In the latest chapter of the battle between Disney and the state of Florida, the newly appointed board of directors for a special tax district around Walt Disney World sued the company Monday in Orlando to try to regain control of the theme park complex’s expansion.
The district’s complaint concerns a pair of contracts Disney World made with a previous board controlled by Disney. The agreements – passed in public forums – include a comprehensive growth plan at Disney’s 25,000-acre estate near Orlando, including the possible construction of a fifth theme park and 14,000 additional hotel rooms.
“These agreements smack of a backroom deal,” the district’s new board said in its 188-page lawsuit filed in state court. “Whether out of haste or out of ignorance, Disney’s deals violate basic principles of Florida’s constitutional, statutory and common law. As a result, they are void and not even worth the paper they are printed on.”
Disney declined to comment.
The lawsuit, which was anticipated, is the latest volley in a 14-month dispute between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney World, the state’s largest taxpayer and largest employer. Last week, after the new board voted to nullify the development deals, Disney sued Mr. DeSantis and the new board members alleged “a targeted campaign of government retaliation”. Disney filed its lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee.
The conflict began in March 2022, when Disney along with other companies criticized a controversial state education law that, among other things, prohibits discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity for young students in the classroom. (Opponents labeled it “Don’t say gay”.) Mr. DeSantis and his Republican allies in the Florida legislature immediately began attacking Disney as an “awakened” corporation and began efforts to curtail its long-held autonomy in the state.
At the center of the battle is a 56-year-old special tax district that includes Disney World. The district essentially turned the property into its own county, giving Disney unusual control over fire protection, policing, waste management, road maintenance, bond issuance — and, crucially, real estate development planning.
In February, lawmakers stripped Disney of control of the district’s five-member board and turned it over to the governor. However, when Mr. DeSantis’ appointees came forward, they were angered to discover that the outgoing board had approved certain development agreements, limiting the power of the new board for decades to come.
Disney has repeatedly described the agreements as “appropriate” and made at public meetings advertised in The Orlando Sentinel. Florida lawyers not affiliated with Disney and experts on Florida development contracts have said Disney acted legally.
In Monday’s lawsuit, the new board said otherwise, claiming the agreements were illegal. For example, the board said the reports in the Sentinel “did not fully inform the public or other property owners about the purposes or contents of the development agreement.”
Notably, the new board members are trying to regain control of a growth plan that had already been approved by the DeSantis administration.
But that was before Disney — concerned that a new, politicized board could disrupt its growth plan — took the extra step of nailing down the approvals.
