It has been around many years. Looks like Disney Owns it, but is run by a PR firm.
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News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District
- Thread starter castlecake2.0
- Start date
Notypeo
Member
Virginia seems like a candidate: previously considered for something on this scale; bluish swing state; comparable climate to Tokyo.
As things play out in Florida, I wouldn’t be shocked by leaks about this sort of plan, if only to try to gain leverage.
Chi84
Premium Member
The main benefit I got from it was understanding what both Disney and Florida understood as the purposes of the district and why it was set up as it was
It details how Walt was looking at different properties around the country and how the creation of RCID was a deciding factor in choosing the location and scope of his planned Disneyland East.
Mostly, it helped me understand the nature and purposes of special districts and why RCID was uniquely suited to benefit both parties to the agreement setting it up.
I’m still asking people what benefit the citizens of Florida have received from replacing the district’s board.
For all the lawyers in the forum...looking at the new counter-measures that the State legislators and governor are about to do....are they within their rights to do this? They are about to pass new state laws to circumvent Disny's actions to protect their control of their local government.
The Florida legislature is the original body that gave this to Disney long ago. Can this same body "reverse" what they did using the exact same actions today?
Is what the state about to do considered to be perfectly legal?
The Florida legislature is the original body that gave this to Disney long ago. Can this same body "reverse" what they did using the exact same actions today?
Is what the state about to do considered to be perfectly legal?
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lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
At that same time the City of Orlando was building new roads and highway interchanges for Universal. They also installed a bunch of custom road signs. A few years ago they built a pedestrian bridge for Universal because they were essentially obligated to do once Universal made the request.But around two decades ago, Universal did build their own massive garages.
I wonder if Disney had built them, if they'd still be free to park in.
I suspect if the county had built them, we wouldn't have those nifty sensors and lights that tell us if a space is open... and there'd probably be a fee to park.
mikejs78
Well-Known Member
The funny thing is, up until recently, Reedy Creek was held up as an example by many on the right of a success story of how private enterprise could perform the functions of government needed for large municipal projects, without burdening the tax payers.
Very little. In fact, we taxpayers will be taking a hit when the legal bill comes due.
If the Legislature decides to remove the ride inspection exemption for just WDW rides, but allow Universal,
SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Legoland to continue to be exempt, I'd expect Disney to sue. The state would have to justify in court why Disney was so negligent it could no longer police itself.
The Disney connect website has been around for a while, but that specific page was only spun up about a year ago, and the updated information with all the taxes they've paid even more recently.
Disneyconnect.com:
Disneyconnect.com/Disneyworld:
mrpres1dent
New Member
The entire action is unconstitutional because it destroys a functioning governing body and replaces it with logistical costs to reorganize it and saddles the state with debt and operating expenses that now have to be collected.
But we live in a post-responsibility world. Politicians are doing illegal or unconstitutional things all the time and if anybody pays for it, it's their lackeys and/or orbiters. DeSantis will never see any repercussions for his middle school behavior.
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
My city built a new access road connected to a new traffic light for a Walmart being constructed because a traffic impact analysis determined an intersection it would have otherwise had people doing u-turns on would be turned into hell on earth* without it and putting up a no u-turn sign would have just pushed the problem down an already congested road that they were already and still are dealing with an unacceptably high level of traffic related deaths on.
I didn't follow the development closely but it's my understanding Walmart bought and "donated" the land and we paid for the light and about half the road which runs paralell to the front of their parking lot behind other businesses.
I don't think it would be a stretch to say that roads and highway interchanges connecting up to Universal weren't in the public interest, given the location and the residents and other businesses in the immediate vicinity impacted by their presence.
Obviously, Orlando wanted Universal to expand.
I remember what getting there from I-4 was like when they still had their own curtsy trams, only one park, and no shopping district, too.
I'm not sure which pedestrian bridge you're talking about but again, I think a similar case could be made for public safety given the traffic in that area.
I'm not sure anyone could argue that the parking garages at Disney Springs really benefit anyone besides Disney and their tenants - unlike the multiple pedestrian bridges RCID built for them, too, which are clearly a major safety improvement in that area.
But anyway, please understand that I do not care.
I do not care that Disney got access to parking garages financed with government bonds. I do not care that Universal has custom road signs.
I waded into this, simply pointing out that I can understand how someone else might care and I think it's okay for someone to have a dissenting view from the herd when we are discussing opinions but really, I don't care - not at all - at least, not in the sense that any of it this history has bothered me.
I do care how this whole controversy started with our govenor going unhinghed and attacking a private business in purely spiteful retaliation over the public debate of a goverment choice that, in a healthy functioning democracy or republic, should be at least accepted, if not welcomed, by the government.
Desantis is still a public servant, right?
But I'm getting pulled into some weird sort of debate where people I fundamentally agree with are trying to argue with me because I see one point someone on the other side is trying to make that a lot of people seem to not want to acknowledge.
I agree Disney has/had special advantages from their arrangement that other tourist related business in Central Florida don't have. I disagree it is/was a problem.
Mostly, I now wish I'd just let Captain hang alone (sorry capt), since, as I've said, repeatedly, I don't even agree with him.
*my words - not theirs.
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MrPromey
Well-Known Member
Okay, I'm 15 pages in right now. They're still talking about that, none of which was news to me but (in the snottiest teen voice I can badly fake) the history of special districts in the US starting in the early 1800's was.
I'll keep reading but before I get to the end, let me just say, I already agree there was no need to mess with this.
It was working just fine before it got picked up as a political tool. What little controversy it did face over the years was nothing compared to what happens in a metropolitan area like Orlando or Tampa Bay all the time.
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
If you swapped the url and logo at the top from CNN to the Onion, this would read exactly like one of their articles:
Where are we that this is our actual reality?
Where are we that this is our actual reality?
The land he’s talking about are the wetlands RCID was entrusted with… so have at it, Ron!
These are the preservation wetlands Disney owns as an offset for them building on other preserved wetlands.
They are not available for building anything.
Another example of DeSantis' complete and utter cluelessness and his penchant for outright making up falsehoods on the spot to bolster his very weak points.
So you believe that what the Florida legislators are about to do is making a bill that is completely unconstitutional? And,...the reasons why they are doing it are are completely invalid? If you are right, the state courts will "eventually" shoot this new law down.
But how long will this take? Once the bill is passed on both sides and gets signed by the governor, it immediately goes into effect and Disney loses their precious control.
Yes, they will challange the law to try and get their power back.... but that will be tied up for a year or two. During this time, Disney will be twisting in the wind and subject to the same horrible business conditions that other Florida parks operate under.
Im no lawyer but it "seems" to be a solid 2 year slam-dunk win by the Florida legislators and governor???
roj2323
Well-Known Member
You're forgetting that Charlie Crest was once a Republican too and he's also intelligent enough to know better than to bite the hand that feeds the state 75 billion dollars worth of economic impact yearly.
BTW I'm saying this as someone who hates Charlie Crist and actively campaigned against him.
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The millionaires and billionaires that live in the gated area Golden Oak near Port Orleans have private roads .
Golden Oak residents , resort and theme park guests and prison inmates, corrections officers would be treated to a nightly thing- nightly viewing of theme park fireworks. Would building a state prison near their million dollar homes at Golden Oak bring down the value of their residences ?
It turns out that the real prisoners all along were Golden Oaks residents living in their gilded cages.
Same thing happened in California in the 90’s. My dad was on the “Westcot” planning commission, which was to be an Epcot like park built on the old Pike and Todd Shopyard area in Long Beach Harbor, using the Queen Mary ship as a centerpiece. The local politicians made trouble and asked for too much, the local residents complained about the noise and traffic and Disney eventually pulled out and used the same plans to build Tokyo Disney Sea, even going so far as to build a scale model of the Queen Mary. Disney is heavily invested in Florida, but at some point, they’ll start looking to greener (and more agreeable/profitable) pastures.