But what did Disney actually lose from its battle with DeSantis?
Florida's Lake Buena Vista — home to Walt Disney World — Gov. Ron DeSantis this week declared victory in his ongoing fight against Disney. "Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” he said.
By "corporate kingdom," DeSantis was referring to the sprawling theme park’s long-standing system of self-governance, an arrangement established more than 50 years ago that helped land the entertainment giant in Florida and make it the Sunshine State's largest private employer.
Under legislation DeSantis signed Monday, the state of Florida took control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which essentially operated as Disney's private municipal government in the area containing Walt Disney World and other parks. The move is widely seen as retaliation against Disney after the company, facing internal pressure, criticized a Florida education law known by critics as "Don't Say Gay" because of its restrictions on classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade.
The district formerly known as Reedy Creek now has a new name and a board whose members are picked by DeSantis. Under the previous system, the Reedy Creek board was essentially selected by Disney.
For DeSantis, who has been using the Burbank entertainment company as a foil on cultural issues, the move is a public relations coup among conservatives as politicos widely expect him to run for president in 2024. It came just as DeSantis was about to publish his book, "The Courage to Be Free."
But what did Disney actually lose from its battle with DeSantis?
Although the new law delivers some significant changes, the most crucial one is the canceling of a previous mandate that would have resulted in the total dissolution of the district. That earlier law, which DeSantis and state legislators rushed across the finish line in a sprint last spring, would have left taxpayers in Orange and Osceola counties, the two counties Disney straddles, saddled with debt owed by the district.
“That was something that a lot of people were worried about,” said Jacob Schumer, an attorney specializing in Florida local government and tax laws who has written about the bond-debt issue. “Nothing is going to change. The disaster that was gonna hit the county and the taxpayers around here other than Disney — it’s not going to affect them.”
Representatives of Disney and of DeSantis did not immediately answer requests for comment.
But the law does change who controls the government overseeing Disney's kingdom in the state, which could be a harbinger of looming battles as tension mounts between the company, which has increasingly embraced progressive social issues, and the conservative state that has taken up leading a crusade against what it describes as “woke ideology.”
The new roster of board members, whom DeSantis named Monday, includes Bridget Ziegler, a conservative education activist and co-founder of the right-wing group Moms for Liberty; Ron Peri, chairman of the Gathering USA, a Christian ministry; and three attorneys, including the president of the Federalist Society’s Orlando chapter.
“He appointed cultural warriors, Christian national-types. That’s not an overstatement,” said Richard Foglesong, a political scientist and the author of “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando."
In recent years, Disney has overhauled its products and amusement parks, drawing the ire of conservatives. Visitors to the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks show are now met with a gender-neutral greeting, a departure from previous welcomes addressing “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.” The company has
