The Disney vs. DeSantis battles are continuing in a new and unique way.

Though Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have ended the “corporate kingdom” by changing parts of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District (now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District) and appointing all new board members, the Board might NOT have the power it expected thanks to a special agreement Disney entered into with the previous Board. We’ve seen Disney comment on the new Board’s lawsuit threats and statements released by a Board Member, but now we’ve got even more news on the matter.

If you’re thinking “wait…what’s happening?” allow us to explain. Basically, prior to the new Board (made of people appointed by DeSantis) taking over the District, Disney and the old Reedy Creek Board entered into an agreement that gives Disney a lot of control over the District for the next 30 years. CNN shares, “Lawyers for the new board also said Disney has veto authority over any public project in the district.”

Another part of the Agreement stops the new Board from using any of Disney’s “fanciful characters” until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.”

Essentially, Disney put in place an “insurance policy” that would ensure they’d be able to function as they expect to even if the new Board wants to make changes. The Orlando Sentinel reported that this agreement was unanimously approved by the old Board on February 8th of this year.

One Board Member, Ron Peri, shared “This essentially makes Disney the government…This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintaining the roads and maintaining basic infrastructure.”

The new Board raised concerns about this at a meeting in late March. DeSantis’ office later made some statements about the matter, but now we’ve got some words from DeSantis himself.

According to CNN, DeSantis has “teased” that future actions could be taken against Disney regarding their agreements with the old Reedy Creek board. DeSantis said, “There’s a lot of little back-and-forths going on now with the state taking control, but rest assured, you know, you ain’t seen nothing yet…There’s more to come in that regard.”

In talking about Disney, DeSantis noted, “They basically got everything they wanted for the many decades they’ve been operating in Florida – until now, because now there’s a new sheriff in town.” 

Various sources have pointed out that while the new Board seemed to indicate they had “just” learned about the agreement between Disney and the old Board, that agreement had actually been approved in a public meeting well before the new Board took over. NPR reports, “A detailed note about the Restrictive Covenant clause was recorded in the Feb. 8 Reedy Creek agenda and meeting minutes. A day later, the agreement was registered with the Orange County Comptroller. All of those documents were, and still are, available online, no public records request needed. Anyone could’ve attended the old board’s meeting on Feb. 8.”

CNN also points out that “Documents for the February 8 meeting show it was noticed in the Orlando Sentinel as required by law.” And they share, “DeSantis’ office on Thursday declined to say when the governor discovered Disney maneuvered to salvage its special powers.”

According to CNN, while DeSantis was “upbeat” in his discussions about the recent battles with Disney, “DeSantis on Thursday spoke less about his battle with Disney than he has in previous speeches on his recent book tour.”

So what happens now? Well, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has sent a records request to the District and former Board members requesting documents and communications surrounding the vote on this Agreement. Moody’s office has warned that there could be “civil and criminal penalties” for refusing to turn over records related to the action.

Additionally, the new Board has hired a number of law firms to look into the issue and potential lawsuits or legal actions against Disney related to this.

Meanwhile, Disney has stood by its actions, saying “All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law.”

You can see the 2/8/23 Board of Supervisors meeting agenda and the minutes from the meeting which discuss the agreement here.

Where things go from here remains a bit of a mystery at the moment, but we will be keeping a close eye out for more details and will let you know what we find.

Click here to read more about the agreement and why Disney dragged King Charles III into the matter

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The post “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” — Gov. DeSantis Threatens Future Action Against Disney first appeared on the disney food blog.