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

Things are changing for the Walt Disney Company in a big way.

Job cuts have been announced, the Company itself is going through a restructuring, a senior executive has left, and over in Florida, the battle over Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District is nearing its end. The bill that will change the District and remove Disney’s power to select the District’s leaders already passed the Florida House of Representatives and Senate, and now Disney has issued a statement in response.

According to Scott Gustin, Jeff Vahle, the President of Walt Disney World Resort, has issued a statement regarding the changes with the RCID.

In it, he noted that for more than 50 years the RCID has “operated at the highest standards, and we appreciate all that the District has done to help our destination grow and become one of the largest economic contributors and employers in the state.”

He went on to say, “We are focused on the future and are ready to work within this new framework, and we will continue to innovate, inspire and bring joy to the millions of guests who come to Florida to visit Walt Disney World each year.”

Under the structure that has existed for over 50 years, Disney (as the majority landowner in the district) was able to select the members of the Board of Supervisors that made key decisions for the District.

Under the terms of the bill that has been passed by the Florida legislature and is expected to be signed by the Florida Governor (and thus become law), the name of the RCID would change and, more importantly, the way in which the Board of Supervisors is selected would change.

The Board of Supervisors would be made of new individuals selected by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. This would significantly strip Disney of its power to select the District’s leaders. The bill would also remove some of the District’s powers, but much of its abilities would remain the same — it would retain the ability to issue bonds, make decisions regarding zoning, and more.

Here are some of the changes made by the bill (as outlined by a Senate analysis):

• “Removing the district’s ability to amend its own boundaries without a special act
• Providing reporting requirements for the district, including a periodic review of the district’s powers
• Removing the district’s ability to own and operate airport facilities, certain types of recreational facilities (such as stadiums, civic centers, and convention halls), and “novel and experimental” facilities (such as a nuclear fission power plant)
• Retaining the district’s power to adopt its own planning, zoning, building, and safety codes, while clarifying the application of general law to those codes and requiring any building and safety codes to be substantially similar or provide more stringent standards than the Florida Building Code and Florida Fire Prevention Code”

The bill, if signed by the Governor, would become effective as soon as it becomes law. But, a transition period has been built into the terms of the bill to allow the current Board of Supervisors to serve until successors have been appointed and qualified.

We will continue to watch this situation to see what other news is shared about it in the future. Stay tuned.

What do you think about these changes? Tell us in the comments.

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