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

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The City of Orlando is still paying off bonds issued to upgrade the roads around Universal Orlando Resort over 20 years ago. Universal didn’t just pay to get the work done up front, additional taxes are instead levied to finance the bonds. It’s a rather common process.

Exactly..nobody writes a check for big expenses. Christ…everyone pay cash for your house? Even if you have it?

I think few of the supporters of this stupido bill even understand the slightest thing how these mechanisms work in the real world.

 

[Disstevefan1]

It has nothing to do with not wanting to pay.

OK. In any event, not to worry, Orange and Osceola counties will take care of it.....

 

[Disstevefan1]

They win, but they do pay. Part of the extra taxes RCID imposes are there specifically to pay off that debt. They just do it in installments because other companies and people were willing to foot the initial bill.

Now if you are saying they won't have to pay for it because RCID is going to be dissolved then yes, as it stands now that looks like the case but it isn't like they issued that debt thinking they weren't going to be paying for it.

Yes because RCID is going to be dissolved, Disney wins again.

 

[mikejs78]

I assume that everyone (who am I kidding? ) saw the second act of the reedy creek thing they tried to bury Friday afternoon??

What specifically are you referring to here?

These kinds of things are common practice in all kinds of public and private scenarios.

In my state, colleges until recently borrowed money for construction at almost zero interest from the state. Allowing them to Invest their own money/grow their endowment.

Lost story short - Princeton has a few bucks.

But at the end of the day…who benefitted? Pretty much everyone affected at all.

Reedy creek has benefited everyone in Florida beyond measure. Silly to suggest otherwise.

If chapek had balls…he’s have a presser by the sign across from Disney springs and say “listen, you B rate State…how dare you open your mouth about us at all? Take a look at where you are and what’s built in 20 miles in every direction…and your wallet.”

And he’s be right end the end.

But he totally sucks…of course.

Bingo. That would be the smart thing. But it's Bob, so he won't do it.

 

[MandaM]

OK. In any event, not to worry, Orange and Osceola counties will take care of it.....

But that would be DeSantis’ fault, not Disney’s.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yes because RCID is going to be dissolved, Disney wins again.

…maybe.

There’s no doubt that orange and Osceola would be royally screwed…but Disney responses could also hurt them. We probably will never find out.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

What specifically are you referring to here?

What’s being called the worst gerrymandered redistricting map in US history…Friday afternoon after this.

The Press always goes for the shiny object.

I won’t go onto deeper political detail. To attempt to keep this completely political discussion just on Disney/reedy

 

[ParentsOf4]

Absolutely no one who travels to wdw and has any clue about the history of its development thinks this “shouldn’t have been done”

They probably Just can’t warp their brain around that.

You are still referring to reedy creek, correct?

Yes, Reedy Creek should not have been dissolved, at least not for this specific reason.

An argument could be made that RCID no longer serves the purpose it was intended to.

As I recall, one of the drivers behind RCID was Walt’s Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow, which never was built.

Another was that the then small county of Orange could not handle a project of this size. The Orange County budget is now over $5 billion and they now are capable of handling future Disney projects.

IMO, RCID is no longer needed for its original purpose but this is not a reason to eliminate it and shift its responsibilities to Orange County.

Another possible reason is that RCID provides Disney with a competitive advantage. But over the last decade, Universal has shown itself to be more nimble than Disney, and Universal goes through Orange County.

Maybe there is a good reason to eliminate RCID, but cannot think of it.

 

[peter11435]

What’s being called the worst gerrymandered redistricting map in US history…Friday afternoon after this.

The Press always goes for the shiny object.

I won’t go onto deeper political detail. To attempt to keep this completely political discussion just on Disney/reedy

yep. Keeping that out of the media spotlight was one of the factors driving this legislation

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yes, Reedy Creek should not have been dissolved, at least not for this specific reason.

An argument could be made that RCID no longer serves the purpose it was intended to.

As I recall, one of the drivers behind RCID was Walt’s Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow, which never was built.

Another was that the then small county of Orlando could not handle a project of this size. The Orlando County budget is now over $5 billion and they now are capable of handling future Disney projects.

IMO, RCID is no longer needed for its original purpose but this is not a reason to eliminate it and shift its responsibilities to Orlando County.

Another possible reason is that RCID provides Disney with a competitive advantage. But over the last decade, Universal has shown itself to be more nimble than Disney, and Universal goes through Orlando County.

Maybe there is a good reason to eliminate RCID, but cannot think of it.

The reality is you don’t have the non-gambling entertainment Mecca on I-4 without the RCID…all development fanned out from there…all of it.

So what good is it to analyze it now? You can’t fix what isn’t broken except for politics/semantics

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

yep. Keeping that out of the media spotlight was one of the factors driving this legislation

Probably 70%

The other 30% was “lib owning”

And of course 101% about money…in the end

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yes, Reedy Creek should not have been dissolved, at least not for this specific reason.

An argument could be made that RCID no longer serves the purpose it was intended to.

As I recall, one of the drivers behind RCID was Walt’s Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow, which never was built.

Another was that the then small county of Orlando could not handle a project of this size. The Orlando County budget is now over $5 billion and they now are capable of handling future Disney projects.

IMO, RCID is no longer needed for its original purpose but this is not a reason to eliminate it and shift its responsibilities to Orlando County.

Another possible reason is that RCID provides Disney with a competitive advantage. But over the last decade, Universal has shown itself to be more nimble than Disney, and Universal goes through Orlando County.

Maybe there is a good reason to eliminate RCID, but cannot think of it.

Both the original legislation and Florida Supreme Court ruling focus on developing tourism, not building a city. Even as a city, EPCOT was understood as a tourist attraction.

The county building the infrastructure is not just an issue of ability but cost. The District places costs for construction and maintenance entirely on Disney. No need for deals.

What is this big competitive advantage over the other parks? Universal getting taxpayers to help foot the bill for roads seems like an advantage to them.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Yes, Reedy Creek should not have been dissolved, at least not for this specific reason.

An argument could be made that RCID no longer serves the purpose it was intended to.

As I recall, one of the drivers behind RCID was Walt’s Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow, which never was built.

Another was that the then small county of Orlando could not handle a project of this size. The Orlando County budget is now over $5 billion and they now are capable of handling future Disney projects.

IMO, RCID is no longer needed for its original purpose but this is not a reason to eliminate it and shift its responsibilities to Orlando County.

Another possible reason is that RCID provides Disney with a competitive advantage. But over the last decade, Universal has shown itself to be more nimble than Disney, and Universal goes through Orlando County.

Maybe there is a good reason to eliminate RCID, but cannot think of it.

I can't even buy the argument that it should be dissolved because EPCOT as a city wasn't built. If anything, what exists now is likely much more complex and requires even more infrastructure (and the maintenance and upgrades that go along with it) than EPCOT would have as a community. To me (and others may disagree and that's fine), that just amplifies the need to maintain RCID. Whether that was by design or not, I can't say on way or the other.

 

[mmascari]

Orlando County taxes are due March 31, so not quite a full year to figure something out.

Assuming nothing changes, since everyone who will be responsible if nothing changes has to assume that's what is going to happen.

How long does it take to implement changing services? Just the mechanics of making the change. Say the fire department. Assuming no people or any infrastructure are changed, only the controlling entity. At a minimum payroll and benefits need to be transitioned from RCID to some new entity. Just implementing that change takes time.

How long does it take to plan that implementation? How to figure out how to onboard all the people, how to "fire" them from the prior entity, any differences in benefits and pay. How many are going to stay, how many go, will there still be enough to run the services.

Take those two times, but make them much larger since it will also require a full inventory of services transitioning and determining what to keep, what overlaps, and how to merge them in.

Now, subtract all that time from the dissolution date that is the current law. That's your new drop dead date to have some other hypothetical solution that doesn't need all those things done.


Having been involved in corporate mergers more than once, I can tell you those issues are substantial even when everyone wants the same thing.

There's nowhere near a year from now until the impacts start.

Bonus, if they assume it's not happening and then it does, it'll be a total catastrophe. The kind where people don't get paid, services fail, and people are hurt.

 

[mmascari]

That's like saying the only reason to get a credit card or a mortgage is to not have to pay for your purchases.

Wait, can I get a Disney Visa with that plan to pay for my trip?

Is that an option? Open a new Disney Visa, use it to pay for the trip (VIP passes for all), then just walk away from the bill.

WooHooooo, no lines here we come!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Having been involved in corporate mergers more than once, I can tell you those issues are substantial even when everyone wants the same thing.

Like what kind of space you want at the ride the company you are merging with is building at Walt Disney World. The entrance to Space 220 was supposed to be a conference and demonstration space that was added late to the project for Compaq but then abandoned before completion by HP when they ended up in charge.

 

[Archie123]

Wait, can I get a Disney Visa with that plan to pay for my trip?

Is that an option? Open a new Disney Visa, use it to pay for the trip (VIP passes for all), then just walk away from the bill.

WooHooooo, no lines here we come!

You basically described what many Americans do.

 

[mmascari]

Like what kind of space you want at the ride the company you are merging with is building at Walt Disney World. The entrance to Space 220 was supposed to be a conference and demonstration space that was added late to the project for Compaq but then abandoned before completion by HP when they ended up in charge.

In my cases, they were more personal. Along the lines of "are you still going to pay me" and "is my desk moving 500 miles".

The first time the answers were Yes and No.
The second time the answers were Yes and No at first, and then became No and "there is no desk". My subsequent employer after was happy to solve those for me.

Space 220 is a traumatic topic. I forgot to check on a reservation right at 60 days. Now it just mocks me with"Sorry! There are no times available between 4:00 PM and 8:40 PM.".

 

[GoofGoof]

Morgan Stanley?? Chase bought them about 20 years ago.

You talking about Diamond Jamie?!!

He’s take more sweet blue dem dollars of the years than anyone…similar to the disgraced real estate king of queens.

I wasn’t really talking about anyone in particular. Fill in any bank on Wall Street. I think you are thinking of JP Morgan merging with Chase.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Both the original legislation and Florida Supreme Court ruling focus on developing tourism, not building a city. Even as a city, EPCOT was understood as a tourist attraction.

The county building the infrastructure is not just an issue of ability but cost. The District places costs for construction and maintenance entirely on Disney. No need for deals.

What is this big competitive advantage over the other parks? Universal getting taxpayers to help foot the bill for roads seems like an advantage to them.

Correct…and RCID - Disney - having sole negotiating control/power on infrastructure actually saves the counties money on the whole. They get shared cost on tie ins…

There is/was the Osceola parkway exception…but you cAnt win em all