The "Most Magical Place on Earth" is heating up as the battle between Disney and Florida governor Ron DeSantis entered another round.
The governor's appointees are trying to regain some power over land-use permits regarding the Disney parks. However, Disney is not only not backing down, it's doubling down on its feud with the governor.
If it's hard to keep track, here's what's happened so far:
The battle between Disney and DeSantis started last year after the theme park and entertainment giant spoke out against a controversial piece of Florida legislation that critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In response to Disney's criticism, DeSantis called to remove Disney World's self-governing status, which for the past six decades allowed the company to control a special district containing the resort. The state officially took over the special district in FEB, but before DeSantis could replace the board that oversaw the area, a Disney-allied panel signed a long-lasting development agreement that drastically limits the governor-appointed board's power.
As Open Jaw reported on 18APR, DeSantis vowed to nullify the move, and it appears the state has now taken matters to court.
Now, shortly after last week’s announcement that a DeSantis-appointed board would try to void Disney rules re-granting the company - not the political-appointee board - control over the special district where the theme park and resort is located, Disney announced its first LGBTQ event at Disneyland.
And Disney is calling on its lobbyists to keep an eye on any bills in Florida that could hurt the company and to start aggressively working against them, reports CNBC.
Taking the feud into new territory, a democratic politician in North Carolina has now extended an invitation to Disney World to relocate its multibillion-dollar operation to the Tar-Heel state, the Orlando Sentinel has reported. While it's unlikely that Disney would pack up its four theme parks, two water parks and 32 hotels, the invitation adds another layer of intrigue.
