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

Bob Harlem

Well-Known Member
That‘s kinda my point. That interchange isn’t part of RCID and obviously directly benefits Disney but TWDC didn’t pay for it out of pocket. The local government paid for it using taxpayer dollars and I’m sure at the urging of Disney. We don’t know what would have happened in the past without RCID or what will happen in the future if it’s gone, but IMHO the local taxpayers would be footing more of the bill for roads (both construction and maintenance) without RCID. I thought that was a pretty obvious statement but apparently others disagree and think Disney would have just paid for every road themselves out of pocket and would pay to maintain them too. It’s an academic debate and we will never know the answer.
The interchange is still horrible, between there and Champions Gate it backs up badly every day, multiple times and there is no real alternate routes to get over west to US 17.
 

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
Ran across this article in a different thread, and couldn't help but notice the irony that Uni is building a new entry road to their EPIC expansion which is priced at $300M, with Uni contributing at least $174. Where's the balance of that $ coming from? Taxpayer funds??? And yet there's no outrage at that...


From the article: "As for the Kirkman Road extension, the project is expected to help with traffic in that part of the tourist corridor. When finished, it will add a 1.7-mile connector between Carrier Drive and Universal Boulevard. The project has an estimated cost of $300 million, with Universal providing at least $164 million for the road work. It’s expected to be completed in 2024."

Regardless of who pays for it I’m shocked at $300 million for 1.7 miles of road, some interchanges, and some flyovers. That’s an unbelievable amount of money.
 

drnilescrane

Well-Known Member
That‘s kinda my point. That interchange isn’t part of RCID and obviously directly benefits Disney but TWDC didn’t pay for it out of pocket. The local government paid for it using taxpayer dollars and I’m sure at the urging of Disney. We don’t know what would have happened in the past without RCID or what will happen in the future if it’s gone, but IMHO the local taxpayers would be footing more of the bill for roads (both construction and maintenance) without RCID. I thought that was a pretty obvious statement but apparently others disagree and think Disney would have just paid for every road themselves out of pocket and would pay to maintain them too. It’s an academic debate and we will never know the answer.
Well of course. People forget that Disneyland exists without RCID. Of course Disney paid for all that I-5 work in the late 1990s 🙄

Slight correction as well, here's the entire story: https://www.globest.com/sites/globe...e-financing-embarrassing-to-county-officials/

So it was 20 years ago and Disney actually got Orange to pay towards construction of an interchange in another county. I'm conflating it with the extra work that had to happen later to improve the 192 intersection where I'm sure something similar happened. Either way that road shouldn't exist.
 

mmascari

Well-Known Member
Well of course. People forget that Disneyland exists without RCID.
Because the 500 acres of Disneyland has the same type of road, water, sewer, electric, transit, fire, ems issues when compared to the 27,000 acres of Disney World?

There's no obvious difference between the two that creates differences in how those problems might be solved and managed?

Is there anther similar attraction in the US that cover more than 25,000 acres? How about 20,000, 10,000, or even over 5,000?

Not like a park where it's mostly open space. But, some other attraction that has a similar size of building infrastructure even if not the same number of visitors, but say at least 50% of the same number of visitors. Before someone suggests the Grand Canyon or some private hunting club on 50,000 acres of woods with 10,000 visitors a year.

It's not that you couldn't have WDW without RCID. It's that having it has created better ways to evolve it than not having it would have, at the scale of WDW.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Well of course. People forget that Disneyland exists without RCID. Of course Disney paid for all that I-5 work in the late 1990s
And everyone gets a nice hefty tax overlay district with the Anaheim Resort District with it's fatty hotel taxes!

That really stuck it to Disney! ;)

That's the real alternative when comparing RCID existing or not... the ARD was done to modernize the area and look at how it was funded...
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Because the 500 acres of Disneyland has the same type of road, water, sewer, electric, transit, fire, ems issues when compared to the 27,000 acres of Disney World?

There's no obvious difference between the two that creates differences in how those problems might be solved and managed?

Is there anther similar attraction in the US that cover more than 25,000 acres? How about 20,000, 10,000, or even over 5,000?

Not like a park where it's mostly open space. But, some other attraction that has a similar size of building infrastructure even if not the same number of visitors, but say at least 50% of the same number of visitors. Before someone suggests the Grand Canyon or some private hunting club on 50,000 acres of woods with 10,000 visitors a year.

It's not that you couldn't have WDW without RCID. It's that having it has created better ways to evolve it than not having it would have, at the scale of WDW.
I think mostly everyone here would agree with this. WDW is pretty much one of a kind in terms of scale which creates a unique situation. That is why any comparisons to “other businesses” in FL is naive at best and in most cases based on an agenda that has very little to do with fairness or a level playing field.
 

drnilescrane

Well-Known Member
This suddenly cannot wait a month after nothing happening for months?
He's a) been embarrassed by the plan that's not a plan and needs a shiny thing to keep the PR machine moving and b) is probably loosing the room while the Disney Tallahassee machine silently works.

The sooner they get a plan on the books - his plan - the more likely it sticks.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Special session = no debate again. Also no advanced release of whatever the “plan” is. This way the “plan” gets rubber stamped and passed even if it’s illegal before anyone can publicly point out all the flaws. Then it forces others to fight in court to block whatever happens. This should surprise nobody.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Timed to coincide with the earnings call next week?
Could be that. I also think it’s possible he’s just looking for some juice. Some recent primary polling shows the bump from winning re-election has died off and he’s back to being “well behind” some other guy. Many front runners lose momentum and die off before the primaries ever get into full swing.
 

Surferboy567

Well-Known Member
How long could this be reasonably blocked, if it did go to the courts? Would it still “go into effect” or effectively be blocked for months?

EDIT: Of course, this is only if Disney takes action. After this “plan” is released. I hadn’t even noticed the timing with the earnings call.
 

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