DeSantis Threatens New Toll Roads & Hotel Taxes for Disney World Visitors
Governor Ron DeSantis promised new action against Walt Disney World in the escalating battle between Florida and its biggest employer during a sit-down at Hillsdale College in Michigan. This post shares the pertinent part of his statement, plus commentary about what each side stands to gain and lose in this still-ongoing dispute.
Earlier this week, Governor DeSantis sent a letter formally requesting that Florida’s Chief Inspector General investigate the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board and Disney employees for their adherence to state civil and criminal laws and ethics requirements.
At issue is a 30-year development agreement made between the Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Walt Disney Company prior to the new Board of Supervisors taking over. Those agreements consist of restrictive covenants, license agreement, and developer’s agreement that were discussed at a public hearing by RCID on February 8. The relevant documents were then published publicly (and can be found online here).
Only a few hours later at the company’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Disney CEO Bob Iger fired back. While conceding that last year the company did not handle the public position it took on pending Florida legislation very well, he contended that Disney has a right to freedom of speech. Iger asserted that DeSantis “got very angry and he’s decided to retaliate” against Disney as a result, “in effect seeking to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right.”
Iger added that Walt Disney World has over 75,000 Cast Members, and the resort complex has created countless thousands of indirect jobs throughout Central Florida, as Disney has transformed the region into a tourism powerhouse. Iger indicated that approximately 50 million people will visit Walt Disney World in 2023 and that Disney is the largest taxpayer in Florida.
He also revealed that the company has a plan to invest over $17 billion in Walt Disney World over the next decade that will create 13,000 new jobs. Iger concluded that “to retaliate for a position the company took, sounds not just anti-business but it sounds anti-Florida, and I’ll just leave it at that.” All of this week’s earlier developments are covered in full here.
In essence, DeSantis responded to that, dedicating several minutes of his sit-down in Michigan to his battle with Disney. The first couple of minutes were mostly an uneventful recap of what had already happened. After that, he turned to the latest developments, addressing the development agreement. Here are those comments from DeSantis in full:
Disney trying to do these agreements very quietly before we took control, and they’re trying to act like they pulled one over on us. There will be a lot that comes out over the next month or two, but suffice to say, the legislature is going to void anything Disney did on the way out the door.
Now that Disney has reopened this issue, we’re not just going to void the development agreement they tried to do; we’re going to look at things like taxes on the hotels; we’re going to look at things like tolls on the roads; we’re going to look at things like developing some of the property that the district owns.
At the end of the day, what I think what Disney has tried to do is say they should be able to operate outside the context of our constitutional system in Florida. No, we took this action prior to the election, we won overwhelmingly.
They are not superior to the people of Florida. Come hell or high water, we are going to make sure that that policy of Florida carries the day. So they can keep trying to do things, but ultimately, we’re going to win on every single issue involving Disney, I can tell you that.
As a preface to the commentary in our last post about Florida v. Disney, we cautioned against jumping to premature conclusions or declaring victors. Again, this standoff is incredibly multifaceted, involving the intersection of law and politics. The Reedy Creek saga alone involves myriad complex little-understood legal issues, and that’s before even arriving at the political angle.
Although certain aspects are ascertainable and relevant to the legal challenge and its likelihood of success, the eventual outcome as a whole is not. No one should pretend to know how it’ll play out from here. Most Walt Disney World fans and those in the mainstream media clearly did not heed our warnings. There have been countless articles, op-eds, memes, and even political cartoons about how Disney defeated, outsmarted, or outwitted DeSantis.
All of this is premature. Just as it was premature when DeSantis took his own victory lap during his book tour/presidential campaign, writing op-eds and delivering stump speeches about how he beat Disney.
In all likelihood, DeSantis cannot or will not let this go precisely because of the narrative that has emerged in the last couple of weeks. Between Disney’s last-minute development agreement and CEO Bob Iger going on the offensive with comments during the 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, DeSantis likely felt the need to respond.
From his perspective, DeSantis could not let Iger’s comments go unanswered. He could not let Disney to have the last word, or allow there to be a perception that the company had beaten him, giving his opposition’s allies an opening to contend that “Ron DeSantis just got out-negotiated by Mickey Mouse.”
Although I’ve admonished others against drawing premature conclusions, I can’t help but wonder whether now is when DeSantis claims a victory and lets this finally die. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that he will. Time and time again, I’ve expected that he’d be satisfied with a superficial win and let issues go; instead, he has pushed further.
This time might be different. (Famous last words!) So long as Disney doesn’t issue a follow-up statement and DeSantis maintains the final punch, I wonder what he has to gain politically by continuing to drag this out. Last year, the answer was obvious and the approach was made all the more obvious given that Bob Chapek was a less-than-formidable foe. No matter which “side” you’re on in this debate, it’s fair to say that Chapek did not handle this matter well and DeSantis scored countless political points with his base.
The calculus is decidedly different now. For one thing, Bob Iger is back at the helm and has a defter touch. His statements during the shareholder meeting threaded the needle perfectly, hitting precisely the points he should have to ‘win’ in the court of public opinion, while also offering concessions and admitting how Disney (via Chapek) mishandled its original response last year.
Unsurprisingly, this standoff worked out much better for DeSantis when his adversary was inept or nonresponsive. Sparring with a shrewd CEO is not so simple, adding an element of unpredictability and downside risk.
For another thing, DeSantis has already succeeded at his original mission of raising his national profile and scoring points with his base. By prolonging this, what else does he stand to gain? What does he stand to lose? Beyond the base that he’s already won over, how is this likely to be perceived by ‘undecideds’ who did not previously hold an opinion in the Disney v. Florida battle? (That last one is a question that probably no one reading this can answer for themselves; your mind was already made up.)
It’s almost impossible to be an impartial observer here. Everyone has their biases. With that in mind, my personal perception is that DeSantis stands little to gain by continuing to drag this out. Most perplexing here is the angle of the latest threat made to Walt Disney World…visitors and locals. I would hazard a guess that most voters know who pays hotel occupancy taxes and the fees associated with toll roads.
I cannot imagine that being particularly popular, let alone with locals or Cast Members who will end up paying those tolls in addition to the tourists. This angle simply does not strike me as a winner; advocating for toll roads does not hit the same as cultivating culture wars or punishing the company itself. (There’s a reason neither party is overtly “pro-toll roads” in its platform–they are largely unpopular with voters.)
Those same allies who fired shots that DeSantis got out-negotiated by Mickey Mouse can claim that he wants to raise taxes if he pushes that point further. Hard to see that as a winner even with the base. To that same point, the values or principles at play also become murkier the longer this continues. DeSantis’ argument for pursuing this was clear and concise last year, but can the same be said today? Iger already recalibrated this as an issue of speech and business; now it’s poised to become one of taxation. That’s quite far afield from where it started last year.
DeSantis has promised civil and criminal investigations into the activity of Disney and the prior Reedy Creek board. Investigations like that can take a lot of time; if he’s asked about this going forward, he could simply say, “that’s a pending legal matter and I don’t want to comment, but I’m looking forward to any illegal activity being brought to light and addressed to the fullest extent of the law. Florida will win in the end.”
Basically, a twist on what DeSantis actually did say during his speech at Hillsdale College, but minus the tax stuff and drawn out over a longer time horizon than the next month or two. He could use that line until 2024 if he were so inclined. Politicians make hollow promises with zero follow-through all the time; no one would bat an eye.
Clearly, DeSantis is not the only one who needs to do a sober evaluation on what there is to gain versus lose. It would appear that Bob Iger has done precisely that, as he didn’t simply let the development agreement speak for itself. Iger didn’t have to say anything when questioned at the shareholder meeting; he could have deferred to statements already made by the company or its legal counsel. His comments were calculated.
I suspect that internal conclusion reached by Disney is that there’s little left to lose by speaking up. That the company has already taken as big of a hit as it can in the court of public opinion, and that DeSantis has played all of his cards and earned as much “goodwill” as he can from this. That the company is unlikely to alienate anyone it already hasn’t, and if anything, is starting to come across as the more sympathetic party in the dispute. (That the tides are turning is my perception, but there’s undoubtedly selection bias in Disney fan circles!)
The thought process within Disney is likely that Iger can gain some public support without sustaining much more damage. His points about economics and free speech are precisely the way to do that–he made the best possible arguments available to him. With that said, and now that he has made those points, what else does Disney stand to gain by responding yet again? Personally, I feel like we are very close to this being a lose-lose scenario where both sides suffer by the battle being drawn out further.
Of course, that all pertains to the court of public opinion, and overlooks how this will play out in actual courts, or what the governor might otherwise be able to do to punish Walt Disney World and its visitors. That all requires a more vivid imagination and I’m not comfortable speculating about what other cards DeSantis might have up his sleeve. I certainly would not have guessed “raise taxes” to be one of them a week ago, but here we are.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What is your reaction to the latest developments in the battle of Florida v. Disney? Thoughts on DeSantis’ plan to punish Walt Disney World visitors, locals, and Cast Members with occupancy taxes and toll roads? Think Bob Iger hit the right notes during the Annual Shareholders meeting, or do you agree with the governor’s approach? Or, is this one of this no-win situations where everyone loses the longer it’s drawn out? Keep the comments civil, and avoid personal attacks or perpetuating pointless culture wars. Respectfully debating the differing approaches is totally fine, but don’t attack others, go on pointless diatribes, or troll for controversy.
Has anyone wondered what would Walt Disney do? Let the record show Mr. Walt Disney was a patriotic American, who with the help of his mother, lied about his age to serve in the Red Cross during WWI. He was conservative regarding family values being supported in his parks, even regulating how much facial hair his employees in the park were able to have. Walt Disney put America and traditional family values first. Based on his history, he most likely would support DeSantis. He would certainly not support any attempt to indoctrinate children through his work, for example, the latest Buzz Lightyear movie or the Proud Family. His history, legacy and vision should be accounted for. Today it’s clear Disney cares more about the dollar than the magic and innocence of childhood.
I would think it better to ask a current Disney, let’s say Abigail, how best to interpret Walt’s good intentions in light of our society grappling with old prejudices, and realizing that all people deserve basic kindness, acceptance and civil rights. Walt was a product of his time, and many people’s understandings have evolved as we’ve come to realize that love is love.
As Iger recently mentioned: “one of the core values of our storytelling is inclusion, and acceptance and tolerance.”
It’s sad that some people think Disney’s message was one of exclusion and intolerance.
It doesn’t really matter what any investigation finds, he’s gonna take whatever action he wants. All he wants is for the news cycle to say an investigation is happening.
He sent state investigators to a drag event last year to look for lewd activity, and the Miami Herald said the investigators said they didn’t see anything lewd there (because lewdness has a specific legal definition, and things don’t magically become lewd just based on what kind of person is doing them) and he took away the historic theatre’s liquor license anyway.
He and his whole ideology hinge on people being misinformed, and manipulating the news cycle to give people who aren’t looking too closely the impression that he’s doing things. It’s all about public opinion, and not actually about accomplishing anything through proper legislative channels. It doesn’t matter if it’s unconstitutional, if he’s convinced the Fox News viewer, that’s good enough for him.
43 year resident of Florida here. used to love this place, can’t stand it now.
DeSantis is a dangerous dictator-wannabe who does not give a crap about Florida. Florida is a means to an end for him. If trump and his base suddenly embraced “wokeness”, DeSantis would pull a 180 so fast it could not be measured with today’s technology.
I have absolutely nothing to add to the conversation but I wanted to say how much I enjoy your educated, measured commentaries. Thanks Tom!
Ditto.
For anyone getting updates on this subject, CNN has an interesting analysis this morning. Sources indicate DeSantis indeed has no interest in resolving the issue equitably. He started the whole fight so he could use the narrative of “I took the woke out of Disney” to run for GOP 2024 presidential nomination. Every misstep, however, has been seized upon by the Trump team to ridicule DeSantis, who gives the appearance of being thin-skinned.
DeSantis now can’t compromise without looking weak. The headlines of how he was “outsmarted by a mouse” are all over. The smart thing to do would be just declare victory and work out a back-room deal, but the stakes are too high now. Any concession to Disney will be seized upon as a sign of weakness.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/08/politics/ron-desantis-disney-florida-district-retaliation/index.html
Getting your news from the Clinton news network “CNN” or MSNBC or Fox News is not news. All three are politically driven to their side.
Threatening to punish a private company with extra taxes on their customers because you disagree with their free speech — not long ago, this would have been the absolute antithesis of “conservative” politics. I’ll leave it at that.
Exactly!
Agreed. Higher taxes, toll roads, etc. does not sound like what the republican party said they were. I thought republicans ideal was lower taxes, smaller, less dictatorial government and stay out of business???
But hey, end any speech with “‘merica” or “freedom!”, and his base will bite, even if the speech was to the contrary.
I just hope this “war” gets Disney to pull out of Lake Nona and keeps Imagineering in California, where it should be. Think that has any chance of happening?
With the number of jobs going to be created from those ventures, isn’t them coming a good thing? My wife was almost hired from one of those jobs at a generous rate until they slowed the move.
going to be fun when he’s a nobody again in 4 years. he won’t win a presidential election due to his anti corporate policy, and he can’t re reun as governor. Florida gets more democratic by the day, and the democrat governor will reverse everything he’s done. he will in effect be erased from history. a tiny whimper as pathetic as his wimpy voice.
Florida is actually getting redder, which has allowed Desantis and the rubber stamp, corrupt legislature of Florida to keep this issue alive. With the issue escalating, I wonder how it impacts Florida politics though.
Florida is gerrymandered, not necessarily redder.
I completely agree. I don’t think there’s anything to gain for either side if it persists, and once tax increases are on the table it becomes entirely unpalatable to a majority folks, regardless of political persuasion. It’s not a “win” for Floridians or your campaign if you start to threaten taking money (via taxation) to wage war against a private company.
I’m ready for this to go away so we can return to talking about normal Disney things.
I have to say I agree with Tom in that I was surprised DeSantis kept this going. I was 99% sure he was going to make a show of it to rile up his base and then drop it after he was re-elected. I think he really thought this was a winning issue for him and was hoping to use his new board to hold WDW hostage if Disney did anything that he or they deemed too “woke” for at least as long as it took to win or drop out of the 2024 GOP primary (politics aside, they certainly weren’t chosen for their experience in tourism or anything relevant to overseeing WDW). Furthermore, I was initially surprised when Disney appeared to lie low when DeSantis decided to appoint the new board, but their delegation of authority agreement with the RCID, made it clear they weren’t taking this lightly.
I think DeSantis overplayed his hand on this one. Had he just let it go, he could have still used it as a talking point and mentioned the only reason he backed off was to protect the citizens of Orange and Osceola counties and some vague stuff about continuing to look into it. Now that he challenged Disney head on, it’s going to be a real liability for him in the 2024 GOP primary if he doesn’t prevail. Right or wrong (to reveal my bias, I am on the side of wrong), Trump is considered by many to be a savvy businessman. Regardless, if DeSantis doesn’t prevail over Disney, Trump will mercilessly use that as a cudgel against him.
Tom is absolutely right that we have no idea how this is going to play out. For one thing, this is as close to an existential threat to both DeSantis and Disney as it gets. Neither side is going to back down at this point. The only reason I think Disney will ultimately prevail is that I doubt this will be resolved by 2024 and even if DeSantis wins the primary, this turns into a losing issue for him in the general election. Disney stands to lose a lot for much longer than that timeframe if they back down first.
Desantis has no choice now and can’t back down. He’s running a presidential race and his gop opponents will capitalize on any perceived weakness. He has to show he will win or he will lose face. And the locals, all of Florida (locals from higher taxes and tolls, businesses will receive less as well from lack of vacationers and incoming money) and vacationers will all have to pay the tab.
This really doesn’t sound like a conservative republican stand point.
I disagree with Tom about who has more to lose. How many fans does Disney have just here in the USA? Compare those numbers to how many people support Ron DeSantis. Plus Governor DeSantis wants to run for President. might he want some Disney fans to vote for him? If he decides to “punish” people who go to Disney world, just what effect will that have on the national stage? Gov. DeSantis needs to tread lightly for the benefit of his national reputation – or else.
Ugh this is all so nuts! The government is over teaching here in Florida and else where and people use the word WOKE as their new go to when they are upset and can’t compromise. We are a country of many cultures, beliefs and ideals. Everything is out of balance and I hope we all can find ways to see how great we all are as one people… not splintered because some media outlet tell its viewers to be. Walt Disney and The Disney Company are the biggest imagineers and entertainers. We need to all find away to be more in the middle not left nor right… just Americans!
This guy is a clown
I don’t know what will happen, but I doubt this will be “over” before the 2024 primary. The only thing I am sure of is, whatever the outcome, Disney will never put Ron Desantis in the Hall of Presidents.
That does pose an interesting question….
Breaking news, Desantis Wins Presidency!!! And this just in, Hall of Presidents closed permanently!!!
There’s no way around the reality that this is a decidedly political topic and it’s unsurprising that the comments would reflect that, especially given our polarized times. I understand that, and am not holding comments to usual standards as a result. But can you *please* try to confine your comments to the political topic at hand, at least?
Also, try to add something of value to the conversation at hand. I truly do not care if you agree or disagree with me. I’m very used to the latter, and am fine with constructive disagreement and debate. Random rants, personal attacks, and throwaway comments meant to annoy or antagonize are a different story–and may be subject to moderation.
I am surprised that Florida law would allow for it. I live in Washington where the money for tolls has to go to the road you are tolling. Hotel taxes have to go towards the development zone that they are part of and have to pay for improvements.
I find it odd that Gov. DeSantis is trying to win the Republican primary by raising taxes and tolls on families. His expanded “war on tourism” started with attacking the cruise lines over federally mandated COVID practices. Notice that cruise lines responded by growing the port of Galveston, Tx. DeSantis is playing with fire and when it comes voting time, I will remember.
I think you are correct Tom and we are close to the end of this, at least for a while. But first DeSantis’ Florida Legislature will pass something that looks like punishment – likely trying to void the prior Board’s actions. Then he can take a victory lap followed by Disney challenging the legislation in court and DeSantis saying he knows the state will prevail because – you know – righteousness, and the 2024 Presidential Primary will be over before anything really happens in the courts.
It’ll be interesting to see what the legislature does. So far, they have been a rubber stamp for Desantis – are Republicans going to continue with this even for tax increases? It would take about 1/3 of the Republican caucus in either the Florida Senate or House to prevent this.
If Desantis does become the nominee for the GOP, this issue is going to hurt him imo.
The armchair quarterbacking here is hilarious. These are two brilliant and savvy leaders sparring. To think we (myself included) have any clue the underlying motives, or how this will play out, is comical.
I appreciate your measured approach Tom. Rarely does one find an analysis of such a topic that reads as impartial. The popular media could learn a thing or two from you.
Tom: Iger may want to utilize his temporary advantage to negotiate a lasting deal with Florida. I hope Iger wasn’t an active part of this maneuver though. As an experienced, nimble (I stole that descriptor) CEO, Iger should know better than to poke the bear. The more he antagonizes the bear, the worse the outcome is likely to be for everyone. If cooler heads prevail, Disney and Florida could craft a mutually beneficial 20 year deal. Think that will happen??
Everyone wants a deal to be struck that strengthens both Florida and Disney, but right now there are no signs that DeSantis is interested in a deal. Iger and Disney have made overtures for settling and DeSantis has responded with aggressive, decisive rhetoric and actions.
The problem is DeSantis’ goal of taking the “woke” out of Disney. His appointees on the new board have said they want to teach Disney a lesson and force them to modify their content. That is a non-starter for Disney, as you might imagine.
There is no middle ground here. There is no way Disney will agree to a censorship board to approve every character in every show or veto development if Disney doesn’t come down on the conservative side of the latest culture war issue. Do you expect Disney to compromise by giving him control over Disney+ content but not movies?
I’m afraid this has no where to go but to the courts unless DeSantis backs down.
I agree that DeSantis was blowing smoke, considering the audience. I wouldn’t characterize it as “plans”, however.
I agree John. I appreciate that Tom dis include the actual DeSantis quotes including “we are going to look at things like taxes on hotels…”, but to say translate that to “DeSantis plans to punish Disney World visitors” in the headline is sensationalism to say the least. When Disney raises prices over and over and takes away perks, etc, I don’t remember Tom ever calling it “punishing” Disney World visitors…
That’s a very fair point. Both “plan” and “punishes” were loaded terms and I strive to avoid that type of thing. Conversely, I do feel that “teases” downplays what was said and his demeanor while speaking; I’m not sure whether I’ll stick with this or use “threatens” (which is also loaded, but feels like a reasonable middle ground given the totality of what was said and how).