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

[lazyboy97o]

Anyone have any insight into how the district is actually operating day to day in the current climate? How are things like permits being handled and by who.

They’re still being handled by the District’s administrative staff. As of yet, the Board has not changed those processes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the new administration finds all sorts of problems that need [expensive] fixing.

 

[Andrew C]

This is just one example. It’s a trend of ignoring real issues in favor of fighting and creating fake problems.

Also it has nothing to do with being too busy. If they wanted to they could absolutely fix this problem AND fight Disney. The truth is they don’t really care about fixing the real problems.

You are calling out policy differences.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Disagree

I think it was the local/donor influence on the legislature that set this in motion…

And he made a disastrous political calculation that he could increase his stature and warchest by seizing on it…

All indications are the opposite happened.

But he doesn’t have the temperament to know to retreat. A hallmark of loser politicians.

I for one will not blame an entire state when the leader of that state that went off the rails.

Its normal and unfortunately human to want to blame and or label groups of people for the actions of the one in charge.

I would love to see how many voters actually would have voted for this mess.

 

[mkt]

Anyone have any insight into how the district is actually operating day to day in the current climate? How are things like permits being handled and by who.

I'd assume no real changes. Something like mass firings to restaff with "true believers" and loyalists would have made the news.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Ok…

Realistically we’re spinning wheels here…

They would never pull the majority of DCL operations out of Florida…
And you can probably guess why?

Because it was designed to feed/Feed off of WDW.

That is less important that it was 20 years ago…but that doesn’t mean the synergy isn’t still in place.

Agreed. But a reduction of FL sailings - particularly in this hypothetical scenario where the King of Florida is targeting their cruise line as the 2nd front in the Great Wokeness War - isn't out of the realm of possibility. It would cost more in terms of fuel to sail to Castaway, Lighthouse, etc. from SC but added costs for consumers might be offset by savings elsewhere (such as cheaper hotel rooms in Charleston and/or not needing to book transportation from WDW/MCO to Port Canaveral vs. a shorter Uber/cab ride similar to the Port of Miami). If doing business in FL becomes cost prohibitive due to the targeted actions of 1 man with pudding under his fingernails then there could be advantages to moving some - SOME - sailings to alternative ports, and look for new opportunities like sailing to Bermuda from SC. Port Canaveral isn't going anywhere, particularly because of the proximity to WDW, but how many guests are driving or flying from WDW to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? If future attacks from the govenor make doing business at those ports more costly, then it makes sense for DCL to explore alternatives to see if they can save money.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

Did Disney do anything illegal? Probably not. Did the people they interface with in Anaheim do anything illegal? Well they haven't been indicted yet.

Doesn’t the FBI probe into former Anaheim elected officials have more to do with the Angels stadium contract than Disney’s role influencing elections in Anaheim?

As I recall the Disney/SOAR tie-in was more an embarrassing “hot mic”. But I still think the Disney factions money and influence peddling in local government has been somewhat balanced/mitigated by other local forces (including UniteHere and the local business coalition that opposed the Eastern Gateway, etc) of lately, which is how a pluralist/democratic society functions.

The difference between the more “anti-Disney” Mayors Tait or Aitken (and even firebrand Councilman Moreno who I find overzealous in his approach) and that of Governor DeSantis is these policy disagreements are legitimate policy disagreements impacting the needs of the city. It’s hard to argue RCID has not been a mutually beneficial deal for Florida and Orange/Osceola counties unlike some of the recent SOAR agreements (even if on net the DLR is obviously a positive economic engine for Anaheim/Orange County, CA).

 

[peter11435]

You are calling out policy differences.

If the policy is to ignore the issues faced by your constituents in favor of playing political games then sure… that’s it.

 

[Andrew C]

If the policy is to ignore the issues faced by your constituents in favor of playing political games then sure… that’s it.

I understand your political stance....

 

[disneylandtour]

I once heard Dr Ruth Westheimer speak. She had a question-and-answer session at the end. Due to the nature of the questions, these were submitted anonymously in writing.

Some of the questions seemed outlandish. The audience laughed when some questions were read.

Dr Ruth said (paraphrasing), “Even if the original author was trolling, I answer all questions seriously in case there is someone else in the audience who genuinely wants to hear the answer.”

I respectfully suggest that when you think someone is trolling, you answer the question seriously for those who don’t have the time to keep up with this fast moving thread.

Alternatively, just don’t reply at all.

At the event you describe, I believe each person could ask Dr. Ruth one question in writing on a single night. In a situation where one person can continually ask questions, over many days, perhaps a different approach is warranted. That is, though I applaud your appeal to tolerance. In some situations, such as web forums, tolerance needs to have limits as well.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Anyone have any insight into how the district is actually operating day to day in the current climate? How are things like permits being handled and by who.

If the new district leadership was smart....... er....... oh.... nevermind

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Agreed. But a reduction of FL sailings - particularly in this hypothetical scenario where the King of Florida is targeting their cruise line as the 2nd front in the Great Wokeness War - isn't out of the realm of possibility. It would cost more in terms of fuel to sail to Castaway, Lighthouse, etc. from SC but added costs for consumers might be offset by savings elsewhere (such as cheaper hotel rooms in Charleston and/or not needing to book transportation from WDW/MCO to Port Canaveral vs. a shorter Uber/cab ride similar to the Port of Miami). If doing business in FL becomes cost prohibitive due to the targeted actions of 1 man with pudding under his fingernails then there could be advantages to moving some - SOME - sailings to alternative ports, and look for new opportunities like sailing to Bermuda from SC. Port Canaveral isn't going anywhere, particularly because of the proximity to WDW, but how many guests are driving or flying from WDW to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale? If future attacks from the govenor make doing business at those ports more costly, then it makes sense for DCL to explore alternatives to see if they can save money.

The problem with the Carolinas is they don’t have a great deal of ancillary draws and airport capability that Florida does…

You got ALOT of runways and gates serving tourists in the swamplands

Not that I don’t love Charleston/HHI/Savannah area…I do…
But different scale.

The fact I want myrtle to slide into the Atlantic is irrelevant

 

[mkt]

It absolutely needs Florida. The state is an essential part of Caribbean and Bahamian cruising out of the US.

I disagree on the first part.

Disney could easily move more sailings to Charleston or San Juan, both of which would likely welcome Disney with open arms. Hell, hypothetically, DCL from Savvanah feeding to/from Disney's Hilton Head resort could be an interesting tie up.

 

[castlecake2.0]

They’re still being handled by the District’s administrative staff. As of yet, the Board has not changed those processes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the new administration finds all sorts of problems that need [expensive] fixing.

Very curious to how district staff feel about all this

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think lack of standing is a real issue for the board. I'm struggling to see what standing they even have to bring suit in regards to the development agreement.

I agree. The District is claiming problems with notice and impacts to other parties who they have not specifically identified or have come forward. We’re not talking about a city with thousands of entities, but low double digits where you could easily contact every party. Could/would Disney convince the other landowners to file amicus briefs that they’re fine with the agreements?

It’ll be interesting to see how Disney responds to the state suit. Will they just try to kill it outright or have it delayed because it’s being handled in federal court?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Can we try not to blame an entire state for the actions of one person please.

That one person, because he won an election likes to say that what he does is the will of the people. His like-minded legislators say the same. Even his 'friends' he put on the new RCID board claim that they're doing the will the people based on that one man's election results.

Obviously, there are many Floridians who disagree with him. He likes to pretend they don't exist at times, and at other times, seeks to silence them.

 

[peter11435]

I understand your political stance....

Yeah that politicians should spend their time governing and fixing problems not creating them.

 

[Andrew C]

I disagree on the first part.

Disney could easily move more sailings to Charleston or San Juan, both of which would likely welcome Disney with open arms. Hell, hypothetically, DCL from Savvanah feeding to/from Disney's Hilton Head resort could be an interesting tie up.

No they can't. They aren't going to do 3 and 4 night cruises to the Bahamas consistently out of Charleston. Although they do sail out of San Juan from time to time, it is going to cut off huge segments of their customer base to shift there completely. They need the 3/4 night cruises to the Bahamas and the 7 night eastern Caribbean cruises. Those don't work consistently without Florida. As I said previously, Florida is essential due to location/proximity, infrastructure, skilled workers, customer base, customer expectations...

 

[Andrew C]

Yeah that politicians should spend their time governing and fixing problems not creating them.

That's the dream.

 

[WDWHero]

Yeah that politicians should spend their time governing and fixing problems not creating them.

Or benefiting from them

 

[lewisc]

Posters are talking about eminent domain and affordable housing.

How much of that is behind FW to DVC project. Harder and more expensive to acquire