Florida Governor Ron DeSantis can’t seem to stop talking about Disney. After appointing a new Board of Supervisors to the Reedy Creek Improvement District (now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District), the governor and new Board have threatened legal action.
©Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
Before the DeSantis-appointed supervisors took over, Disney and the prior Board entered into an agreement that essentially puts the power back into the white-gloved hands of the Mouse. Disney CEO Bob Iger has responded to the moves, calling them “anti-business” and “anti-Florida,” and now, he’s sharing more.
It’s been quite the year for Bob Iger. He returned to Disney with a few priorities — to help bolster the company’s struggling streaming division, cut down on expenses, and choose his successor. He’s ended up having to lead the company through some rocky terrain most weren’t expecting — including a political battle with Florida’s governor.
©Disney
During the 2023 annual shareholder meeting for the Walt Disney Company, Iger received several questions related to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and Disney’s decision to take political stances.
In response, Iger said, “We love the state of Florida.” He continued, “I think that’s reflected in not only how much we’ve invested over the last 50 years, but how much we’ve given back in the form of jobs, and community service, taxes…tourism of course, and all sorts of other responsible business practices.”
Reedy Creek
According to Iger, “The governor got very angry about the position Disney took and seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us, including the naming of a new board to oversee the property and the business, in effect to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right…and that just seems really wrong to me.”
Bob Iger ©New York Post
And now, Iger has been named one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2023. In the interview with Time, Iger was asked about DeSantis and “the situation in Florida.” More specifically, the interviewer asked Iger, “Did you checkmate Ron DeSantis?”
He responded by mentioning Walt Disney’s dream of turning “swampland in Central Florida into a business that employs over 75,000 people, that is visited by tens of millions of people every year, that is a major tourist destination in the United States, and for the state of Florida, that creates huge value for our company and its employees, and for the state of Florida itself.”
Main Street U.S.A.
Iger shared that Disney’s “sole goal” in Florida is to continue creating value for each of these constituencies. He continued, “All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that.” This echoes Iger’s previous comments about investing in Florida’s economy.
During the shareholder meeting, Iger announced that Disney was planning on investing over 17 billion dollars into Disney World over the next ten years, which will create an estimated 13,000 new Disney jobs and “thousands of other indirect jobs.” He also indicated this would help attract more visitors and generate more taxes for the state.
Magic Kingdom
“We have the wherewithal and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida. It’s that simple.”
©Reuters | Disney CEO Bob Iger
Iger was asked about the potential for meeting with DeSantis to work things out. He said that he didn’t view this as a “going-to-mattress” situation for Disney, and that if “the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that.”
“You know, I’m one that typically has respected our elected officials and the responsibility that they have, and there would be no reason why I wouldn’t do that.”
©Disney
But, no such talks are in the works as far as we know. The new District’s board will be meeting on April 19th to discuss a proposed resolution, and we’ll be keeping an eye on that. Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for the latest Disney news.
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Note to Bob Iger: please stay out of politics and give the vast majority of the population what they want, family entertainment at a reasonable price. You guys have taken away so much of the value that visitors used to expect. One of the biggest mistakes that Disney made was getting rid of the magical express and that is just a small example of what has changed at WDW. Let kids be kids, boys be boys and girls be girls. Say Ladies and gentlemen boys and girls, nothing wrong with that, get back to Walt’s values.
I am glad that Mr. Iger invoked the concept of right and wrong in his dispute with the State of Florida and Walt Disney’s name when commenting on Walt’s vision for the “Florida Project,” now known as Walt Disney World. Although I agree that Disney is within its rights to speak freely, Disney was initially wrong to defend instructing 5, 6, 7 and 8 year olds in gender identity and sexual orientation. The State of Florida is right to say this topic is not age-appropriate. Walt Disney spent his lifetime creating family entertainment, and Disney Corp continued that legacy of family values until very recently. Chapek was wrong to take the position he did on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill and Iger is just as wrong now, for defending Chapek, citing the 1st Amendment. Yes, Disney has the right to say these these things, but they are wrong, and Anti-Family and Anti-Walt in doing so. I do hope that DeSantis and Iger can meet to resolve this matter. I do not support the Governor’s idea to increase taxes and tolls at WDW, which will only be passed on to WDW guests. 5, 6, 7 and 8 year old children are too young and too innocent to be instructed in sexual orientation and gender identity.
Now he wants to build a prison surrounding Disney World. What a fool DeSantis is. And all this from a bully governor who got married in Disney World. Maybe he should concentrate on doing good for the people of Florida, not trying to make them feel like he does about certain things. Maybe he should stop being such a bully also. I’m a Floridian and a Disney passholder and I despise what he trying to do to our state. We all have different beliefs. He calls Florida the “free state of Florida” so if that is true why is he pushing his beliefs on all of us who live here?
DeSantis should leave “running” Disney to Disney. DeSantis cannot stand to be wrong and he is using the phrase “will of the people of Florida” to back up his egomaniacal battle. Iger is only recently back. He has lots to do for Disney. DeSantis should back to running the government. He is much too distracted.