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

[mkt]

Aren't those signs great?!? It's 21st century California perfectly encapsulated in mandatory signage.

Keep in mind, this was passed by the voters - not by the politicians.

Florida doesn't have anywhere near the level of direct Democracy as California does.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I wonder if this ridiculous new board would have the leverage to get Riptide at Typhoon Lagoon and the other on-property Gay Days parties cancelled.

 

[tissandtully]

Keep in mind, this was passed by the voters - not by the politicians.

Florida doesn't have anywhere near the level of direct Democracy as California does.

to its detriment, the recall process is kind of crazy, but you are correct Californians have a lot of sway in their government, WAY more than Florida.

 

[mkt]

to its detriment, the recall process is kind of crazy, but you are correct Californians have a lot of sway in their government, WAY more than Florida.

In Florida, it's by voting during elections - that's it. Our ballot initiatives are basically limited to constitutional amendments at a state level, which are then enacted and restricted by the governor (see medicinal marijuana and the restrictions they placed, or more appropriately, restoring felon's voting rights)

 

[lazyboy97o]

Genuine question… was the previous board qualified?

I always got the impression RcID was just an extension of Disney, comprised of 5 people Disney hand picked to rent some mobile homes on Disney property and then appointed to the board.

Were they highly trained infrastructure specialists or just random people that would look at the plans the Disney lawyers and engineers handed them and be a rubber stamp?

The people varied but it would include people like the fire marshal who wasn’t even a Disney employee. They’re not big names like Kalogridis or D’Amaro because they tended to be people from more mundane technical roles.

The board themselves didn’t not review specific projects by the various entities that operate within the District (this goes beyond the landowners as things like STK and Coca-Cola were built by those companies, not Disney). I’m terms of building review, Reedy Creek Improvement District is known for being incredibly strict and not at all just doing as Disney desires. Disney would often want to do things not allowed by the building and fire officials.

The board was involved in district projects. Yes they were often aligned with Disney but there was still a lot of work involved. The work was not done personally by the board but they ensured it was done by competent persons and had some familiarity with what was required.

The new board isn’t prohibited from being more directly involved. Ever been stuck with an inexperienced, micromanaging boss/clients/etc? It doesn’t have to be out of malice that they can gum up the works, just a basic lack of familiarity can slow things down as they question everything that is a given. “Why are all these pipes sticking up out of the ground over here?” “Thats the backflow preventer, it’s required by code.” “What does it do? Do we really need it? Does it have to be here? Can we put it somewhere else?” Just that sort of stuff can slow things down.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I wonder if this ridiculous new board would have the leverage to get Riptide at Typhoon Lagoon and the other on-property Gay Days parties cancelled.

It would be incredibly easy to get them shut down or at least interrupted for things like code violations.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Keep in mind, this was passed by the voters - not by the politicians.

Florida doesn't have anywhere near the level of direct Democracy as California does.

Keep in mind, that to some facts are irrelevant.

 

[LittleBuford]

But somehow disbanding the RCID is going to be too tough for Disney to deal with in Florida?

It isn't being disbanded. It is being renamed and turned into an organ of the state government.

 

[networkpro]

This may get removed, but I just got back from a wonderful three days at Disneyland Paris and was very pleasantly reminded of all the things that made me love Disney parks in the first place and why I don't really have much desire to return to Walt Disney World. Everything from queuing to maintenance to the generally positive atmosphere was a real throwback to a time before reservations, Genie+, creaking old attractions, etc.

Coming home to this thread just reiterates my feeling that I'm happy to leave Florida to the Floridians. I'm sure a lot of people would be aghast at the amount of piercings and tattoos sported by the Paris cast, but at this point in time the live and let live attitude over there feels a lot more "Disney" than whatever is happening over in Orlando at the moment.

Hohoho, you obviously havent been watching that Parq for a while. you think WDW has maintenance issues?

 

[networkpro]

Oversight of what?

What power did RCID have that required state oversight?

When it was drawn up, there were significant items such as their own airport and a nuclear power generation plant on the plans.

 

[lazyboy97o]

When it was drawn up, there were significant items such as their own airport and a nuclear power generation plant on the plans.

So? Is a government owning an airport or nuclear power plant a problem?

 

[peter11435]

When it was drawn up, there were significant items such as their own airport and a nuclear power generation plant on the plans.

If Disney had built an airport or nuclear power plant the facilities would not have been exempt from state and federal oversight.

Disney is still allowed to own a nuclear power plant

 

[networkpro]

If Disney had built an airport or nuclear power plant the facilities would not have been exempt from state and federal oversight.

Disney is still allowed to own a nuclear power plant

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0330/0330.html

If you'll peruse that they also have state zoning approval for airports.

 

[lazyboy97o]

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0330/0330.html

If you'll peruse that they also have state zoning approval for airports.

So then what was the issue? Florida still allows private airports and private nuclear power plants, so Disney could still build, own and operate them.

 

[peter11435]

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0330/0330.html

If you'll peruse that they also have state zoning approval for airports.

What is your point?

 

[TP2000]

Two things:

1. The district hasn't been dissolved. It's still there, but now under the control of the governor's appointees.

RCID is now renamed into that Central Florida Tourism District, and Disney's appointed leaders are now appointed by Florida and will be making changes quickly. I would say the RCID as we've known it since 1966 has been dissolved. That seems the appropriate wording for it.

As for what changes will happen? I don't know. Does anyone know? I haven't seen much info like that yet.

Something tells me that the changes might seem shocking to some in Florida, but won't be more stringent than how Disneyland already operates under strict state control in California. The governmental oversight of WDW will likely remain more lenient in Florida, compared to the California parks.

As for taxation and county control of WDW property? I would imagine the Orlando counties are salivating over that.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I assume Disney sees the writing on the wall for a red sweep in 24’ with DeSantis at the helm and realize he can do a lot more damage there

All the more reason not to appease. It never, ever works. It only causes the escalation it is supposed to avoid.

 

[TP2000]

I expect them to quietly fund superpacs going for any and all of DeSantis's opponents.

If they're like most big companies, they'll give fairly evenly to both parties. That way, they can't lose regardless of who wins.

 

[MrPromey]

Yep. I assumed Disney was going to fight it in court. They decided not to.

Kind of implies they know something about all of this we don't, doesn't it?

Like either they were quietly handed a bigger threat or were advised of a script.

My guess is they got something for not fighting it and taking the fall.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Kind of implies they know something about all of this we don't, doesn't it?

Like either they were quietly handed a bigger threat or were advised of a script.

My guess is they got something for not fighting it and taking the fall.

What? What could this mystery prize be?

Why can’t it just be that appeasement always looks appealing which is why people keep making this same mistake?