DeSantis’ Handpicked Reedy Creek Board Continues Blatant Power Grab, Introduces “Superior Authority” Amendment

    The next chapter of the battle between Disney World and the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (“the District”) Board of Supervisors is unfolding. According to documents reviewed by BlogMickey.com, the Board of Supervisors is planning their next power grab as they look to do the bidding of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to “retaliate” against The Walt Disney Company for opposing the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation last summer.

    The District Board of Supervisors is planning on introducing Resolution No. 639 at the next meeting, which has been postponed until April 19th. The Resolution seeks to effectively neuter the RCID Planning Board, and consolidate power to the Board of Supervisors. The amendments would seek to change the wording of the RCID Land Development Regulations.

    According to the documents we reviewed, the Board plans on introducing a “Superior Authority” section to the RCID Land Development Regulations. The proposed new section would give the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District authority over not only District planning and regulations but also those of the cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake. The new section, which would be section 7-20.13 of the RCID Land Development Regulations, ensures that the District has absolute authority over the “reviewing, processing, evaluating, commenting on and approving, approving with conditions or denying applications for development orders throughout the District, including within the jurisdictional limits of City of Lake Buena Vista and the City of Bay Lake.”

    Another change within section 7 of the RCID Land Development Regulations seeks to replace the Planning Board, which is a separate Advisory Board within the District, with the Board of Supervisors. The amendment would replace the Planning Board as the “local planning agency” with the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors would then be able to make development decisions and the amendment says that DeSantis’ hand-picked Board would be “the final decision-making authority for the District” and that “no further administrative appeal is available” once the rubber stamp Board has made a decision.

    Currently, the Planning Board consists of five members who serve terms of up to three years. A new amendment from the Board of Supervisors not only seeks to replace the RCID Planning Board with themselves but also remove term limits. Essentially, the Board seeks to consolidate power and not give it back. Of course, the Board of Supervisors has its own term limits that are outside of its role as the “superior authority” of planning within the District.

    The Resolution comes after DeSantis said that he would “win on every single issue involving Disney” and that he would use the Florida Legislature to “void” existing contracts between the District and Walt Disney World. DeSantis also threw out ideas such as introducing toll roads on Walt Disney World property that would punish guests and Cast Members as he continues to wage a culture war.

    The Resolution will be read, in full, at the April 19th meeting, and the public may inspect the Resolution at the Planning & Engineering Department located at 1920 Buena Vista Drive, Suite A, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830.

    As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

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    65 COMMENTS

    1. I’m more then sure Disney put a stipulation that if any changes are made to board authority that Florida will have to pay a massive sum of money.

      • Desantis is wreaking everything good and tuning it into a pile of ?? Soon no one will want to come to Florida.. That could loose thousands of jobs.

        Please Disney moved the park to Colorado. They are really cool
        And want you there

    2. So, he thinks continuing this nonsense war against the largest contributor to his state is going to get him elected president? Because he got his little feelings hurt when they had an opinion about something he did?

    3. This is absolutely nuts. He wants to control art so it can’t be anything the governor doesn’t like. Like…are people really gonna stand for this Mussolini nonsense??

    4. It’s more like Disney’s trying to influence Floridians into thinking that a House Bill is about the LGBTQ Community; it’s not. The Bill is about parental representation in our public schools, and having patental consent on children being taught gender identity and sex behaviours in grades K through 6.
      Do you have children?

      • I do have children and I’m not afraid of everything I can’t understand , like you snowflakes. And keep believing that’s what it’s all about. Plus I got news for you. If your kid turns out gay, don’t blame their school, or TV. Blame God, it would be his fault for creating them gay.

      • Whether you agree or not with the don’t say gay bill, this governmental retaliation for an opinion rings of a police state. Disagree with DeSantis and he will punish you, your employees and your customers. Kind of sounds like a place without freedom of speech…hardly a patriotic approach from my view. DeSantis is playing to the angry, intolerant audience that elected Trump in the hopes he can succeed Trump. It won’t work on a National stage. He looks petty and this will come off as a stupid move in hindsight.

        • Nonsense. The government of Florida isn’t shutting down their business or imprisoning anyone. They’re simply revoking some incredibly generous perks that Disney enjoyed. And they didn’t simply “disagree”; engaged in malicious slander. DeSantis is playing to an audience that is tired of being bullied by woke corporations, and is desperate for a politician who’ll stand up to their intolerance of conservatives.

          • DeSantis is absolutely retaliating against Disney. If it was about removing”special district privileges”, then why not remove The Villages special district? He won’t because The Villages is filled with a bunch of
            Right-Wing radicals he is pandering to. This is all about him trying to punish anyone that speaks out against him and he can get away with it because of his Repugnant Republican Super Majority in the Florida House and Senate. Too bad it will backfire if he does announce a presidential candidacy, because he won’t have a bunch of lap dogs to push his authoritarian agenda!

      • You do know that children have always been taught about gender. If this law were evenly applied it would outlaw the use of gender titles like ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ It would outlaw teachers talking about their spouses wether gay OR straight. There would be no boys or girls bathrooms; no books with characters of any specific gender. You support this law only because it targets an orientation you don’t like.

      • Parental* and with a name like Faspro, I’m not surprised you approve of complete and total power that has nothing to do with what you listed. You’re in charge of your kids, not the government, and not Walt Disney World, Inc. What happened to the personal responsibility y’all love to preach?

        Stop imposing your myopic beliefs on others.

    5. Surely Disney is a huge employer for his constituents. If he starts making them pay to get to work then they’re not going to vote for him at the next election, right? It really seems like he’s seen the red mist and is completely blind to the connotations of his actions.

      • It’s the Republican party, they got rich and powerful by alienating even their own voters. Remember Hurricane Ian and how the government tried to send aid but every single Republican shmuck denied it because the money was coming from the Biden Administration? So, Republican voters, if you’re still suffering from that hurricane financially, blame the people you put into power. Screwing over EVERYONE, even their supporters, to get ahead is their calling card.

    6. DeSantis wants to be a dictator! He also wants to to establish the thought and speech police! He’s a dangerous little man with a small mind.

      • DeHitler is a disgrace to freedom, a power tripping maggot and another reason I will no longer vote or support Republicans, nor will I travel or spend a dime in Florida (sorry) until this plague is gone…. his brain isn’t the only small organ!

    7. Hmmmm… I’ll bet Disney’s lawyers will be paying attention and taking appropriate actions through the comment period and in accordance with Florida’s Sunshine Meeting law.

    8. And someone so small and unable to tolerate criticism of any kind wants to be president?
      Go get some “thigh” food meatball ron…

    9. Apparently they will. American traitors think they’re going to revisit and reset the results of the Amercan Civil War. They’re all on the same bandwagon at least. Putin is the director in absentia.

    10. Guess you shouldn’t pick a fight with the land lord. Keep your woke ideas out of the state policies. They are elected officials representing the people of the state of Florida. They are not hired woke executives trying to push their views on the people. See the difference of elected vs non elected? I hope they pay a price and learn a lesson. The people have the final say not the corporattions…end of story.

      • It’s been pretty crazy to figure out these past few years that a lot of Americans actually want to live in a dictatorship, as long as that dictatorship has the same values as them.

        That they didn’t have a problem with the things the Taliban does, they just had a problem with it being in the name of Allah instead of God and they actually want the a version of Shariah law in the US, just based on a Christian God.

        That they actually don’t want everyone to have the right to vote if they disagree with them.

        That they actually don’t have an issue with Putin making people disappear overnight for disagreeing with him, they just were jealous they couldn’t do it in the USA too.

        That they don’t have a problem with the fact that China censors everything, they just wish they could censor the things THEY want censored in America.

        That they don’t have a problem with Kim Jong Un just making up the news, they just wanted made up news that said what THEY wanna hear.

        That they watched Harry Potter and agreed with Umbridge and Voldemort. That they watched Frankenstein and were cheering on the mob with the pitchforks.

        I just assumed other people were conservative, but they believed in basic democracy. Finding out that’s not true has been scary.

        • Disney was given a sweet heart deal for decades and they blew it. That should be the news.
          For this decrying of a dictatorship, Disney built in Shanghai China knowing full well it is a Communist country.
          Their original theme park, Disneyland, is in California, which is as close to a socialist country that forced Disneyland to remain closed for years, while Florida allowed the Magic Kingdom to open in half a year.
          Disney is a corporation that doesn’t have government powers. The new district has government powers and it asserts its governmental powers despite the dumb development agreement from the old district that it fraudulently obtained. Disney’s Iger doesn’t know how government works. It can’t get it by taking it away from new district. The new district always has the power.

          • Again, you decry China, but when Xi passed a law making him President forever, the rest of us were shocked because of how undemocratic it was. You were angry Trump didn’t do the same thing.

          • And I bet you thought those protesters in Hong Kong “should have just kept their mouths shut.”

            That is if the news you watch even covers real things and not made-up stories telling you a caravan of illegal immigrant drag queens are coming to teach your children critical race theory

          • How was it fraudulently obtained? When Disney was building DisneyWorld in the 60s and 70s Disney unlike many corporations was willing to foot the bill for infrastructure. Reedy Creek allowed them to put in roads and other infrastructure with zero tax payer expense. The nearest power lines were 15 miles away and it was a swamp.

      • Pretty sure Disney is a corporation and, as such, is a person in the eyes of the law. It’s why corps can contribute to election candidates etc. As a person, you have the right to freedom of speech under the US constitution. What Mr Adolf DeSantis did was walk over the US constitution and burned our freedom flag, Naivety and intolerance are the only facets on display here.

      • “This state is governed by the interest of the people of the state of Florida. It is not based on the demands of California corporate executives,” DeSantis said. “They do not run this state. They do not control this state.”

        Which means a Corporation can’t tell Florida what do, all right.

        However he later stated. While the board handles infrastructure and maintenance, DeSantis boasted that it could use its leverage to force Disney to stop “trying to inject woke ideology” on children.

        So how I read this is a California corporation can not tell the state of Florida what to do, but the state of Florida can tell a California corporation what to do?

        In terms of content, the market will decide, if Disney is making content people don’t like and they aren’t making money, they will stop making that content.

        And if you start charging tolls on Disney roads, who does it really hurt? Bob Iger? No. Cast Members? Yes. Does it discourage people from visiting therefore decreasing revenue to the state? yes

        So by taking away business from the state and charging ridiculous tolls on these roads, it hurts cast members who are Floridians. Please tell me how that is best for the state?

        • They won’t respond to logic. It’s too much for them. Kind of like if you ask them to define “Woke”. They won’t do it word for word because upon saying it out loud, it shows them who they really are, and in their delusional minds, they’re the “good guys” in this “American Horror Story” THEY created.

      • I guess freedom of speech is an American value that you don’t approve of. We all get to have an opinion, even if you or your idiotic elected officials in Florida don’t think so. Florida is not Disney’s “landlord “. You might want to get out a dictionary and understand the meaning of words before you post them. Or have your “elected officials” banned dictionaries too? Under your definition of landlord, the state of Florida could come into your home and dictate what type of furniture you have and where it can be placed. Such idiocy. I think I’m with a growing number of folks that will not spend a dime in Florida until these anti-business culture war dictators are voted out. Disney should stop all investment in Florida immediately. You guys obviously do not want your biggest employer and biggest tax base around if they don’t agree with your petty authoritarian policies.

    11. Instead of worrying about the orange seaweed that’d starting to invade the beaches, he picks on Disney because they stood up for what’s right. And this is who folks want for President? Why don’t he buy an island and folks with his way of thinking move there with no help from the U.S. Wanna be dictators. Let’s not leave out Jim Jordan who dies Trump’s bidding.

    12. Both sides are acting like spoiled little rich children who are used to always getting their way. Both sides need each other. Child desantis needs the jobs and tax revenue. Child Disney needs to get along. Would not surprise me if child Disney took there ball and close shop. Or of Child Desantis threatens to something which will impede on park visitors. I have thought Desantis has done gone things for Disney I am now becoming concerned that he will through fits in the white house 8f someone upsets him.

    13. DeSantis is a power hungry narcissist? Haven’t we had enough of these in politics lately? WHY does he feel free to spend taxpayer $ to wage a personal vendetta?

    14. Like I stated before let Disney close all parks, hotels, and cruise ships in Florida and move their operations elsewhere. This will put the state in a big financial bind when the number one entertainment company in the state closes. Also piss off the people coming to Florida to spend their money in this state. Tourist will stop at the state line and go to other states to have fun. Also since disney owns Marvel they could shut down all attractions at Universal studios that deal with the marvel line. Good luck with the mentality of the Mussolini power hungry political party in this state.

    15. Who brings in more money for the state of Florida… Mickey mouse or Ron DeSantis ?
      how many people travel from around the world to Florida to see Ron DeSantis… zero!!
      how many people from around the world travel to see Mickey mouse.. tens of millions every year
      you can’t help if the people in Florida are stupid and they let a dictator run their state. eventually you will get to the point where you’re depending on federal monies because the rest of America has decided that Florida is just too corrupt to spend their money there.

        • OR Universal will want nothing to do with Florida because they see how childish DeSatan is, and leave too, further screwing Florida over. Then what Florida? Ask anyone “When you hear ‘Florida’, what do you think?”, EVERYONE will say “Disney”. Sure as shyte not “DeSatan” or…I can’t even think of what else Florida is known for…oranges, I guess? NO ONE comes to Florida for any other reason outside of visiting older family members and Disney. The End. Follow the money, it’ll tell you the same thing.

          NAACP already screwed Florida over and RIGHTFULLY SO by putting a travel ban on Florida for all of their games which brought extra revenue in the hundreds of millions if not billions to Florida ( https://naacp.org/articles/naacp-florida-state-conference-recommends-travel-advisory-state-response-african-american ). This is the kind of punishment scum like DeSatan, and anyone like him needs. I think the NFL, NHL, MLB, UFC and WWE should do the same thing. We as a people can’t punish DeSatan for being stupid but corporations can and I hope they do.

          Nothing would give me more joy than seeing that piece of crap humbled, apologize, and go somewhere else with his BS.

          • Your lying about Universal. Universal Epic will soon open and take the theme park crown from Disney. Even the NAACP can’t stop it.

    16. Where is the line in the sand with this childish bullying? Florida has real problems that we need the legislature to work on. For example: Insurance could use some attention; Drug addiction and the seemingly proliferation of fentanyl; Unemployment vs. lack of staff for business conundrum. Real issues that matter, not more guns, or controlling access to healthcare, or who’s in the bathroom. This is not high school student government.
      The stakes are high and we have the junior varsity in the game.

    17. So Disney thought they won the battle when it was actually the opening of a new boxing match and Disney doesn’t have the government on its side. Play silly games. Win silly prizes. Universal will soon eat its cake.

    18. Perhaps another state would be a better match for Disney. You know, one that allows Disney freedom of speech without fear of vengeance. A state that gives Disney the control it originally had with Reedy Creek. Besides, Disney is apparently too “woke” for the tiny Florida dictator, DeSantis.

      • Because China, California, Hong Kong, and Paris are working so well for Disney?!! Florida is actually their cash cow.
        China is constantly closed for the pandemic.
        California took one and half years to reopen after the pandemic. Disney sorely don’t invest there because it doesn’t pencil out. Disney refused to build their 4th hotel because it couldn’t get a city tax subsidy.
        Hong Kong is constantly closed for pandemic.
        Paris is always unprofitable until Disney reclaimed ownership. It doesn’t help that Parisians actually hate Disney.

    19. Tremendous overreaching by a man who appears to want to be a dictator in trying to take control of one of the major sources of revenue for the state, Disney! The govt is trying to control the spoken words and thoughts of all in Florida as well as what they can read. This is censorship to be sure, but it’s so much more. Beyond the first amendment implications of his actions, we also see this governor and his cronies seeking to nullify a contract the Florida legislature approved with some super duper bill that overrides anything this man wants. Get real!

    20. …and here I was thinking that I had left all that grade school thru high school childishness behind me in 1972.

      Guess not.

      That’s what I get for believing people eventually learn how to think like adults, once they reach a certain age.

    21. Wow, this whole thing, from the story to the comments, is sad.

      Florida is a US state. Disney is a business that runs within that state. The state will always, always, always win. Corporations (especially corporations not headquartered in the state) do not have more authority than the state in which they operate.

      Disney, for their part, forgot that free speech is a right for corporations, but consequences for free speech are everyone else’s right, too. The state can absolutely retaliate against you for what you said, and it’s not unlawful to do so. You certainly have the right to object to state legislation, but to claim you’re going to do “everything in your power” to stop it means that a corporation is going to try to impede the workings of a democratically-elected state government. Does that sound like a good business plan?

      DeSantis gets a little wrapped around the axle about Disney, but he is the democratically-elected governor of the state, and he controls the businesses in the state. Period, full stop. Disney does business in Florida; Florida is not beholden to Disney. Sure, they’re the biggest employer in the state, but that doesn’t give them any special rights that any other business doesn’t have. To say that it does somehow is just disingenuous.

      Disney cannot “take their ball and go home;” they’ve invested over 50 years and TRILLIONS in infrastructure into this theme park; it’s the only business unit in TWDC making a profit, they’re not going to close it. Get real.

      Disney’s move was childish, trying to strip power from the new board. Clever, cute, but childish. And it is guaranteed to not succeed.

      • Wait – “The state can absolutely retaliate against you for what you said”. Dude, that’s LITERALLY what the government cannot do. Citizens could respond by refusing to work for, or go to, or buy Disney products, but the government cannot punish free speech.

        • Honestly, do these people hear themselves? Another American tripping over themselves to lick the boots of a dictator. Pathetic.

      • @CJ – I am also disappointed by the bias in this blog post. Thank you for pointing out what so many either miss or ignore — that Disney didn’t just issue an opinion against the Parental Rights in Education law — they threatened to use everything within their power (translation, decades of tax breaks and perks) — to get it repealed. Huge difference.

        They weren’t punished. They just have been forced to now play by the same rules as every other theme park and attraction.

        And @it’sme — Yes the state absolutely can retaliate against you for what you say — freedom of speech does not include the right to yell “fire”” in a crowded theater or to use a bullhorn in a legislative chamber.

        • Stating that you’re opposed to a piece of legislation and that you want to lobby against it has nothing to do with yelling fire in a crowded theatre.

          Having an opinion is well within the boundaries of free speech. Yelling fire in a crowded theatre could get someone killed.

    22. “SUPERIOR AUTHORITY” Gov. Ron DeSantis has shown his true colors. World War. 2 was fought to. stop Adolf Hitler who believed in “SUPERIOR AUTHORITY”” Now we have a Governor in State of Florida with the same views. This is a problem for Florida but also a problem for the Country. Ron DeSantis wants the rest of the Country to be just like Florida or Nazi Germany. As a Country we must fight against his actions, we must tell Governor Ron DeSantis we will not follow him and the Republican Party back in time to the 1940’s. Thousands of good Men and Women died for our Country and it’s Freedoms.

    23. Surely Disney and it’s attorneys are prepared for this ridiculous superior authority move that Dicksantis and his cronies are proposing. TOO LATE!! This will end up at the Supreme Court outside of the corrupt state of Floriduh.

    24. Disney World employs 70,000 in the state of Florida. Not to mention the 100s of thousands of outside Disney hospitality employees that stay and dine while visiting the parks. Take that away, and we’re going to have an unemployment rate that would rival the covid shutdown period. Disney made Orlando what it is today. There was nothing there but orange groves and swampland. Disney pays their taxes. Hell, without their tourism dollars, we’d be stuck paying a state income tax, and our sales tax would be much higher. So picking a fight with the mouse isn’t advisable. Not to mention Disney has better lawyers than the pouting child governor. There are so many other issues that the petulant child should be worrying about in this state right now, but instead chooses to fight only because he’s pissed because he didn’t get his way. We have an insurance crisis happening in the state, a HUGE blob of stinky seaweed heading our way, housing and rental costs out of control, but sure, let’s worry about the mouse that pays taxes and has a great relationship with their neighbors Orange and Osceola Counties. Makes sense.

    25. Disney, like most liberal politicians and corps, think they are above the law. They started the fight. And Mike, the article author, apparently is extremely biased and not a real journalist in his approach to the article. And for all the DeSantis hating people – just compare the economy, crime, and freedom we have here compared to your darling liberal states like CA, OR, WA, NY, IL, etc. IF his policies were so bad, why are people streaming into FL and out of the “progressive” states?

    26. “IF his policies were so bad, why are people streaming into FL and out of the “progressive” states?”

      Disney. Done. Question answered.

      Disney is what brings the people, the MONEY, to Florida, be it to visit or to live BECAUSE of Disney. Ask anyone why they moved here, I PROMISE you it’s not whatever it is Florida is known for OUTSIDE of Disney (whatever that is), or the mandatory visiting of old relatives. The End. Period.

    27. Governing means serving the people not dictating social opinion.

      The Reedy Creek District is always perceived as a “Gift” to Disney. This is not a gift it is a cash cow for Florida.
      Disney creates better infrastructure then any state process exceeding code by miles, and they pay for it all.

      The real problem here is forcing social fallacy down peoples throats as “The will of the voters”

      I don’t believe the Floridian voters had lets go after the largest employer in the state as their will.
      I believe Floridians want lower taxes insurance reform before punishing a self sustaining tax district which helps the community.

    28. Hey Disney! Maybe it is time to divorce yourself from Mr. DeSantis. I can think of 49 other states in this country that I am sure would be more than happy to be your new home, bending over backwards with financial and development incentives to help lure you away. It was a good ride down there in Reedy Creek. Maybe it is time to think about how magical you could make a brand new resort starting with a blank slate. Just saying. I am sure Mr. Disney would jump at that opportunity if he were still alive today.

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