the traffic they now handle. These roads include Old Lake Wilson, Sherberth, 17/92, Poicinana Blvd, Griffen, Avalon, and of course the on property roads leading out to 429 you mentioned, Western Way and Buena Vista Drive. World Drive gets hit with this problem too, as folks try to head southbound to 192 to go to Old Lake Wilson. All of these roads are inundated with motorists who, if not for the mess that is I-4 between Disney and Hwy 27, would be on I-4, and they simply cannot handle that kind of volume. Luckily, most of the aforementioned stretch of I-4 is actively being expanded and will be done in the next few years, and hopefully with that more resilient, the pressure on these "shortcuts" will be reduced/eliminated. That said, I do think that Western Way and Buena Vista Drive out to Flamingo Crossings will have to be reconfigured/expanded regardless, as the Horizon West area is growing rapidly.

castlecake2.02 days ago

Yah it’s terrible there too, and what it looks like is happening is people are coming on to property via Osceola pkwy then cuttingg up to buena Vista to get across to western way. It’s normal now for the left turn onto BVD from world drive to back all the way up onto Osceola. Orlando has a traffic problem which is turning into a traffic problem for Disney as people cut through property to try to get around it. I think western way was approved to become three lanes each way though?