Could we see a reversal of the decision that led to the dissolution of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District at Disney World?

In between all of the bouncing back and forth between the former RCID entity becoming the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District after Governor Ron Desantis’ state takeover, there have been a lot of controversial opinions formed on its successes and failures. Amid the recent news that employees are now expected to pay out millions of dollars for a once-free perk while employed there, lawmakers are still looking for possibilities to restore the newly reassigned district to its previous version. Could they be successful?

According to an article by Deadline, Florida state legislators voted on January 5th, 2024 in favor of a bill that would reverse Governor Ron DeSantis’ state takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID). This once Disney-owned entity was stripped of its control last year which oversaw the company’s theme park properties when Disney spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill (known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics).

However, while the vote moves the process forward for the bill, it still has long odds of getting very far within the Republican-controlled Florida legislature. Democratic Senator Linda Stewart, whose district includes parts of Orange County, says that the bill “begins the conversation” stressing that the process to replace the then intact RCID board was a decision made with haste. “We are paying the price for that rushed decision,” said Stewart. She also pointed out the dozens of staffers who worked at the Reedy Creek Improvement District who also left when the new CFTOD was formed.

Stewart also went on to say, “This is not the way that we should be treating our Disney people,” noting the company’s influx of tax dollars it brings to Central Florida. She also went on to say that the former board members “simply don’t have enough experience with how to deal with local government.” Lawmakers in the Orange County delegation, mainly comprised of Democrats, took the voice vote on Friday while a few voted against the repeal bill, expressing doubt that it will go further in the legislature. While Republican Representative Douglas Bankson said that he was open to looking at improvements, a full effort to repeal the decision made him skeptical calling Disney’s previous control of RCID a “mini-Vatican.” He went on to state, “We need to have an equal footing for all our players in central Florida.”

Other Democratic Representatives like Anna Eskamani, expressed interest in seeing local officials appointed to the board. As a reminder, with Governor Desantis’s state takeover of the newly formed CFTOD, board members were picked by DeSantis last year when the state legislature successfully voted to reconstitute the district. The former RCID district was formed in 1967, at the time that Disney was developing its property, and has operated since then as an almost self-governing entity, with the Walt Disney Company effectively controlling its board. It’s also important to note that The Walt Disney Company is by a long shot the largest landowner within the district.

A federal judge is expected to make a final ruling soon on whether to allow Disney’s lawsuit against DeSantis and his hand-picked CFTOD board to move forward. The Walt Disney Company sued the Governor of Florida last spring, claiming that DeSantis’ actions were retaliation and in violation of its First Amendment rights after Disney spoke out against parental rights legislation.

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