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

[GoofGoof]

It could be that the edible I took a short while ago is finally kicking in, but here's my though on how this whole thing plays out:

Disney is biding their time, waiting to let actual damages accumulate, then methodically sues Ron DeSantis, The State of Florida, CFTOD (the entity), and the CFTOD board members individually for the damages caused by their violation of the company's first, fourth, and fourteenth amendment rights.

At the same time, Disney will begin to donate insane amounts of money via dark-money groups to friendly politicians, and whoever is challenging those that made this law happen. They might even fund one of the movements to split the state into two, pushing Disney into the far more liberal southern half of the state.

And though enough Disney funded candidates will win to eliminate the state's republican supermajority, but not enough will win to shift control or split the state.

The case eventually ends up in SCOTUS, where Disney will likely win. But it will have been a pyrrhic victory, because in doing so, they will have successfully alienated half of the country and trashed their liquidity.

Now in a financially precarious situation, Disney gets split up, and we end up with a Disney now strictly as a movie studio, theme park/cruise operator, and licensing company; while other Disney brands and products are divested or sold to competitors/new entrants, who pay Disney fees for usage of their IP.

Meanwhile DeSantis, now term limited, never makes it to POTUS since no liberal or centrist would vote for him, and possibly settles for a return to congress from one of the districts he gerrymandered into existence.

Oh, and if Disney were to lose the case, that means the first, fourth, and fourteenth amendments are bunk, and you should leave the country immediately carrying only what you need.

They opened one of those recreational dispensaries right down the street from my office. Really need to stop in there one of these days

Anyway, as discussed earlier Disney is definitely playing the long game here. The potential massive lawsuit is a nuclear option that I’m sure isn’t plan A. Disney so far has played this as well as they can. Remember that the biggest goal for Disney is to win in the court of public opinion. They want to come off as the victim and the Governor and his cronies as extremists. So far that’s very much the national perception. Disney continues to point out their great relationship with FL, their future spending in the state and their future jobs added and how they are moving forward business as usual. They come across as calm, level headed and in control while the other side appears triggered, irrational and now a bit fanatical in this dispute. It’s a really good look for Disney.

I believe the long game definitely includes getting back into FL politics and political donations but not necessarily in the way you describe. Gerrymandered districts make the game less unpredictable. Disney can focus on Republican candidates who will side with them knowing that once they get in they can influence the party policies. So for Disney it may be less about backing Dems to overturn the GOP majority and more about backing the right Republicans in a primary. Remember that it takes money to win elections and most people running for state legislature seats don’t have deep pockets or national money flooding in, especially during the primary. Well placed donations can certainly play a major role going forward. Same goes for the next and future Governors. There is no guarantee that future GOP Governor candidates will continue DeSantis’s struggle against Disney. The board is appointed by the Governor so it’s possible to get a less biased board in the future.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Anyway, as discussed earlier Disney is definitely playing the long game here. The potential massive lawsuit is a nuclear option that I’m sure isn’t plan A. Disney so far has played this as well as they can. Remember that the biggest goal for Disney is to win in the court of public opinion. They want to come off as the victim and the Governor and his cronies as extremists. So far that’s very much the national perception. Disney continues to point out their great relationship with FL, their future spending in the state and their future jobs added and how they are moving forward business as usual. They come across as calm, level headed and in control while the other side appears triggered, irrational and now a bit fanatical in this dispute. It’s a really good look for Disney.

Just wondering, how is the fight playing out in the ... um, let's call it, "other media"?

 

[GoofGoof]

I can't find a single case of this happening in the past.

There is an exception for those running for US Congress (not the Senate), but as far as I can find, what you posted is untrue.

Florida may tweak resign-to-run law to aid a potential DeSantis 2024 run, leaders say

The current law says individuals running for federal office must resign. But some lawmakers think even under that law, DeSantis could run.

www.tampabay.com

It wouldn’t be the first time the Legislature has changed the rules to benefit a candidate they liked. In 2007, the resign-to-run law was tweaked to remove the requirement for federal candidates, as then-Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican at the time, was being eyed as a running mate for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid. Lawmakers in later years continued to tweak the law. In 2018, lawmakers explicitly outlined the requirement for candidates running for federal office to resign and removed an exception for presidential and vice presidential candidates, saying federal candidates must resign no later than 10 days before qualifying for office. A Senate analysis of the 2018 bill said it would likely reduce the number of special elections.

 

[castlecake2.0]

All these changes they’re proposing at the next meeting… can anyone object to them? Lake Buena Vista residents, landowners in the district? Or does the board report to no one other than the governor?

 

[mkt]

Or does the board report to no one other than the governor?

Bingo.

 

[Lilofan]

It just feels like they're waiting for the damages to happen, so they have an even better case to have the entire law struck down.

This is Florida. Disney will win.

Disney was a part of Florida long before DeSantis's parents set foot in the sunshine state, and they'll be here long after he's moved on to his next grift.

In the gov debate with Charlie C, DeSantis refused to answer if he will honor the four-year term as gov if he is elected. We know its a matter of time until he announces his next plan of himself.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Bingo.

Amazing piece of democracy

 

[Kamikaze]

Florida may tweak resign-to-run law to aid a potential DeSantis 2024 run, leaders say

The current law says individuals running for federal office must resign. But some lawmakers think even under that law, DeSantis could run.

www.tampabay.com

It wouldn’t be the first time the Legislature has changed the rules to benefit a candidate they liked. In 2007, the resign-to-run law was tweaked to remove the requirement for federal candidates, as then-Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican at the time, was being eyed as a running mate for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid. Lawmakers in later years continued to tweak the law. In 2018, lawmakers explicitly outlined the requirement for candidates running for federal office to resign and removed an exception for presidential and vice presidential candidates, saying federal candidates must resign no later than 10 days before qualifying for office. A Senate analysis of the 2018 bill said it would likely reduce the number of special elections.

The 2007 'change' never happened because he didn't pick Crist.

And the 2018 change is TO the law they have now - making it harder to run and stay.

 

[Kamikaze]

All these changes they’re proposing at the next meeting… can anyone object to them? Lake Buena Vista residents, landowners in the district? Or does the board report to no one other than the governor?

You can stand up at the meeting during the public statement section and say whatever you want. They don't have to do anything with what you said and can ignore you.

 

[lazyboy97o]

All these changes they’re proposing at the next meeting… can anyone object to them? Lake Buena Vista residents, landowners in the district? Or does the board report to no one other than the governor?

All of the changes are allowed by the reconstitution law. The only way to meaningfully object is to challenge the law itself. Disney allowing horrible precedents to be set which only encourages escalation.

 

[AEfx]

This is Florida. Disney will win.

They very well may, but I do keep seeing this recurring theme of people over-estimating how much support Disney actually has among Floridians, particularly natives.

In 40+ years of asking every person I ever met from Florida how cool it must have been to live near Disney, I have never gotten anything more positive than indifference at best, and often resentment and eye rolling. It used to disappoint me, especially when I was a kid, but I soon heard it so often that I realized it was just how things are.

The people in the rest of the state tend to view it as a tourist trap, labeling Orlando as the armpit of Florida (one has to wonder what Jacksonville is, then...). And this applies to even those from the greater Orlando area - who often may have gone a few times as a kid because their cousin/etc. worked there and they got a day pass, but do not have the type of affection of it being "home" like you get at Disneyland. It's often viewed as a greedy, elitist money pit.

(I'm sure there are native Floridians reading this who feel differently, but of course - we are at a WDW message board...)

And then when you look at what Disney has done in the past couple of decades, they have done little to endear themselves to the business community and their contribution to local economics. Once Disney introduced MYW and decided to go all out in being a one-stop destination, they really screwed over a lot of people, particularly small and locally owned businesses.

I've seen a lot of people cite the fact that x-million people fly to Orlando every year to go to Disney - but that doesn't do a lot for the rest of the local business community when they literally aren't setting foot off-property. The reason tourism is considered beneficial is because of all the ancillary business it brings to the whole area, which Disney did everything in their power to eliminate. Motels, restaurants, stores, car services, and so on - they all lost business and most didn't survive - heck, they have made movies about what a depressed economic crap hole the areas around Disney became.

TL;DR? Disney may very well "win" this, but those counting on the citizens of Florida supporting them because "it's Florida" vastly over-estimate what many Floridians actually feel about WDW.

 

[joshwill]

The blowback on the runDisney community would be crazy. I am only just starting to get into in-person racing I really hope this doesn't happen.

i would hazard a guess that those that do rundianey are generally not in the target audience that ronny is playing to. if he did do another revenge move like that on Disney, i doubt ot waould have much effect on his numbers, unfortunatly

 

[flynnibus]

Yet somehow there are more restaurants and hotels in orlando than anywhere else equivalent in the state… and businesses still choose to base there.

If its so bad… they’d be dead already

 

[GrumpyFan]

Iger shared his thoughts on the situation in an interview with Time​

I cannot let this interview finish without asking you about the situation in Florida. Did you checkmate Ron DeSantis?​

Disney World opened just over 50 years ago. It was the vision and the dream of Walt Disney, probably the most ambitious thing he ever did—turning swampland in Central Florida into a business that employs over 75,000 people, that is visited by tens of millions of people every year, that is a major tourist destination in the United States, and for the state of Florida, that creates huge value for our company and its employees, and for the state of Florida itself. Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that. We have the wherewithal and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida. It’s that simple.

Usually, you’re very much a let’s-sit-down-and-get-past-our differences guy, and much less a let’s-go-to-the-mattresses guy. Is there no trying to meet with the governor?​

I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us. If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that. You know, I’m one that typically has respected our elected officials and the responsibility that they have, and there would be no reason why I wouldn’t do that.

Read the full interview here: https://time.com/6269006/bob-iger-interview-time100/

 

[GhostHost1000]

Iger shared his thoughts on the situation in an interview with Time​

I cannot let this interview finish without asking you about the situation in Florida. Did you checkmate Ron DeSantis?​

Disney World opened just over 50 years ago. It was the vision and the dream of Walt Disney, probably the most ambitious thing he ever did—turning swampland in Central Florida into a business that employs over 75,000 people, that is visited by tens of millions of people every year, that is a major tourist destination in the United States, and for the state of Florida, that creates huge value for our company and its employees, and for the state of Florida itself. Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that. We have the wherewithal and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida. It’s that simple.

Usually, you’re very much a let’s-sit-down-and-get-past-our differences guy, and much less a let’s-go-to-the-mattresses guy. Is there no trying to meet with the governor?​

I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us. If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that. You know, I’m one that typically has respected our elected officials and the responsibility that they have, and there would be no reason why I wouldn’t do that.

Read the full interview here: https://time.com/6269006/bob-iger-interview-time100/

Ol Bobby just needs to try to get a Chef Mickeys dining reservation at 6am 60 days in advance for both of them to hash this out and take a photo with Mickey together next to the ice cream bar

 

[GoofGoof]

Iger shared his thoughts on the situation in an interview with Time​

I cannot let this interview finish without asking you about the situation in Florida. Did you checkmate Ron DeSantis?​

Disney World opened just over 50 years ago. It was the vision and the dream of Walt Disney, probably the most ambitious thing he ever did—turning swampland in Central Florida into a business that employs over 75,000 people, that is visited by tens of millions of people every year, that is a major tourist destination in the United States, and for the state of Florida, that creates huge value for our company and its employees, and for the state of Florida itself. Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that. We have the wherewithal and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida. It’s that simple.

Usually, you’re very much a let’s-sit-down-and-get-past-our differences guy, and much less a let’s-go-to-the-mattresses guy. Is there no trying to meet with the governor?​

I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us. If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that. You know, I’m one that typically has respected our elected officials and the responsibility that they have, and there would be no reason why I wouldn’t do that.

Read the full interview here: https://time.com/6269006/bob-iger-interview-time100/

Calm, cool and in control. Contrast his answers with the tantrum the other guy had….rambling on about winning every time.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Calm, cool and in control. Contrast his answers with the tantrum the other guy had….rambling on about winning every time.

I thought so as well. As always, he's very careful and deliberate in his response and comes across as the mature and reasonable adult in the situation. The only problem with that is Iger is the temporary figurehead for Disney right now. The same could be said for the state. Any agreements made between the two would be subject to the future leadership of both. I would like to hope that Iger in his cool reasoned responses will help win the public perception of the situation and pressure the governor to settle their differences quietly. Somehow, though, I doubt that will happen. The other party in this battle has already dug in and made this a public fight for political gain and has a lot to lose by settling the matter.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I thought so as well. As always, he's very careful and deliberate in his response and comes across as the mature and reasonable adult in the situation.

Had he still been in charge when this all began, rather than Chapek, I have no doubt he could have made a statement against the bill without drawing the ire of DeSantis and company. The short reign of Chapek will haunt the company for years.

 

[AEfx]

Yet somehow there are more restaurants and hotels in orlando than anywhere else equivalent in the state… and businesses still choose to base there.

If its so bad… they’d be dead already

And where are they?

They aren't in Kissimmiee. They are over by Universal because that's where the business comes from now. Their customers spend money locally.

People who go to Disney spend all their money at...Disney.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Had he still been in charge when this all began, rather than Chapek, I have no doubt he could have made a statement against the bill without drawing the ire of DeSantis and company. The short reign of Chapek will haunt the company for years.

Agreed. Which is one of the reasons I have always said this could have been prevented. Chapek stepped in it in just a stupid way. Iger we all love to hate at times is much more controlled with smart wording and handling of things