Something like Reedy Creek

[Gregbert]

Hello everyone,

I tried looking around for this but I couldn't find it. Has any other company ever tried to do what Disney did in terms of buying land and trying to create it's own government policies. I thought I heard at one time that Blockbuster was trying to do something like Disney did in Orlando. Has anyone heard of anything like this?

Take care,
Greg

 

[peter11435]

I can tell you that no other company has what Disney has. As for trying that is another story. I do know that the owner of blockbuster (who also owns the Miami Dolphins, and used to own the panthers, and Marlins) tried to create what was to be called Blockbuster Park. It would have been a large sports complex type thing. It was never built. I don't know if they wanted a Reedy Creek type deal but it is possible.

 

[monothingie]

I can tell you that no other company has what Disney has. As for trying that is another story. I do know that the owner of blockbuster (who also owns the Miami Dolphins, and used to own the panthers, and Marlins) tried to create what was to be called Blockbuster Park. It would have been a large sports complex type thing. It was never built. I don't know if they wanted a Reedy Creek type deal but it is possible.

Its funny that when Comcast was seeking to buy Disney, there was a great deal of concern about the continuation of this type arrangement Govt/Private Company. I suspect you will never see another Reedy Creek type deal in Florida again. The land is just to valuable to state/counties to cede it to a quasi private/public conglomeration.

-ADN

 

[marni1971]

The main reason WDP got the Reedy Creek Charter was their promise of EPCOT (the city) - when this started to lean towards EPCOT the Theme Center in the mid 70`s people started getting a little uneasy. When it became EPCOT Center a lot of people wern`t happy (to say the least) but nothing could be done. Basically a clause in the charter states that said charter will remain law unless a new law is passed that is of greater benefit to the charter - at which point this new law will become part of the charter. Pretty clever huh?

Because of this I doubt it will happen anywhere again in the free world.

 

[peter11435]

The state and county government in Florida would love to take back the Reedy Creek charter. They were looking for anyway they could possibly get out of it, which is why the issue was brought up about Comcast. The Reedy Creek legislation was finalized in the mid 60's, and then as soon as 1968 the state of Florida tried to get rid of the deal. In The state of Florida vs. The Walt Disney Company/RCID the Supreme Court ruled that the legislation was constitutional and as you see Disney still has the district.

 

[donsullivan]

I think most people would agree that in general the Reedy Creek model has work very well for what it was intended to do when it was created. From a practical standpoint, I don't know that there are very many parcels of land left available in Florida that are large enough to warrant or justify such a provision.

Since the very early years of the development of the WDW property it's impact on the surrounding areas has been a source of conflict. In most communities, there are development impact fees paid to support the construction of things like schools, roads, and other public infrastructure services. It's not uncommon here for a new home to have impacts fees as high as $10,000 added to the price of the house, just because it's new development. On a large hotel of office property, those fees are quite significant.

Disney, however is not subject to those impact fees on most of their development. When Disney makes a major expansion such as a new theme park, there is a significant ripple in the surrounding economy. The staffing for the park creates significant housing demand, and increases traffic forcing development of new roads, expansion of schools, and the list goes on. Since Disney is not subject to the Impact fees that most developers would have to pay, that money ends up coming from others. That is one of the things that gets people worked up on a regular basis.

 

[Gregbert]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Where is everyone getting their information about FL perhaps wanting to get rid of the Reedy Creek scenario?

The reason I am asking is that I am doing my final project for my BA on the promise of EPCOT to FL and the original intent of the city never materializing.

Anyone have any ideas where I may find more information on this. I have a few web sites I have been to plus I am been researching books like "Married to the Mouse". If anyone has any other ideas, I would be most appreciative.

Take care,
Greg

 

[Mission: SPACE]

Does anyone have any more information on the State of Florida vs. The Walt Disney Company/RCID?

 

[donsullivan]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Where is everyone getting their information about FL perhaps wanting to get rid of the Reedy Creek scenario?....

I think it would be a significant overstatement to suggest that the state of FL wants to abolish Reedy Creek. Nearly all of what has happened surrounding that topic over the years has been political grandstanding. In just about every election cycle, someone decides that they can use the topic of reviewing the RCID charter and it's impact on surrounding communities for political benefit. It never goes anywhere, but it is a fantastic way for a candidate (especially a non-incumbant) to get their name in the paper. The most recent one was triggered surrounding the takeover bid by Comcast. In that case the question was simply a review of what the transfer provisions were that were written into the law should Disney ever be taken over by another entity. It ended up being a moot point and the whole thing was dropped again.

There are countless references and texts of the hundreds of articles written on the topics all over the web. I just did a quick google search on Reedy Creek Improvement District and it came back and over 12,000 entries. One of which was an article from last year in the Orlando Business Journal.

 

[SpenceMan01]

Anyone wanna clue me in to what Reedy Creek and the charter are?

 

[donsullivan]

Probably the best way is to send you to the web site of RCID which explains is better than I could.

http://www.rcid.org/

If you click on the About RCID link at the top of the page, there's a pretty good description of who they are, and what they do.

 

[Gregbert]

Thank you again for the information. I agree, do a google search is a great resource. I also wanted to make sure I was covering all bases in the for of books.

Thank you!

Take care,
Greg

 

[SpenceMan01]

Ah, so it's basically a type of city government for WDW?

I had heard of Reedy Creek before (eg: RC Fire Dept), but wasn't sure what it was all about.

 

[downwitheisner]

I think most people would agree that in general the Reedy Creek model has work very well for what it was intended to do when it was created. From a practical standpoint, I don't know that there are very many parcels of land left available in Florida that are large enough to warrant or justify such a provision.

Since the very early years of the development of the WDW property it's impact on the surrounding areas has been a source of conflict. In most communities, there are development impact fees paid to support the construction of things like schools, roads, and other public infrastructure services. It's not uncommon here for a new home to have impacts fees as high as $10,000 added to the price of the house, just because it's new development. On a large hotel of office property, those fees are quite significant.

Disney, however is not subject to those impact fees on most of their development. When Disney makes a major expansion such as a new theme park, there is a significant ripple in the surrounding economy. The staffing for the park creates significant housing demand, and increases traffic forcing development of new roads, expansion of schools, and the list goes on. Since Disney is not subject to the Impact fees that most developers would have to pay, that money ends up coming from others. That is one of the things that gets people worked up on a regular basis.

I was thinking about that recently. It would really suck to be a taxpayer in the Orlando area, but I would LOVE to be Disney in that situation. I can imagine working for Dinsey and grinning everytime we put something up. So evil.... :fork:

 

[monothingie]

I was thinking about that recently. It would really suck to be a taxpayer in the Orlando area, but I would LOVE to be Disney in that situation. I can imagine working for Dinsey and grinning everytime we put something up. So evil.... :fork:

Not being from the area, I am unfamiliar with the politics, but I would think it would be great for the local tax payer. (Not mentioning the sprawl generated by WDW) The entire economy is built around tourism. Stores/Hotels/Attractions all generating billions taxes and ratables. Not to mention the income taxes being paid by the people working for these entities, and taxes collected from tourists. Now from the perspective that Disney can do whatever they want and not be responsible for its impact you are correct with you assertment.

However, these impacts (schools, parks,police, fire, roads, social services) are paid for indirectly through the economy built up around WDW. All provided that no power player is crooked. Sorry I had to throw that in being from Jersey, the home of political coruption.

-ADN

 

[marni1971]

Interesting tid bit - the reason Walt Picked this exact plot of land in 1964 once the area was chosen (straddling the county border) was to be in both Orange and Osceola Counties. He figured it better to have 2 councils to play ball with for a bit of leverage.

SpenceMan - you got it.

The town of Reedy Creek and The Town of Lake Buena Vista (as they are called) are governed by Reedy Creek. They both have mayors, and yes, they have permenant residents - a handful of Disney Employees in trailer homes. One such area is near Bay Lakes dry dock / the Boneyard.

 

[Number_6]

Not to mention the income taxes being paid by the people working for these entities,

Actually, the State of Florida does not collect income tax. You only pay your Federal Income Tax here.