The End of Disney World’s Reedy Creek Is Upon Us — What Happens Now?

The battle over the Reedy Creek Improvement District hit a huge milestone last night.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) has allowed Disney a lot of control over the land on which it operates for over 50 years, but the future of this arrangement has been hanging in the balance for the last year. After some tension between Disney and Florida Governor Ron Desantis regarding Disney’s response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, another bill was passed that would dissolve the District by June of 2023. Now, significant progress has been made on another bill that could have even more of an impact on the future of the district.

On Monday, the Florida House of Representatives filed House Bill 9B in an effort to make further changes to the restructuring of power within the District. If signed into law, the bill would reverse the previous law that would have dissolved RCID by June of 2023, give the district a new name, and allow for the Board of Directors to be reappointed by Ron DeSantis himself. The bill has already been passed by the House of Representatives earlier this week, but as of last night, it has officially passed in the Florida Senate with a vote of 26 yeas and 9 nays. Let’s take a look at what this means for Disney and the District as a whole.

Effective Immediately

First off, while the original law that was passed regarding the District was set to dissolve the district by June, this bill will go into effect immediately upon being signed into law. The RCID will be given a new name — The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

DeSantis has yet to sign it, but it’s likely only a matter of time. Once he does, however, the district will still have two years to continue doing business as the RCID. This will allow them to make the necessary changes to legal land financial documents, physical assets, and other locations where the District’s name is used.

New Board

Once it goes into effect, the Governor will have the authority to personally appoint all five members of the Board of Supervisors, given confirmation by the Florida Senate. This will also be effective immediately upon being signed into law, but the current members of the board will be permitted to continue to serve until new members are appointed. However, they won’t be allowed to sell, dispose of, transfer, or expend any assets of the District with the exception of the case of ordinary business, until new members are appointed.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Democrats tried to prevent the bill from allowing DeSantis to appoint his political donors to the board in order to include local representation, but it was rejected. However, the new members will have to be Florida residents, even if they are not local to Orlando. The bill also prohibits the appointment of those who have “worked directly or indirectly for a theme park or an ‘entertainment complex’ within the past three years.” Also, members may not serve more than three consecutive terms.

New Rules & Requirements

Under the new bill, the District will have new responsibilities, like filing certain reports and possibly paying “more in taxes for road, rail, and other transportation projects outside the district.” The district is also losing some of its power, like the ability to potentially create a nuclear power plant.

This is quite a change, but a big takeaway from this new bill is that the District won’t be dissolved as previously decided. The “new” district will still have many of its previous powers, but there are likely lots of changes on the way.

This transition has gone through quite a bit of change, so we’ll continue to watch the situation and keep you posted with any updates.

“We Are Focused on the Future” — Disney Issues Statement About Impending Reedy Creek Changes

 

Comments (2)