DeSantis Signs Bill Voiding Reedy Creek Agreements With Disney

As the battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney continues, updates continue to pour in each week. Most recently, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the new board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which DeSantis called a “political” move. Then, the new board responded by filing a state court lawsuit against Disney.

There’s been a lot of back-and-forth between these groups, and it can get confusing to keep it all straight. Luckily, we’ve got a comprehensive guide that explains the ENTIRE history of the fight between Disney and DeSantis, which you can read here. To give you the gist of it, the main issue surrounds the Reedy Creek Improvement District, now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and who gets to control the District. Now, there’s been an update on the fate of an RCID agreement that Disney previously made. 

Back in April 2023, the Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 1604 (Land Use and Development Regulations).

Before we explain the Bill and what it does, let’s give a little context.

Events leading up to Senate Bill 1604

Before the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District took over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney formed an agreement with the old board. This agreement gave Disney the power to make development decisions in the District for several years going forward, and barred the new District from regulating building height and using the Disney name without Disney’s approval.

Once the new board took over, they described Disney’s agreement as an action that “stripped them of their power.”

Then, during a meeting on April 26th, 2023, the board declared the Development Agreement void, and in turn, Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and the Board.

Additionally, the Florida legislature recently decided to take action against Disney, and an amendment was introduced to Senate Bill 1604, which prevents independent special districts (like the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District) from complying with any development agreement if that agreement was entered within 3 months before the effective date of a law that changes how the special district selects its governing body.

Basically, this amendment directly addresses Disney’s development agreement and serves as another way to declare it void.

Click here to read the full details of the amendment.

What’s happening now

Now, that brings us back to the most recent news. On May 5th, 2023, DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1604, according to local Florida news outlet Click Orlando. The new law will officially take effect on July 1st, 2023.

Now that the Bill has been signed, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District can review Disney’s old agreement and decide if they want to readopt it. This must be done within four months of taking control of the District.

The battle doesn’t end there, though. The state of Florida also recently passed Senate Bill 1250, which would require the Department of Transportation to adopt minimum safety standards for the Walt Disney World monorail (Disney World previously conducted its own inspections, as do all other major theme parks in the area). It is currently awaiting DeSantis’s (likely) signature.

Click here to learn more about Senate Bill 1250

We will continue to provide information on the battle between Disney and DeSantis, so look out for more updates.

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