Central Florida Tourism Oversight District appointed by Ron DeSantis formally declares Disney's agreements with Reedy Creek to be null and void

Apr 26, 2023 in "Central Florida Tourism Oversight District"

Posted: Wednesday April 26, 2023 10:30am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors met today and declared the February 8, 2023, Development Agreement and Declaration of Restrictive Covenants entered into by the Reedy Creek Improvement District and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts void and unenforceable.

The Ron DeSantis appointed board met today to nullify Disney and RCID's February 8 agreements

Earlier this week, the board released pages of legislative findings regarding the February 8 agreements that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District say makes them null and void.

Signed into effect on February 8, just as the Florida House passed the legislation to take control of Reedy Creek Improvement District, the new Developer Agreement gave Disney significant control of the RCID land and prevented the new board from making any changes to the agreement.

Chair of the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board Ron Garcia said during the meeting, "Disney picked the fight with his board. We were not looking for a fight." He continued, "Factual and legally, what they created is an absolute legal mess, and it will not work."

Today's vote to approve the findings now directs the litigation counsel to have Disney's agreements with Reedy Creek declared void and unenforceable and stricken from the public records of Orange and Osceola Counties.

Disney has not yet publically commented on these recent developments, and it remains unclear if it will challenge today's decision.

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Disstevefan1Apr 29, 2026

I think King better describers the power TWDC has in central Florida in my opinion.

GimpYancIentApr 29, 2026

King? No. More a Celebrity, an "A" lister.

Mr. SullivanApr 29, 2026

I don’t know, things are going pretty well here at the moment

DranthApr 28, 2026

It certainly doesn't work here in the US with how our system is setup, but in democracies that have say a parliamentary system where you have lots of small parties that are forced to compromise and work together to win control/pass laws/etc. it can work pretty well.

Disstevefan1Apr 28, 2026

Disney will do what Disney will do. They are free to cancel, scope cut, pause, delay projects or slow walk projects through fiscal quarter after fiscal quarter with no explanation. Disney is King in central Florida. They will never lose that power.

co10064Apr 28, 2026

It’s obvious that the gap in the parks’ development cycle was multi-faceted: • Lingering consequences from COVID • Prioritizing making streaming profitable • Shake ups in WDI • Change in CEO/ousting of Bob Chapek • Conflicts and uncertainty with the new district Not saying anything that went down with the district takeover was right, but I truly believe we’d still have seen a development gap without it.

Nevermore525Apr 28, 2026

Yep, which is what the re-formed district wanted to be until they realized they were hamstrung from doing so.

peter11435Apr 28, 2026

A hostile district would have been problematic for the DAK and DHS projects as well.

Tha RealestApr 28, 2026

I never said anyone lied under oath. The OP mentioned the RCID brouhaha was to blame for “WDW not adding more attractions” (not just MK). Not “penny pinching,” or a CEO shakeup, or COVID. Here’s their quote: All this reveals that all those 'annoyed' by WDW not adding more attractions during that time period should turn their annoyance at the governor's attack on the RCID which put expansions on hold, rather than railing on Disney's supposed penny-pinching. His statement was not limited to MK, or an MK expansion. My responses to him and you addressed this comment on those terms. I’ve offered plenty of examples of other parks where old attractions were cancelled pre-RCID, or where “remodel” occurred in other parks which wouldn’t have needed the extensive water credits you mentioned.

OG RunnerApr 28, 2026

To think some people say you can't read sarcasm.:D

LAKid53Apr 28, 2026

👍🏻 Because the LAST thing a company wants when suing the government is for your executives to commit perjury.

StripesApr 28, 2026

To be clear, even though they have zero reason to lie at all, you’re saying that Disney executives lied under oath about delaying the Magic Kingdom project due to the uncertainty caused by the CFTOD board? And your basis for this assertion is that they cut the budget for one project and therefore must have cancelled another entirely separate project with completely different financial justifications? Okay…

Disney AnalystApr 27, 2026

Parties debate, talk, and work together to table legislation that appeases all sides through compromise. Yes, some legislation may not get passed if they can’t agree, and sometimes the impasse becomes big enough to force an election. But that’s actually the point. Nothing rammed through unilaterally, no sweeping changes that get reversed the moment power shifts.