Latest on Reedy Creek, Tourism Board and Disney Developer Agreement

[_19disnA]

I think some people confuse this newly appointed Reedy Creek board with the actual running of the Disney company. One has nothing to do with the other. Reedy Creek board doesn't have any control over the content of Disney movies, for example and never did.

 

[mdmost]

I think some people confuse this newly appointed Reedy Creek board with the actual running of the Disney company. One has nothing to do with the other. Reedy Creek board doesn't have any control over the content of Disney movies, for example and never did.

You are correct but it was definitely brought up both in the speakers he had at the signing ceremony and his own words. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the new board could use their position to try to influence Disney entertainment. The board members themselves seemed upset that they were not going to be able to do more with Disney than maintain roads and infrastructure going forward. I'm not sure they really understood just what their positions entailed.

 

[etherealcaitiff]

So the board would not have any direct say in things like movies, shows, etc, BUT, they could definitely institute some quid pro quo to effectively have that power. For example, they could say "We refuse to permit any further improvements until WDW cancels all Pride events". Now whether or not that is legal is a whole 'nother story, but then again, isn't all of this?

 

[Douglas Dubh]

You are correct but it was definitely brought up both in the speakers he had at the signing ceremony and his own words. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the new board could use their position to try to influence Disney entertainment. The board members themselves seemed upset that they were not going to be able to do more with Disney than maintain roads and infrastructure going forward. I'm not sure they really understood just what their positions entailed.

They probably thought they would have approval power over new developments, since that’s what the old board had.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

So the board would not have any direct say in things like movies, shows, etc, BUT, they could definitely institute some quid pro quo to effectively have that power. For example, they could say "We refuse to permit any further improvements until WDW cancels all Pride events". Now whether or not that is legal is a whole 'nother story, but then again, isn't all of this?

They could also refuse to issue any more bonds for infrastructure development until current ones are paid off.

 

[mdmost]

They probably thought they would have approval power over new developments, since that’s what the old board had.

They could also refuse to issue any more bonds for infrastructure development until current ones are paid off.

Well then I guess it's good Disney took that power away from them since it directly affects Disney's business.

 

[Suger Mag]

Iger seems pretty confident in that meeting, sounds like he believes in his legal team and that Disney holds the upper hand in this from a legal and constitutional aspect.

 

[mdmost]

Iger seems pretty confident in that meeting, sounds like he believes in his legal team and that Disney holds the upper hand in this from a legal and constitutional aspect.

I think his statement was very strategic in that regard. He could've easily said we do not plan to comment on the current situation. Instead he went right at it and of course did it in a much better fashion than Chapek ever could've.

 

[mdmost]

I had a question regarding this idea that Disney has an unfair advantage as far as getting projects going. Would someone familiar with Epic Universe chime in on how that was approved and any of the particulars for how it is funded by Universal? I know here locally, Universal had to go before the Frisco planning commission to get their new park approved. I'd hazard a guess that they're getting a sweetheart deal from Frisco on it as far as tax abatements. I'll take a look when I have more free time. How was Epic Universe handled by the local county? I'd imagine it was rubberstamped like Reedy Creek would rubberstamp Disney expansion. Or am I mistaken?

 

[AliceAnn]

But does it really matter? It is a fact Disney has special powers and privileges that the competition does not have. And it is now the will of the legislature, for whatever reasons, to remove those privileges. Disney is a corporation that must operate under Florida laws, and it is not entitled to competitive advantages.

What Disney is doing here is using the board that it controlled, with members on it who were employed by the company, to transfer powers to the corporation for the purpose of undercutting an elected-democratic government. That’s the type of shady stuff you expect from an evil corporation that has too much power.

I’m not sure it’s a good thing to have a corporation ran by rich executives having more power than an elected state legislature.

Is it good to have to have a person on your board who believes men are turned gay by drinking tap water?

 

[Suger Mag]

Is it good to have to have a person on your board who believes men are turned gay by drinking tap water?

i think the make up of that new board was purely to cause trouble for Disney, it was not about helping Disney or the county do better... just my thought based on who they are and the statements they have made.

 

[bbeagle]

What Disney is doing here is using the board that it controlled, with members on it who were employed by the company, to transfer powers to the corporation for the purpose of undercutting an elected-democratic government. That’s the type of shady stuff you expect from an evil corporation that has too much power.

The board members were removed and replaced with members appointed by the governor. The governor admitted that he would use this board to gain power over Disney and decide what Disney could and could not do by punishing their business if they didn’t comply. A government take over of business. All because Disney used their 1st Ammendment rights and dared to say they disagreed with the governor. This seems like evil fascist dictator stuff.

 

[dioxide45]

I actually didn’t know that. Wow.

You an watch the entire news conference here to hear the actual words spoken instead of relying on random people on the internet.

 

[AliceAnn]

But does it really matter? It is a fact Disney has special powers and privileges that the competition does not have. And it is now the will of the legislature, for whatever reasons, to remove those privileges. Disney is a corporation that must operate under Florida laws, and it is not entitled to competitive advantages.

What Disney is doing here is using the board that it controlled, with members on it who were employed by the company, to transfer powers to the corporation for the purpose of undercutting an elected-democratic government. That’s the type of shady stuff you expect from an evil corporation that has too much power.

I’m not sure it’s a good thing to have a corporation ran by rich executives having more power than an elected state legislature.

Is it good to have to have a person on your board who believes men are turned gay by drinking tap water?

 

[bcla]

I actually didn’t know that. Wow.

I'm having a hard time finding more than just short clips of the signing ceremony, but what I did see made it clear that DeSantis was commenting about Disney opposition to the law he signed. As an allegedly Harvard Law trained attorney, he should know that you're not supposed to say the quiet part out loud because it's going to open himself up to accusations of First Amendment violations.

But I found a quote where he hints that there might be action taken by the board to control Disney's entertainment content. I guess they were thinking of dictating to Burbank what they can do by threatening to mess with their assets in Florida.

https://deadline.com/2023/02/ron-desantis-disney-florida-reedy-creek-special-district-1235272903/​

The board members will have oversight over the special district’s infrastructure and services, as well as taxing authority, but DeSantis also referred to Disney’s content decisions. “I think that all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.” Although the board doesn’t have oversight over Disney’s content decisions, it does have control over critical infrastructure projects and services that the theme parks need for their operations.​

 

[AliceAnn]

I think some people confuse this newly appointed Reedy Creek board with the actual running of the Disney company. One has nothing to do with the other. Reedy Creek board doesn't have any control over the content of Disney movies, for example and never did.

It sounded like some of the people on the board thought they were going to have more control. And didn’t the Governor say something about the board being a “moral arbiter”? Moral arbiter of what, infrastructure?

 

[bcla]

So the board would not have any direct say in things like movies, shows, etc, BUT, they could definitely institute some quid pro quo to effectively have that power. For example, they could say "We refuse to permit any further improvements until WDW cancels all Pride events". Now whether or not that is legal is a whole 'nother story, but then again, isn't all of this?

Nah. The worry (and DeSantis even hinted at it) that the board might be interested in affecting Disney's entertainment division in Burbank. The quote is in the Deadline article that I posted.

 

[HopperFan]

I had a question regarding this idea that Disney has an unfair advantage as far as getting projects going. Would someone familiar with Epic Universe chime in on how that was approved and any of the particulars for how it is funded by Universal? I know here locally, Universal had to go before the Frisco planning commission to get their new park approved. I'd hazard a guess that they're getting a sweetheart deal from Frisco on it as far as tax abatements. I'll take a look when I have more free time. How was Epic Universe handled by the local county? I'd imagine it was rubberstamped like Reedy Creek would rubberstamp Disney expansion. Or am I mistaken?

Not how it works. No rubber stamps. Both parks go through the same exact process in the ways that matter. Universal had to go through a big process when they bought that land. And now every step they take, they must get county approval. Disney is developing land it owns.

Epic Universe just like Tron or Pandora were new builds. They had to disturb the land to build. This means first they go through a rigid approval process with tons of dirt, water etc testing. All of this which can be pages and pages long is submitted to the South Florida Water Management District. Because Orlando is the head of the Everglades land disturbance it taken very seriously. ALSO for Disney for every bit of land they disturb they must set aside land undisturbed. This is why Disney has a HUGE conversation property south of Kissimmee closer to the Everglades. It is called the Disney Wilderness Preserve.

Once SFWMD approves the project the application then goes to Orange County (Disney has a small bit in Osceola County) for their approval process. This is for both theme parks, no one has an advantage. Even when Disney changes signs they must get a permit from the County. Disney DOES NOT have carte blanche to do what they want they go through all the same processes.

Where I think Disney made a mistake was over the years they expanded and allowed RCID to act like their "planning" department. All permits went to RCID first to be looked at, make sure the i's were dotted and everything was in order and it was the exit point to the state or county. More like a procurement office. It worked for Disney to have an extra set of eyes on the paperwork, keeping it organized. Disney should have kept that part within the company with it's own approval department. RCID was not set up for that and doesn't need to be handling that. RCID is INFRASTRUCTURE that the local government would normally do, nothing more.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Well then I guess it's good Disney took that power away from them since it directly affects Disney's business.

Disney can’t take away the district‘s power to issue public bonds.

 

[wabbott]

Epic Universe just like Tron or Pandora were new builds. They had to disturb the land to build. This means first they go through a rigid approval process with tons of dirt, water etc testing. All of this which can be pages and pages long is submitted to the South Florida Water Management District. Because Orlando is the head of the Everglades land disturbance it taken very seriously. ALSO for Disney for every bit of land they disturb they must set aside land undisturbed. This is why Disney has a HUGE conversation property south of Kissimmee closer to the Everglades. It is called the Disney Wilderness Preserve.

Once SFWMD approves the project the application then goes to Orange County (Disney has a small bit in Osceola County) for their approval process. This is for both theme parks, no one has an advantage. Even when Disney changes signs they must get a permit from the County. Disney DOES NOT have carte blanche to do what they want they go through all the same processes.

This would be an angle that DeSantis might use to retaliate, the SFWMD. All of a sudden, any new projects or even existing infrastructure could run into more stringent permitting requirements. And the legislature writes the laws that these districts must adhere to.