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

[ParentsOf4]

Disney is battling a more immediate clock than DeSantis, the collapse of its reputation rating among consumers:

In a deeply divided United States, does a drawn-out legal battle help Disney repair their reputation?

Iger already stated:

To the extent that I can work to quiet things down, I’m going to do that. But I think it’s important to put in perspective what some of these subjects are and not just simply brand them political.​

Iger doesn't get to decide what gets branded as political; that's beyond his control. If Disney fights this, it will be framed as political. So then how does a drawn-out political battle align with Iger's desire to "quiet things down?"

DeSantis is going away in few years. A legal battle will take longer than that.

Disney's long-term interests might be best served by "quieting things down" for a year or two and instead focussing on improving their perception among consumers. Take this strategy and I predict that Disney will have control over the new RCID in 3 to 5 years. Fight it, and Disney risks damaging their reputation further in the short-term and, long-term, losing important legal battles in the conservative Florida Supreme Court, 11th Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court. It's risky going down this path, even if we feel Disney is in the right.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Disney is battling a more immediate clock than DeSantis, the collapse of its reputation rating among consumers:

View attachment 692838


In a deeply divided United States, does a drawn-out legal battle help Disney repair its repulation?

Iger already stated:

To the extent that I can work to quiet things down, I’m going to do that. But I think it’s important to put in perspective what some of these subjects are and not just simply brand them political.​

Iger doesn't get to decide what gets branded as political; that's beyond his control. If Disney fights this, it will be framed as political. So then how does a drawn-out political battle align with Iger's desire to "quiet things down?"

DeSantis is going away in few years. A legal battle will take longer than that.

Disney's long-term interests might be best served by "quieting things down" for a year or two and instead focussing on improving their perception among consumers. Take this strategy and I predict that Disney will have control over the new RCID in 3 to 5 years. Fight it, and Disney risks damaging their reputation further in the short-term and, long-term, losing important legal battles in the conservative Florida Supreme Court, 11th Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court. It's risky going down this path, even if we feel Disney is in the right.

Only a very few number of court cases get big, ongoing press coverage and they’re typically criminal cases. A headline at the beginning and a headline at rulings is not that big of an issue, especially since the people it will turn off are already turned off by “wokeness” that Disney is not abandoning. This isn’t changing in the short term.

 

[mkt]

Spiteful is not a strategy for building grass roots loyalty.

Ehhh... a former US president built an entire campaign out of spite. And his supporters still tend to be the loudest voices in any room.

 

[sedati]

Spiteful is not a strategy for building grass roots loyalty.

It's a card in Disney's deck however. I'm not saying they should play it, but they should have some numbers at the ready.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The legislature didn't seem to think so about two decades ago. They produced a full report saying that the district couldn't be dissolved in the face of a possibility of Disney being acquired and no longer owning WDW.



DeSantis has also said that the legislation will transfer the district's debt to Disney. Even if Disney were going to not fight the state-controlled district, I have a hard time thinking that they will quietly allow a ton of debt to be transferred to their balance sheet.

The state created RCID and could at any time dissolve RCID. They didn't until now because both Florida and and TWDC valued their partnership. DeSantis and TWDC got into an argument over the law passed in Florida and DeSantis simply did what the state always had the power to do.

Whatever report the state produced two decades ago saying "district couldn't be dissolved in the face of a possibility of Disney being acquired and no longer owning WDW" show just how much the state and TWDC were indeed partners.

TWDC could always be acquired, and the state could not stop it.

If TWDC stays on its current path, I would not be surprised if it does get acquired.

 

[flynnibus]

Disney is battling a more immediate clock than DeSantis, the collapse of its reputation rating among consumers:

Of which virtually none has to do with RCID

In a deeply divided United States, does a drawn-out legal battle help Disney repair their reputation?

Which is why Disney will sit back and watch RCID and others be the soldiers. Something stated how many pages ago? And when we look at all the stories since.. whose at the table? Not Disney.

These kinds of court fights are not CourtTV stuff. They cycle through years of fillings and motions... none of which will be news worthy until conclusions are drawn and new appeals start. The news you are going to see is when the courts first issue their stays, and when new players join the fight. Besides that, it will be years of minutia that will never make the headlines.

 

[flynnibus]

It's a card in Disney's deck however. I'm not saying they should play it, but they should have some numbers at the ready.

Disney wants to be the good neighbor, good employer, and bedrock of Florida. Threatening the public isn't in that book.

 

[flynnibus]

The state created RCID and could at any time dissolve RCID. They didn't until now because both Florida and and TWDC valued their partnership. DeSantis and TWDC got into an argument over the law passed in Florida and DeSantis simply did what the state always had the power to do.

Whatever report the state produced two decades ago saying "district couldn't be dissolved in the face of a possibility of Disney being acquired and no longer owning WDW" show just how much the state and TWDC were indeed partners.

TWDC could always be acquired, and the state could not stop it.

If TWDC stays on its current path, I would not be surprised if it does get acquired.

For the love of god - please stop

 

[mikejs78]

I agree.

I also think it’s a bit presumptive to view this as a uniquely “DeSantis” issue. Disney’s brand appeal has cratered amongst Republicans in general. Given the GOP supermajorities that voted in favor of this, can anyone say with any confidence that the GOP nominees post-DeSantis will be more favorably disposed towards Disney?

In terms of timing, the RCID unravelling begins soon.

Meh. I don't buy this whole opinion of Disney has cratered thing. The most recent polls on this were taken right at the time of the don't say gay bill, so the poll may just have been a fleeting reflection of that controversy.

More importantly it hasn't been reflected in park attendance, merchandise sales, the box office, and Disney+ subscriptions. So some people may be mad at "woke" Disney, but they are still visiting the parks, their kids are still watching Mickey, and they're still going to see Avatar.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The state created RCID and could at any time dissolve RCID. They didn't until now because both Florida and and TWDC valued their partnership. DeSantis and TWDC got into an argument over the law passed in Florida and DeSantis simply did what the state always had the power to do.

Whatever report the state produced two decades ago saying "district couldn't be dissolved in the face of a possibility of Disney being acquired and no longer owning WDW" show just how much the state and TWDC were indeed partners.

TWDC could always be acquired, and the state could not stop it.

If TWDC stays on its current path, I would not be surprised if it does get acquired.

Why not go and actually read the report?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Meh. I don't buy this whole opinion of Disney has cratered thing. The most recent polls on this were taken right at the time of the don't say gay bill, so the poll may just have been a fleeting reflection of that controversy.

More importantly it hasn't been reflected in park attendance, merchandise sales, the box office, and Disney+ subscriptions. So some people may be mad at "woke" Disney, but they are still visiting the parks, their kids are still watching Mickey, and they're still going to see Avatar.

It also conflates all sorts of issues as being aligned. It’s ultimately just another version of the tired claim that every issue related to reputation is tied to “wokeness.” It completely misses that people can have a less favorable view of Disney because their last few movies haven’t been very good, because costs are too high, that they don’t treat workers well and that they’re not “woke” enough.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The steps leading up the the dissolution of RCID very much are related to Disney’s reputation. The perception is Disney went woke, Disney’s reputation plunged and DeSantis jumped on that to dissolve RCID.

Disney’s reputation is down and wokeness is one of the reasons. DeSantis fighting Disney’s wokeness is one item that propelled him to a landslide victory in November.

DeSantis is going to make sure every little legal challenge gets framed as “Disney” in big bold letters. Doesn’t matter if it’s RCID or the residents of Bay Lake or Lake Buena Vista (both of which Disney effectively controls).

DeSantis will shout “woke Disney bad” every chance he gets. This alone could get him the Republican nomination.

A legal battle for the next 2 years is a political win for DeSantis.

This is not at all an accurate retelling of the events and completely devoid of context. Dissolving Reedy Creek Improvement District was not a one and done act of opportunity.

 

[SteveAZee]

Previously, I never thought Universal Orlando could put a dent in WDW’s business, but now I am beginning to re think that.

Universal Orlando is indestructible!

(too soon?)

 

[mikejs78]

Disney’s reputation is down and wokeness is one of the reasons.

Sure, but we don't know how much of a reason it is. Some other reasons:

• Disney's quality has gone down
• The experience at Disney parks has deteriorated
• Disney is nickle and diming it's customers
• Disney isn't woke enough

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

If Disney was the same beloved company it was a decade ago this fight never would have happened in the first place, that change in perception still surprises me more than the actual fight,

As Disney regains their popularity via goodwill things like eliminating parking fees, eliminating AP reservations, bringing back shows, etc the harder it will be for the Governor to continue his campaign against them.

 

[Thelazer]

Disney could do a lot more for central florida... frankly it's time they did.

 

[Dranth]

I don’t see them caving in. They would be letting a hostile government tax them through the creation of an illegal district they have no say over. One that blatantly violates the state constitution. That would be putting themselves at the mercy of the very people already trying to screw them over who, by the way, can’t possibly be that interested in a strong Disney when they are out there bashing them in public whenever they get a chance.

They have been through these things before and will again. Most people will come back if they make the product worth it and the ones that won’t, I doubt they are a large enough group for them to care about.

 

[GoofGoof]

I'm sure all of that will come up in debate as the bills go through committees during the Florida Session. I would expect amendments from both parties on it. I certainly agree their best long-term play is low profile. Every CM in Disney is entitled to their own point of view on parental rights bill. That doesn't necessarily mean Disney had to weigh in on it when their interests are the theme parks, cruises, and Vero Beach resort.

Well the debate when they passed the bill to dissolve RCID was certainly robust and well thought out

You do realize that every corporation in America has taken positions on political issues, right? Why do people keep acting as if Disney is alone in doing this. The only difference in this case was a politician saw a way to benefit by attacking it….not for the benefit of anyone who actually lives in FL but for his own career goals and to line his pockets with political donations.

 

[mkt]

Disney could do a lot more for central florida... frankly it's time they did.

Central Florida would still be a backwater if it weren't for Disney. It could be argued that they've done quite a bit.

 

[lazyboy97o]

A few years ago, I suspect the majority of Republicans loved Disney. Republicans will once again love Disney if it focuses on business.

After all, it wasn’t that long ago that loving corporate America was the Republican Party’s mantra.

From his public statements, it appears that Iger is not happy that the company got dragged into this. Iger is the one who said he wants to “quiet things down” “to the extent that I can.” It’s possible that quieting things down is one step (one of several) that Iger is considering to get Disney back on good footing.

Iger has a lot of issues to resolve in less than 2 years. Does he want a public fight with DeSantis to be one of them? (DeSantis will continue to make this very public as he already has.) If Iger decides to fight this, it will still be in the courts when Iger is scheduled to leave in less than 2 years.

To me, this only makes sense if Iger believes a DeSantis appointed board intends to stick it to Disney. I don’t see this happening. A strong Walt Disney World is good for Florida business.

Once DeSantis is gone, I suspect Disney will once again have a friendly state legislature to work with.

Again, I predict that if Disney waits out DeSantis, they’ll control the new RCID in 3 to 5 years.

I dunno. Maybe it makes sense for Disney to fight now. After all, Disney is the wronged party.

But sometimes the best way to win a fight is to not fight at all.

Iger had no problem making political statements. This idea that he was some neutral party is just more revisionist nonsense. More than anything he would have made Disney’s opposition clear from the beginning. The whole reason it became an issue in the first place is because people expected Disney to speak up, which is the exact opposite of the current narrative that Disney was expected to keep quiet. When Chapek started, the narrative was that he was the conservative who was going to make Disney less political and less “woke”. He was fighting with Iger to be less political. That’s exactly what he tried to do that blew up. Now suddenly it’s Iger who is going to change the direction he very much set.

Why would a DeSantis board not try to stick it to Disney? That’s their entire reason for existing. They have no other purpose besides punishing Disney. The whole reason we’re talking about a potential new district is because Plan A wasn’t thought out and doesn’t hurt Disney. Then there was the apparent Plan B of a protection racket “compromise” that got canned when it was not reported as a win for DeSantis. So now we’re on to Plan C that’s more completely designed to stick it to Disney.