Yesterday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill for the State of Florida to assume control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The bill, which is vastly different than a 2022 effort to fully dismantle the District, seeks to rename the District and allow the Governor to appoint five people to the Board of Directors. The appointments would need to pass the Florida Senate to be confirmed, but that seems like a formality given the political mix of the legislature at the moment. DeSantis has appointed donors and loyalists and it is expected that they won’t face any major difficulties in being confirmed to the Board.
In a question and answer session following the signing of the bill, DeSantis shed some light on his hopes for the new Board of Directors for the renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. When talking about Disney’s history with the state, DeSantis turned his attention to the future and signaled that he hoped that the Board of Directors would somehow be able to shape Disney’s content.
When you lose your way, you’ve got to have people that are going to tell you the truth. So we hope they can get back on, but I think all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.
Of course, the Board of Directors won’t have a say in what type of shows and movies The Walt Disney Company creates, but they will have some amount of say in how infrastructure projects and other spending takes place within the district’s boundaries, which mostly contain Walt Disney World property.
The comment from DeSantis followed nearly 45 minutes of complaining from DeSantis and other speakers about perceived injustices and “woke” content from The Walt Disney Company. You can watch the full press conference below.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!