Disney's lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is dismissed

Jan 31, 2024 in "Central Florida Tourism Oversight District"

Posted: Wednesday January 31, 2024 2:27pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

This afternoon, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor has dismissed Disney's federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and DeSantis' Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board.

The former Reedy Creek Improvement District HQ is now home to a Ron DeSantis appointed board of supervisors and CEO

As part of a 17 page ruling, Judge Winsor said, "In short, Disney lacks standing to sue the Governor or the Secretary, and its claims against the CFTOD Defendants fail on the merits because 'when a statute is facially constitutional, a plaintiff cannot bring a free-speech challenge by claiming that the lawmakers who passed it acted with a constitutionally impermissible purpose.'" The 46 year old Orlando-born Republican Judge was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019.

Last year, DeSantis and CFTOD filed a motion to dismiss Disney's federal lawsuit, in which the entertainment giant claimed that there has been "A targeted campaign of government retaliation-orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."

Lawyers for DeSantis and CFTOD have argued that it doesn't matter if the governor's actions were in retaliation, with Disney lawyers taking the opposite position.

Judge Winsor has issued his ruling today saying, "This case was resolved on motions to dismiss. Plaintiff's claims against the Governor and the Department Secretary are dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff's claims against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board members are dismissed on the merits for failure to state a claim."

Notably, the ruling does suggest that Disney may have standing to sue the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board members. While the court dismissed Disney's claims against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Secretary of Florida's Department of Commerce due to lack of standing, it acknowledged that Disney has demonstrated sufficient standing to bring a claim against the CFTOD Defendants.

In a statement released following the court case's dismissal, a Disney spokesperson told WDWMAGIC, "This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here. If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case."

You can read the judge's full findings here.

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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.