News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

[LAKid53]

Yes, that's the case.... The record number of people and businesses who are flocking to Florida and other southern to escape the malaise and filth in their home states are sending a message all right...

That's not the sole reason. It's called better weather and low taxes.

 

[monothingie]

That's not the sole reason RCID was created. The creation of the special district meant taxpayers didn't have to pay for the necessary infrastructure to build WDW, which was located in swamp land MILES from things like water & waste facilities.

So maybe now, the district has outlived its usefulness and can be eliminated.

 

[monothingie]

That's not the sole reason. It's called better weather and low taxes.

Darn those business killing low taxes!

 

[el_super]

So maybe now, the district has outlived its usefulness and can be eliminated.

But isn't that just going to result in bigger government, since the management of the area will effectively fall onto the locals?

 

[Tha Realest]

So maybe now, the district has outlived its usefulness and can be eliminated.

Good point. It's been five decades. How much more "improvement" is in the cards?

 

[Sir_Cliff]

That a segment of elected officials have latched onto challenging our democracy should be raising red flags in the mind of every American. I find the fact that it isn't, and that some Americans seem to love it, extremely unsettling.

It is quite something how quickly people switch from being small-state, staunch defenders of freedom to cheering on creeping authoritarianism led by the state as long as they feel they'll be on the same side as those holding power and it's the other side who will be silenced and cowed.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What other companies have Reedy Creek like self-governance? What potential companies are being offered Reedy Creek like self-governance if they move to or expand in Florida?

Does Universal Studios get that self-governance benefit? Sea World? Darden's corporate offices?

Any large scale developer. A variety of tools, including special districts, allows The Villages to wield many of the same powers. Buy 1,000 acres and you can get one for yourself.

 

[Dranth]

So then why the collective outrage? Why should Disney a large multi-billion dollar company get special privileges?

Can you imagine if Exxon-Mobil or Monsanto got special legislation passed to give them a leg up on their competitors?

The why of it matters.

Had this come up on it’s own and presented as a fair business issue there likely wouldn’t be much said about it, but It wasn't. It was a whiny and childish reaction by a group of extremely thinned skinned politicians who are throwing a tantrum because a company dared to disagree with them.

I’m sure Disney would like to keep the current arrangement but it isn’t going to hurt them that bad if it goes.

In the end, they will outlast every last person in the current state legislator and can make new arrangements/deals with a more friendly group down the line.

 

[LAKid53]

What other companies have Reedy Creek like self-governance? What potential companies are being offered Reedy Creek like self-governance?

Does Universal Studios get that self-governance benefit? Sea World? Darden's corporate offices?

Universal didn't have a presence in Florida until the late 1980s. And it was built in an area already developed.

Special governing districts include the Village Center Community Development District - the governing body of The Villages which is a census designated place in the state; the Central Florida Expressway Authority (if the Legislature abolishes that, can we stop paying tolls on the Turnpike?); the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and the Daytona Beach Racing & Recreational Facilities District.

Stop comparing Central Florida of the mid-1960s with the Central Florida of the 1990s.

 

[LAKid53]

Darn those business killing low taxes!

Which are made up for in other ways...we call them usage fees down here.

 

[durangojim]

I'm confused. Don't you think it important that your boss has your back over hate legislation. Isn't that the same as you are advocating?
You were facing an individual and dealt with the bigotry directly with that person. That didn't require public denunciation. Hate of lifestyle propagated by a government in a land that used to pride itself on its constitutional equality is a curse on civilization and completely without merit when laws are created that are dictated by bigots. If no one fights back, we fall deeper into becoming one of those **ithole third world countries a former president used to speak about.

Without wading in to an argument, I think certain legislation can be debated about how "hateful" it is. I'm also not smart enough to see how this legislation would have actually affected those protesting in California or the employees in Florida as I don't think they're teachers or K-12 students. And yes, I dealt with bigotry by doing something directly. Not yelling at the sky and wringing my hands about a law that had already passed. Politics is a two way street and it is not altruistic or pure. There are smart ways to deal with things and there are stupid ways to deal with things. Let's go back to medicine. I suggest a colonoscopy or colon cancer screening to all appropriate patients. If they tell me they don't want to have one I don't say, "Why not! What's wrong with you!? Don't you know that you could die and this can be prevented you idiot?" I ask them, "If you were diagnosed with colon cancer would you want to treat it?" If they say, no (which some do) I say fair enough and that's the end of the discussion. But for those who would want to treat it, I'll ask, "What are your concerns about having one?" respectfully and try to address their concerns. I then have about an 85-90% success rate in having them get the test. Same applies to politics. If you treat everyone who doesn't agree with you as an evil idiot, you get outcomes like this. The one reason Iger was good at politics is because he understood this. You can disagree without being completely adversarial. Social media cranks everything up to 11. Figure out why half of Floridians agree with the bill. Acknowledge what they're hoping to accomplish without calling them hateful. Also acknowledge that this will affect LGBTQ individuals and states how you'd mitigate that within Disney. Politics is very much a chess game and Chapek doesn't appear to be very good at it. BTW my undergrad degrees are in Poli Sci (thank goodness I became a physician otherwise I'd be out of work I'm sure) and psychology.

 

[TP2000]

Any large scale developer. A variety of tools, including special districts, allows The Villages to wield many of the same powers. Buy 1,000 acres and you can get one for yourself.

I get to build a jetport and an atomic power plant?

Reedy Creek is not just unusual for Florida, it's very unusual for America. It was something that probably only could have happened in the 1950's and 60's, and it still needed a unique man like Walt at the height of his career to pull it off.

The Villages is a big, cheesy housing development with limited local governance and weekly bingo. I just got back from Easter weekend in Rancho Mirage, we even have those big master-planned private communities here in SoCal.

 

[wdwmagic]

Florida Senate passes a bill to dissolve Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District​

Florida Senate passes a bill to dissolve Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continues to seek revenge on Disney for opposing his "Don't Say Gay Bill."

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[Midwest Elitist]

This has been incredibly funny to watch

 

[Disney Analyst]

Some Twitter posts I gel with:

 

[castlecake2.0]

A year seems like plenty of time for Disney and the residents of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake to find a way to stop the dissolution.

 

[TXRob]

Brings me to tears how some folks have really embraced that private industry trumps government run anything....It's really something to see! The worries about tax rates and high taxes...you get choked up how much people are starting to embrace these issues! : )

 

[Jlasoon]

Once the tax loophole is gone - fully expect FL to go after that one next - Disney sells off the parks business.

 

[Joel]

That's not the sole reason. It's called better weather and low taxes.

I don't think anyone is moving from southern California to Florida for the weather.

 

[Horizons '83]

This is how I feel as well, this is 100% political theatre to put Disney on watch, and to make Ronnie look good. There could be some changes that come out of this but I doubt they can dissolve Reddy Creek. I've always hated politics, and this just gives me one more reason to.