A Texas judge said Disney World would be “welcome” if it decided to leave its Florida home after Gov. Ron DeSantis stripped the company of its land and tax privileges.
The deal comes after DeSantis signed legislation abolishing the self-governing Reedy Creek Improvement District, while Disney opposed its so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
In a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Judge KP George said the woke company would be warmly welcomed in Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston.
He described Fort Bend as a “hospitable and diverse place to do business” in contrast to DeSantis’ “authoritarian, anti-business, and culture war attacks.”
Colorado’s governor also tried to lure “the mouse” last week as the global conglomerate continues to run into trouble in the state it’s called home since the early 1960s, when planning for Disney World began.
Legal experts say the Florida company could still fight over the First Amendment, arguing that it has been penalized for exercising its constitutionally protected right to free speech.
Disney World’s move could prove to be a Sisyphean feat. The Orlando-area complex is home to 25 hotels, four theme parks and two water parks in an area of 43 square miles, slightly less than the land area of San Francisco, which is about 47 square miles.
Ron DeSantis, who held the signed “Don’t Say Gay” law in his hand March 28, said Disney tried to “attack my state’s parents” with its agitated opposition to the law and renaming of old rides
Houston District Judge KP George (left) sent the letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek (right) branding DeSantis a “political extremist” and adding that Disney’s “various characters” are welcome in Fort Bend
Fort Bend, Texas (pictured) has open country and a “hospitable” community, Judge George said
The Orlando-area complex is home to 25 hotels, four theme parks and two water parks in an area of 43 square miles, slightly less than the land area of San Francisco, approximately 47 square miles
Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a Walt Disney self-brokered bill into law abolishing Disney’s 55-year-old tax and land privileges.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District Act, enacted just months after Disney’s death in 1967, allowed the company to manage its own theme park.
DeSantis retaliated against Disney’s opposition to its so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans classroom discussions about gender and sexuality through third grade.
Judge George tweeted, “From Timone & Pumba to Tinker Bell, Disney characters are as diverse as Fort Bend County families. I welcome @Disney to visit Fort Bend County as your next destination while facing onslaught from modern day political extremists like @RonDeSantisFL.
The justice member wrote the same letter to Twitter, which was also criticized by the tech company’s potential buyer, Elon Musk, for being “overwatch”.
Last week, before the Florida House of Representatives voted to remove Disney’s special status, Gov. Jared Polis criticized Florida state officials for their “authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector.”
He tweeted, “In CO we don’t interfere in the affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter,” Polis tweeted Tuesday. “Hey @Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland and @Twitter we’re ready for Twitter HQ2 whoever your owners are.”
“We will grant Mickey and Minnie full asylum in Colorado,” the Democrat later wrote.
Governor DeSantis, flanked by supporters, signed the Don’t Say Gay bill into law last month
Judge George invited Disney to move its Magic Kingdom to Fort Bend, Texas, near Houston
After Disney sparked controversy by donating to the co-sponsors of the Parent Rights in Education bill, CEO Chapek reversed course and criticized the legislation.
How big is Walt Disney World?
Walt Disney World is located on a 43 square mile lot in Bay Lake, Florida, just outside of Orlando.
Construction of the park began in the early 1960s and officially opened on October 1, 1971.
It’s much larger than its California sister park, Disneyland, which is only about 500 acres, or less than 1 square mile.
The complex is home to 25 hotels, four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios), and two water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach).
There are about 50 rides throughout the park, built over decades. Only seven of them are full-fledged roller coasters.
Disney also threatened to withdraw funding from the state if the bill wasn’t dropped.
DeSantis hit back, telling Disney that they “are deploying their economic might to attack my state’s parents.”
He added: “We see this as a provocation and we will fight back.”
According to legal experts, Disney could use its deep pockets to file a huge lawsuit against the state on First Amendment grounds.
In the landmark Citizens United case in 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that corporate freedom of expression – in this case, donations to political campaigns – could not be restricted by the government.
“Disney obviously has no right to have a business improvement district, but removing such a thing on the basis of speeches seems most likely unconstitutional to me,” Hofstra University law professor Daniel Greenwood told the Tampa Bay Times.
Adam Wrinkler, a UCLA professor who has written a book on corporate civil rights, said he expects Disney to bring up free speech when it goes to court.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot take away benefits on improper grounds,” he said.
DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw dismissed the idea that Disney could argue that its freedom of speech was violated.
“The claim that an individual corporation has a First Amendment right to its own autonomous government is simply preposterous,” she told the Tampa Bay Times in a statement.
‘Reg. DeSantis has consistently supported a level playing field for all Florida businesses. It is not “retaliation” to pass legislation that eliminates carve-outs and promotes a fairer environment for all companies to do business.’
The move could affect more than just Disney’s expedited, exclusive government services.
Walt Disney’s “Magic Kingdom”: How the 1967 law allowed the company to govern its vast territory in Florida
The Reedy Creek Improvement District, a semi-private special administration, is controlled by Disney and covers 39 square miles.
It was formed in 1967 when then-Florida Gov. Claude Kirk, a Republican, signed the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, empowering it to regulate land use, enforce building codes, treat sewage, control drainage, maintain utility lines, and Provide fire safety at Disney World.
The district is governed by a board of directors elected by its 19 landowners, the largest and most influential of which is Disney World.
The district has the authority to tax the land and use the proceeds to provide basic public services and to operate and maintain all public roads and bridges.
Such private governments are not uncommon in Florida, where there are more than 600 community development districts that manage and pay for infrastructure in new communities.
It will now be abolished in June 2023.
The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, but it gives leeway for the county to re-establish itself — and leaves a way to renegotiate its future. The bill will also affect a handful of other similar districts by June 2023, with voting rights groups suing the state today over congressional map changes.
Orange and Osceola counties in Florida could also end up saddled with the $1 billion in debt currently owed by Walt Disney World.
The company also manages the land and foots the bill for everything from building new roads to maintaining power lines. These costs could now be shifted to the taxpayers in the counties.
Suffrage groups claim scrapping Reedy Creek will reduce black representation and benefit Republicans. They held a sit-in on the floor of the house, praying and chanting “We Shall Overcome” in protest.
Joe Biden slammed ‘ugly’ GOP lawmakers for targeting Disney and claiming it was taken over by the ‘far right’
But DeSantis and his fellow Republicans lashed out at the Orlando resort — to defend the law — before setting out to strip it of its special privileges.
Disney-Florida tug-of-war notwithstanding, the logistics of moving a massive theme park out of the state make it all but impossible.
According to Florida Today, Walt Disney World occupies a 43 square mile lot. It’s much larger than its California sister park, Disneyland, which is only about 500 acres, or less than 1 square mile.
The complex is home to 25 hotels, four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios), and two water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach).
There are about 50 rides throughout the park, built over decades. Only seven of them are full-fledged roller coasters.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District will now be abolished in June 2023.
DeSantis backed the move last week, saying in a donation email last Wednesday, “Disney and other bright-eyed companies will no longer get away with selling their uncontrolled print campaigns.
“If we are to hold the democratic machine and its corporate lapdogs accountable, we must stand together now.”
Disney has not yet commented on the move and could file an appeal.