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

[ToTBellHop]

It’s almost as though Iger is better at this than Chapek.

 

[LAKid53]

Give up something that you have zero interest in doing…

You know like … when they give up the right to develop some land in exchange for something else they want.

You act line giving up the right to run this utility is attacking their fundamental rights. No, its just some authority they were granted 50 plus years ago they have no interest in anymore. No one has this right fundamentally- it’s a regulated space.

Well, it is. To give up the right to construct a power generating plant - actually they wouldn't do it, Duke Energy would do it for them and operate it - is foolish. You think FPL would concede to something like that?

 

[GoofGoof]

Is anyone really surprised by these reports?

Most here seemed to agree from day one that it was simply political theatre that would quietly be undone.

I think the only surprise for me so far is it’s getting headlines, I thought it would just be a snippet after it was already resolved.

I would say more a sigh of relief than surprise. Most of us thought this was the most likely outcome but there was still a chance it would get screwed up.…and still can .

As far as headlines, it won’t last long. The initial story was more sensational this is kinda boring for the general public

 

[LAKid53]

My point still stands no matter how much Universal paid. The county is still footing part of the bill. When Disney added new overpasses near the Magic Kingdom local individual taxpayers paid zero for that. So if RCID gets dissolved it’s inevitable that local taxpayers would pay a portion of the cost of new road and infrastructure for WDW which would be a shame to see. RCID is a great deal for local taxpayers.

Only roads leading directly to a park are privately owned. All the others are government owned and maintained by RCID through payments from TWDC. If that support disappears, county government will be responsible. And where do those funds come from? The state and/or Orange County property owners.

 

[GoofGoof]

Well, it is. To give up the right to construct a power generating plant - actually they wouldn't do it, Duke Energy would do it for them and operate it - is foolish. You think FPL would concede to something like that?

Trust me as someone who works in the industry, nobody wants to own power generation these days….especially nuclear or fossil fuel plants. If Disney wants more power contracts it will almost definitely be renewables and like you said it will be built and probably operated by someone else.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

It’s almost as though Iger is better at this than Chapek.

While he undeniably is I think it has much more to do with the elections being over, “taking on woke Disney” was great campaign material, now that the elections over the crunch is on to undo it before it actually changes anything.

 

[GoofGoof]

Only roads leading directly to a park are privately owned. All the others are government owned and maintained by RCID through payments from TWDC. If that support disappears, county government will be responsible. And where do those funds come from? The state and/or Orange County property owners.

Yep. Same with EMS and fire services. If RCID goes away the counties (mostly Orange) need to provide that service to WDW and that has to be paid for with tax dollars. Disney already pays taxes to the county and they can’t raise taxes on just Disney so the cost would get socialized amongst all taxpayers.

 

[GoofGoof]

While he undeniably is I think it has much more to do with the elections being over, “taking on woke Disney” was great campaign material, now that the elections over the crunch is on to undo it before it actually changes anything.

Chapek makes a good scape goat. Politicians can change course now and point to a change in leadership at Disney for cover. Win/win

 

[LAKid53]

Trust me as someone who works in the industry, nobody wants to own power generation these days….especially nuclear or fossil fuel plants. If Disney wants more power contracts it will almost definitely be renewables and like you said it will be built and probably operated by someone else.

I agree. But it's a slippery slope to give up the authority to build a power generating plant.

Duke built...and it looks like it's continuing to expand...the solar farm along 429. And I'm wondering if on the west side of 429 those cleared areas won't be for more panels.

 

[LAKid53]

Yep. Same with EMS and fire services. If RCID goes away the counties (mostly Orange) need to provide that service to WDW and that has to be paid for with tax dollars. Disney already pays taxes to the county and they can’t raise taxes on just Disney so the cost would get socialized amongst all taxpayers.

They could, but they'd need a special district to do so. Which would be a conundrum for the Legislature.

That's why I think this will quietly die during the 2023 session.

 

[LSLS]

So, is there a compromise to be made? I'd agree Disney giving up a board seat or Nuclear Power Plant is not a compromise in itself, but what if they agree to do that to give Desantis his win, and then they add something extra to make the deal even better for Disney than before? I have no idea what that would be, just thinking out loud, but maybe that is where the compromise would come in (and yes, I realize compromise is probably the wrong term here).

 

[lazyboy97o]

So, is there a compromise to be made? I'd agree Disney giving up a board seat or Nuclear Power Plant is not a compromise in itself, but what if they agree to do that to give Desantis his win, and then they add something extra to make the deal even better for Disney than before? I have no idea what that would be, just thinking out loud, but maybe that is where the compromise would come in (and yes, I realize compromise is probably the wrong term here).

The state giving Disney something would be a compromise. Promising not to do this is the only thing that’s really been suggested as something the state could give, but promising to not break a promise a second time doesn’t seem all that meaningful.

 

[hopemax]

Is anyone really surprised by these reports?

Most here seemed to agree from day one that it was simply political theatre that would quietly be undone.

I think the only surprise for me so far is it’s getting headlines, I thought it would just be a snippet after it was already resolved.

It's not just FL that jumped on the "The government needs to punish corporations who utilize their free speech," bandwagon now. It's now a nationally relevant potential precedent. The time to sweep this under the rug came and went when some Congresscritters decided to start saying that corporations should be investigated for their advertising decisions. Until the new House is seated and we see what actually happens vs. what was said for fundraising and theater, it's going to be financial news. FL may have found the hornet's nest, but other people started kicking it and now there are too many hornets flying around for corporate / financial peeps to ignore it.

 

[CaptainMickey]

So, is there a compromise to be made? I'd agree Disney giving up a board seat or Nuclear Power Plant is not a compromise in itself, but what if they agree to do that to give Desantis his win, and then they add something extra to make the deal even better for Disney than before? I have no idea what that would be, just thinking out loud, but maybe that is where the compromise would come in (and yes, I realize compromise is probably the wrong term here).

Big companies like Disney are good at making things look like a compromise, but it's exactly what they wanted. Amazon, Big Auto factories, Tech company offices, etc. They look like concessions, but it gives them cover to do something they wanted to do that is not so favorable to employees or customers, but it was a...compromise.

Ex. We worked out a deal with Florida that they will let us keep RCID, but we have to ensure we move X number of jobs (Imagineering) to Lake Nona. Disney wanted to do it all along but was getting lots of pushback from employees. Now Disney management can blame mean old Florida because they had to save Reedy Creek. They wanted to do it anyway to save money, but now they are not the bad guys anymore.

 

[SirLink]

Big companies like Disney are good at making things look like a compromise, but it's exactly what they wanted. Amazon, Big Auto factories, Tech company offices, etc. They look like concessions, but it gives them cover to do something they wanted to do that is not so favorable to employees or customers, but it was a...compromise.

Ex. We worked out a deal with Florida that they will let us keep RCID, but we have to ensure we move X number of jobs (Imagineering) to Lake Nona. Disney wanted to do it all along but was getting lots of pushback from employees. Now Disney management can blame mean old Florida because they had to save Reedy Creek. They wanted to do it anyway to save money, but now they are not the bad guys anymore.

Your missing a very important point. Florida legislature will just say "you offered to move jobs from California to Lake Nona to keep your current concessions", then Disney will be the 'bad guy' of their own making.

 

[UNCgolf]

I know the reference… but disney doesn’t have the option of deposing desantis… but does know with certainty he will eventually move on.

The mind obviously goes to Neville Chamberlain, but I wasn't really referring to that specifically. There are numerous instances of appeasement that just lead to further problems down the road.

While DeSantis will personally move on, the Florida Legislature as a whole will not, and there are others in the Florida Legislature that have advocated for moves like this.

 

[LAKid53]

Where does Florida law individually prescribe which electricity providers are allowed to utilize nuclear power? This would not be something unique being taken back, it would be a general allowance being individually restricted.

It doesn't. Not that FPL wished it would....

 

[LAKid53]

That’s not answering the question. Electricity in Florida is generally provided by private companies. So yes, anybody could start their own electric company to provide services, and that company would be allowed to operate a nuclear power plant. If I could put together the capital to take FPL private I could do that and I would own a couple of nuclear power plants.

All of them in Florida...

 

[LAKid53]

I feel like RCID gets worked out, Lake Nona moves forward with lots of new jobs, and Disney starts contributing to Florida politicians again. It all gets worked out behind closed doors, and everyone can claim they won!

Not sure if Iger will proceed with moving Imagineering to Central Florida.

 

[LAKid53]

So, is there a compromise to be made? I'd agree Disney giving up a board seat or Nuclear Power Plant is not a compromise in itself, but what if they agree to do that to give Desantis his win, and then they add something extra to make the deal even better for Disney than before? I have no idea what that would be, just thinking out loud, but maybe that is where the compromise would come in (and yes, I realize compromise is probably the wrong term here).

Other than backing off, what more could the state give Disney? RCID had taxing, permitting and operational control. Frankly, it serves less like a special district and more like a county.