Florida Legislators file bill to restructure Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District

Feb 06, 2023 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Monday February 6, 2023 2:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The bill to radically change the structure of Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District has now been filed with the Florida House of Representatives.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has previously said that the legislation will result in Reedy Creek board members being appointed by the Florida Governor and Disney paying upwards of $700 million in Reedy Creek debt.

Notably, the bill says that the following are ineligible to part of the Reedy Creek board - "Any person who, within the past 3 years, has been an officer, owner, director, employee, agent, contractor, or subcontractor of, or has had a contractual relationship with a business entity that owns or operates a theme park or entertainment complex."

Reedy Creek Improvement District, Orange and Osceola Counties: Reenacting, amending & repealing chapter 67-764, Laws of Florida, relating to district; provides for continuation of authority for revenue collection & powers to meet outstanding obligations; renames district; provides boundaries; revises manner of selection of board of supervisors; provides term limits; revises board member compensation; revises powers of board; revises powers of district; provides for transition; provides for continued effect of stipulation between district & Orange County; provides exception to general law.
Effective Date: upon becoming a law
Last Event: Filed on Monday, February 6, 2023 1:41 PM

You can read the full text of the 189 page Reedy Creek bill here.

The action by DeSantis comes in retaliation to Disney's public opposition to the parental rights law, which took place under the ex-CEO Bob Chapek.

Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Ron DeSantis clashed over Disney's opposition to the new law

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lazyboy97o1 day ago

You’re so out of touch with the times. Institutional knowledge isn’t based. The terms are clearly part of the facade of propriety. The posts are minor patronage and an example of “new” ideas of executive power. People can rotate through and they get to pad their resume because the board only needs to exist, not overtly act, at this time. So long as Disney remains compliant anyone can provide the rubber stamp. Who has remained is quite telling.

wdwmagic1 day ago

Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board Changes Again as Vice Chair Departs https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/reedy-creek-improvement-district/news/18feb2025-central-florida-tourism-oversight-district-board-changes-again-as-vice-chair-departs.htm

LAKid531 day ago

Because the originals work is done.

mmascari1 day ago

How normal is it for boards roughly like this one to change members this often disconnected from their terms? I keep wondering what the point of terms even is, if we're just going to replace members whenever anyway.

lazyboy97o4 days ago

This is not normalcy nor should we lie and pretend it is. Development and building are local concerns and this structure remains abnormal and completely outside the construct of what are supposed to be legal taxing authorities. The threats remain clear, even if they’re just more loudly coming from others at the moment, and Disney is actively complying.

JoeCamel4 days ago

I think I would like to know Gilbert's campaign contribution history he seems to fit the bill of a Florida real estate salesman. Those and car dealers seem to gravitate to being politicians. Oh and lawyers too. I guess I yearn for the days of citizen service where the motives were clear but the money is way too high a bar for most.

Stripes4 days ago

These seem like decent appointments. Certainly better than the departing board members. With these appointments, it would seem to me that the new board will have members that are all qualified to be there. With the showdown over, things have returned to normalcy.

wdwmagic4 days ago

DeSantis Reshapes Disney's Central Florida Tourism Oversight District with New Appointments https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/reedy-creek-improvement-district/news/15feb2025-desantis-reshapes-disneys-central-florida-tourism-oversight-district-with-new-appointments.htm

DCBaker4 days ago

Ron DeSantis has appointed 3 new members to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors: TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Alexis Yarbrough as Chair, John Gilbert, and Scott Workman to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Alexis Yarbrough Yarbrough is the current Chair of the Broward College District Board of Trustees. She previously served as Chair and Commissioner on the Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. Yarbrough earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Miami and her juris doctor from Nova Southeastern University. John Gilbert Gilbert is the Executive Managing Director at Stream Realty Partners. He was recognized as the 2007 and the 2012 Orlando Office Broker of the Year by the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks, Commercial Real Estate Development Association. Gilbert earned his bachelor's degree in real estate from Florida State University. Scott Workman Workman is the Owner of Workman Transportation and Owner and President of Workman Travel. He has been active in the transportation industry in Orlando for over 25 years. Workman attended the University of Iowa. These appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate. https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2025/governor-ron-desantis-appoints-three-central-florida-tourism-oversight-district

lazyboy97o7 days ago

The FCC is investigating Comcast over their internal corporate practices that have nothing to actually do with broadcasting. Make no mistake, this is why Iger capitulated.

JKick9525 days ago

Do we have any updates on what this plan entails?

MR.DisJan 11, 2025

To give an example, I am retired from JP Morgan Chase, the provider of Disney Visa charge cards. I was eligible to purchase WDW and Disneyland tickets thru a portal for 20% off the rack rate. I do not know if that is still the case. While I was an annual pass holder purchasing thru DVC, I would purchase tickets for my kids when they visited WDW with their families. It was a significant savings.