Disney provides numbers and facts to refute Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' rationale for his attempted hostile takeover of Reedy Creek Improvement District

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Reedy Creek Improvement District overview

Posted: Monday April 17, 2023 5:50pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney is yet to comment on today's press conference by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis this morning, but the company has been in contact with local news outlets to provide some numbers that appear to refute the Florida Governor's main talking points used to support his botched takeover of Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke today at Reedy Creek HQ near Disney Springs at Walt Disney World

Speaking at the Reedy Creek Improvement District headquarters near Disney Springs today, DeSantis frequently talked about Disney not paying its fair share of taxes and how that will change under his new district management. Disney points out that in 2022, it paid $1.146 billion in state and local taxes, making the Walt Disney Company the largest single taxpayer in Central Florida.

Referring to the governor's comment that Disney appraises its own property, Disney says, "All property in the district, including all Disney property is assessed annually by the Orange County tax assessor or the Osceola County tax assessor, as applicable."

Walt Disney World Announces Location, Developer for Affordable and Attainable Housing Initiative concept art

DeSantis continued that his new board would consider adding affordable housing on Reedy Creek land. Disney is already heavily invested in an Affordable and Attainable Housing Initiative, announcing last year that it would build more than 1300 affordable housing units on 80 acres of land near Walt Disney World.

Other information Walt Disney World provided today:

- WDW is the largest single-site employer in the U.S.
- WDW paid & collected $1.146B in state and local taxes during 2022
- $30.4M in donations throughout 2022 to support the community
— Alex Farnworth (@AlexFarnworth) April 17, 2023

Sounding more like a political rally and an appeal to his base to support his presidential bid, DeSantis said today he expects to nullify Disney's last-minute deal with Reedy Creek Improvement District, continuing to retaliate against Disney for its public opposition to the so-called "Don't Say Gay Bill."

You can watch the full press conference below.

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castlecake2.011 days ago

Yes

Stripes11 days ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt11 days ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee11 days ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o11 days ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian11 days ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt11 days ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude8111 days ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian11 days ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude8111 days ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.

lazyboy97o11 days ago

You don’t think dropping your bargaining power in the middle is the best strategy in a negotiation?

flynnibus11 days ago

Again… we know nothing except both sides have shown signs of positive attitude and certainty of successful outcomes. What does that mean? None if us know. All we can speculate is… they know a lot more than they have said publicly… and obvious things like "desantis is not perpetual…" were clearly obvious to them when they made these choices.

UNCgolf11 days ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus11 days ago

“Right now…” Yes, we all know this. But again, we don’t know what back room deal they have setup. Who knows… it could even include new legislation promises… Or Disney is just rolling with the hand they are dealt… maybe they have accepted that the time to sunset their advantages of rcid is here… none of us can tell what their true intentions are right now.