Latest on Reedy Creek, Tourism Board and Disney Developer Agreement

[bcla]

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?

I found a more complete quote. It's pretty clear what he meant. He's talking about regulating the company's business outside of Florida.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/27/ron-desantis-disney-orlando-new-board/​

Though the board is tasked with overseeing duties such as sewage treatment and road maintenance at Disney’s properties, DeSantis suggested Monday that he is also expecting it to act as a sort of moral arbiter for the company he has described as a “woke Burbank corporation” that is “trying to inject woke ideology” on children.​

​

“When you lose your way, you’ve got to have people that are going to tell you the truth,” DeSantis said. “So we hope they can get back on. But I think all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.”​

​

The board doesn’t have direct power over the creative content Disney produces, such as movies and characters and rides. But because the new appointees hold purse strings over infrastructure projects, they could influence Disney’s decisions.​

If I could give some corollaries related to Florida theme parks, it would be similar to Comcast worrying about whether or not regulation of Universal Orlando would be contingent on concessions made about content allowed on MSNBC. Or back when Sea World was owned by Anheuser-Busch, that regulation would be contingent on reduction of the sales of malt liquor. DeSantis certainly sounded like he was talking about controlling Disney's entertainment content that he didn't like.

 

[bcla]

Kind of unrelated, but I got curious about what other kinds of media empires set up theme parks. I certainly remember when Paramount had a theme park division that they eventually sold to Cedar Fair. But this one apparently didn't last. After Disney purchased 20th Century Fox Entertainment, they agreed to end the licensing agreement.

 

[AliceAnn]

The thought was to dissolve RCID all together and put the responsibilities of it on Orange and Osceola Counties. There are obviously some advantages that Disney sees with RCID or they wouldn't have taken the steps they did to protect their stake in it.

Perhaps the advantages that Disney sees with RCID is that it had board members who knew what they were doing, rather than some lackeys of the governor, who didn’t seem to know what the job was. I think their assignment would have been to do/vote whatever the governor told them he wanted.

 

[AliceAnn]

The Villages certainly has its issues but there's been no talk about reining them in. There's probably a reason for that.

Because they already have a “moral arbiter”?

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I found a more complete quote.

That’s not a more complete quote. It’s the same quote with a reporter adding a bunch of inference that might or might not be true. (Given the way these thing s usually work out, my guess is not.)

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Perhaps the advantages that Disney sees with RCID is that it had board members who knew what they were doing, rather than some lackeys of the governor, who didn’t seem to know what the job was. I think their assignment would have been to do/vote whatever the governor told them he wanted.

Or the opposite could be true.

 

[bcla]

That’s not a more complete quote. It’s the same quote with a reporter adding a bunch of inference that might or might not be true. (Given the way these thing s usually work out, my guess is not.)

The previous article I linked only mentioned the "all families can appreciate" sentence, but the WaPo article had more about Disney - the "when you lose your way" comment and that he hoped to get their entertainment on the path that they would prefer. I don't know how they could do that without some serious First Amendment issues, but whatever.

 

[mdmost]

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.

Thank you. This is just the type of information I was looking for.

 

[Kwami]

Or the opposite could be true.

Or the new board could be comprised of Martians!

Anything "could" be true when you don't bother with facts or reality.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Or the new board could be comprised of Martians!

Anything "could" be true when you don't bother with facts or reality.

Exactly. We should stick to facts.

 

[SuzErwin]

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

Most of the conference was about Disney and Disney's content, and about how Disney was finally going to pay its taxes (which it was already doing). I fast forwarded through the hyperbole. After DeSantis gave his prepared remarks, they had speakers specifically chosen to be there, one who went on a diatribe about Disney's content (he was especially upset about a series called Little Demon which is produced by FX Productions and Fox Television Animation and airs on FX - so the Disney name is not attached and FX is not exactly a channel marketed to children), so yes, the focus was very much on the content and not on administering a special tax district. Then DeSantis went off on a tangent about COVID restrictions, which also doesn't pertain to Disney/Reedy Creek as they dropped requirements in 2021.

Here are direct quotes, pulled from close captioning, pertaining to Reedy Creek and the power the board may or may not have thought they possessed. They match what was reported in the previous posts.

"There's a new sheriff in town."

"The corporate kingdom is over."

"We have people [on the board] who very much want Disney to be what Walt envisioned." (He envisioned Reedy Creek, just sayin'. LOL)

"When you lose your way, you gotta have people who are going to tell you the truth. These board members want to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate."

Very little was said about maintaining roads and infrastructure, although DeSantis did make a push for increased salaries for firefighters - the conference was at the fire station - so I can see the new board's confusion LOL.

 

[jerry557]

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?

The state has the power to influence that to an extent anyway and dont even have to go to much lengths. They don't need Reedy Creek for that. For example, the state is already looking at banning certain type of events like drag shows when children are present.

Those are the type of laws Disney could eventually run into problems with, depending on the type of LGBT events Disney hosts and what the attendees do there.

 

[john7994]

The state has the power to influence that to an extent anyway and dont even have to go to much lengths. They don't need Reedy Creek for that. For example, the state is already looking at banning certain type of events like drag shows when children are present.

Those are the type of laws Disney could eventually run into problems with, depending on the type of LGBT events Disney hosts and what the attendees do there.

Well snap! Have I been missing Drag Shows at WDW - is that what they are doing in the Villain's Lair in ToTWL?

 

[TCRAIG]

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?

I think it means that the board will ensure that all the roads are straight

 

[DisDad2001]

"We have people [on the board] who very much want Disney to be what Walt envisioned." (He envisioned Reedy Creek, just sayin'. LOL)

It has never worked out well for people who presume to speak for Walt Disney.

Michael Eisner had a good run until Frank Wells died. After Eisner took over Walt's office and introducing The Wonderful World of Disney telecasts he just turned into a big pretender in the eyes of many.

 

[Wmuflyguy]

Exactly. We should stick to facts.

Like the effects of drinking tap water?

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Like the effects of drinking tap water?

We should also stick to the subject.

 

[tom1944]

Well snap! Have I been missing Drag Shows at WDW - is that what they are doing in the Villain's Lair in ToTWL?

The first move for the board is to make sure Mrs. Doubtfire is blocked on all televisions at all the resorts.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I think it means that the board will ensure that all the roads are straight

Project UPS: Install jughandles at every intersection. From then on people may only go straight or make right turns.

 

[SuzErwin]

The first move for the board is to make sure Mrs. Doubtfire is blocked on all televisions at all the resorts.

Shh! No one tell them about Timon in The Lion King and Pleakley in Lilo and Stitch!