Walt Disney theme parks, studios, and hotels in Florida have been an unbelievable tax generator for the state and an incredible employer. Hiring more than 77,000 employees and home to one of the largest attractions in the world for tourism, Disney’s home in Orlando has brought people from around the world to Florida. With Disney saying they will support overturning Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislators have looked at ways to punish the Mouse House. If they think punishing Disney will work out for them, they may need to rethink what it means to catch Tigger by the tail.
In 1967, the Reedy Creek Improvement Act allowed Walt Disney to act as its own government of sorts, responsible for the upkeep, maintenance, and management of the facility. As a result, Walt Disney World runs its own sewer system, its own network of roads, and its own power facilities. Walt Disney parks use up to 29 sewer and water treatment lifts. It is the home of 500,000 solar panels.
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The concept of overturning this authority and having it pass back to Orange County is an interesting one, and I think shows how absolutely clueless Florida legislators and DeSantis truly are about how basic government functions work.
You see, the Reedy Creek agreement did give Disney a lot of leeway in the creation and management of their own park. It also allowed them to determine several internal rates designed to attract international tourists.
The concept of having Orange County take over road maintenance, the power grid, the sewer system, and services and have them offset by county tax dollars would strike many as a very strange punishment at this point.
The governor told reporters on Thursday, “Someone said, ‘Hey, Disney has all these special perks. Should you retaliate against them for them coming out and demagoguing this bill?’ I don’t believe you ‘retaliate,’ but I think what I would say, as a matter of first principle, I don’t support special privileges in law. Just because a company is powerful and they have been able to wield a lot of power.”
This is not to say that the Reedy Creek proposal doesn’t benefit Disney overall. While they maintain the cost and management of the facilities, their ability to self-govern has been key in the expansion of their facility and project management over the years. The agreement also means stability for the company as they do not have to worry about the impact of local elections on tourism, allowing them to plan more in the long term.
The move by Florida legislators also has another problem. The current mayor of Orange County, Florida, is none other than Jerry Demings, husband of Val Demings, current Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. While that race was nonpartisan, Jerry Demings received nearly three times the number of votes as his nearest competitor.
Simply put, putting Disney World under the auspices of a community with a strong leftward lean will empower the mayor of Orange County and officeholders in Orlando.
The wonderful thing about Tiggers? Republicans want to find out, and they may discover the ride isn’t worth it.