You know that feeling when you’re listening to a song you don’t really love and it feels like it’ll never end? Or when you’re on a road trip, you’re OVER being stuck in the car for hours, and it just feels like you’ll NEVER get to your destination. By now, that’s the feeling some might have when it comes to the battle between Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney.

The battle has been dragging on since Disney made its statement against the Parental Rights in Education Bill and eventually escalated to major changes in Disney World’s district. Lately, the updates have included a federal lawsuit filed by Disney, a state court lawsuit filed by the new Board of Supervisors for the District, bills signed into law by DeSantis that impact Disney agreements and the inspection of Disney’s monorail, and more. But are Americans done with the feud? They might be.

Recently, Yahoo News/YouGov conducted a poll to see whether or not Americans really care about the battle between DeSantis and Disney about the Reedy Creek Improvement District. It is said to have been a “nationally representative sample” of just over 1,500 U.S. adults interviewed in early May. The results are pretty interesting for those who have been following the drama closely.

It seems that from an overall perspective, Americans seem to care a lot LESS about the “war on woke” in general than DeSantis does. DeSantis has been quoted as saying “We will never surrender to the woke mob” and describing Florida as the place where “woke goes to die.”

But, out of those who responded to the survey, only 41% felt that wokeness is a “big problem” in America. Every other issue asked about was seen as more of a problem — that includes inflation, the debt ceiling, border security, book banning, and more.

In terms of the Disney versus DeSantis drama specifically, people are pretty divided along partisan lines (as might be expected). The poll discussed how Disney criticized the Florida Parental Rights in Education bill (what critics called “Don’t Say Gay”) and asked whether Disney’s actions were “appropriate or inappropriate.” 

Overall, 42% of U.S. adults felt Disney’s actions were INappropriate, while 39% felt they were appropriate, and 19% weren’t sure. But when split among party lines, 66% of Democrats felt it was appropriate, while 47% of Independents and 73% of Republicans felt it was inappropriate.

The poll also noted how, in response to Disney’s statement, DeSantis has tried to abolish the Reedy Creek District and then took control of the board that oversees the District. The poll asked whether DeSantis’ actions were appropriate or inappropriate.

As a whole, 38% felt DeSantis’ actions were appropriate, while 40% felt they were INappropriate, and 22% weren’t sure. But among party lines, 67% of Democrats felt it was inappropriate, while 67% of Republicans felt it was appropriate. Independents appear to be much more divided on this issue with almost an equal amount saying it was appropriate (37%) and inappropriate (38%), and 25% saying they’re unsure.

Basically, slightly more US adults (as a whole) think Disney’s actions in speaking out were inappropriate. But slightly more US adults (as a whole) also think DeSantis’ actions in taking over the board of the District were inappropriate.

What about Disney’s lawsuit? According to Yahoo, “More think the courts should ultimately rule in favor of Disney (42%) than DeSantis (32%).”

While the controversy might be a big one for Disney fans and those in Florida, the rest of the nation might not be as concerned. Only about 34% of Americans from this poll say they’ve heard “a lot” about the DeSantis vs. Disney battle. So it might simply not be as big of a deal for some.

Plus, only around 28% of Americans (based on this poll) “take DeSantis’s side on the questions about Disney’s initial criticism and his subsequent response.” More people seem to take different sides on different questions — which could indicate that they’re not particularly motivated by the issue — or are just not sure.

As Yahoo puts it, “few Americans are really invested in DeSantis’s crusade here.”

Has Disney’s reputation suffered because of the debate? It depends on what you look at. About 64% of voters who identify as Republican or Republican-leaning now see Disney unfavorably (perhaps no surprise), and even MORE (71%) feel that Disney is “too political,” while 77% feel Disney is more “liberal” than conservative.

But, overall, Disney still has a “net positive rating” among Americans as a whole (when not separated along party lines) — with 52% having a favorable view and 34% seeing the Company as unfavorable.

How this will work out for Disney, in the long run, remains to be seen. On the latest earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger made some strong statements on the matter. He said that all of the changes made to the District are “about one thing and one thing only — and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position against pending legislation.”

Iger emphasized how important Disney is to the state, given the amount of taxes it pays, the number of visitors it attracts, and amount of employees it hires. He argued that the restrictions have been narrowly designed to impact Disney, not all special districts.

He ended his comments with a very pointed question seemingly aimed at Florida, DeSantis, and other state leaders — “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay taxes, or not?”

But since those statements, DeSantis has signed a bill into law that’ll impact Disney World and subject the monorail to state inspections. The lawsuits in both federal and state court related to Reedy Creek are still pending, and federal legislation has been reintroduced that could impact Disney’s no-fly zones. We’ll keep an eye out for more updates on this situation and let you know what we find.

Click here to see the latest updates from the Board of Supervisors of the Disney District and what CHANGES they’re making that could impact Disney

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What do you think about these poll results and the questions asked? Tell us in the comments.

The post New Poll Reveals How People REALLY Feel About the Disney-DeSantis Battle first appeared on the disney food blog.