North Carolina Lawmakers Want Disney’s Theme Park Business
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been in a battle with Disney for over a year now. Even though DeSantis DID think Disney was good enough for his own wedding back in 2009 (yep!), he has apparently had a big change of heart in recent years.
Credit: WESH2
The issues truly began after Disney opposed DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” legislation for Florida. Now, the governor has been trying to best the company (key word: trying).
Photo: AP
But, maybe Disney won’t even have to worry about Florida in the future, because lawmakers in another U.S. state want Disney’s theme park business.
North Carolina Disney Bill
Lawmakers in North Carolina have introduced a bill called “Mickey’s Freedom Restoration Act” whose goal is to attract theme park businesses to the state, specifically Disney. This info was tweeted out by Spectrum 13’s Ashley Carter.
North Carolina State Sen. Michael Garrett has introduced a bill called "Mickey's Freedom Restoration Act," which is aimed at attracting theme park businesses to North Carolina, including Disney. pic.twitter.com/cFSs11Xgol
— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) April 19, 2023
State Senator Michael Garrett introduced the bill (Senate Bill 594), along with Senator Chad Chaudhuri (the Senate minority whip) and Sydney Batch, who’s a deputy Democratic caucus leader (as is Garrett), according to WGHP. They want to study trying to get Disney’s theme park business to North Carolina and they’re asking for $750,000 to do so, starting in July of this year.
Photo: WGHP
The bill was apparently filed to give Disney a place to move its Florida theme parks and attractions amidst its current feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis has been in a long battle with Disney after Disney opposed his controversial “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. The governor retaliated at the company by moving to take away Disney’s special tax district (but that’s honestly just the beginning, you can read about the latest news right here).
Photo: Fox35Orlando.com
Disney is Florida’s largest private employer and is also a very significant taxpayer. The company also generates about $75.2 billion in annual impact (WGHP).
Back to the North Carolina bill — Sen. Garrett said the following in a release:
“North Carolina is a great place to do business. Politicians who put their state’s economy at risk to boost their own selfish political ambitions are a liability. In North Carolina, we’ve learned this lesson the hard way. When HB2, the so-called ‘bathroom bill’ passed, other states capitalized on our state’s disgraceful misstep. I welcome The Walt Disney Company and all other businesses seeking refuge from the culture war madness currently gripping the great state of Florida.”
EPCOT
WGHP said Garrett wrote in a text message that he is “trying to make Disney World more accessible and affordable to North Carolina families.”
He then went on to say that the bill would establish “a commission to identify sites, infrastructure investments and incentive packages that would be needed…similar to the process we use to identify megasites.” Garrett also said that they haven’t talked to Disney yet and that Disney was just notified of this legislation today.
Other North Carolina lawmakers seem to agree! Check out this tweet from North Carolina State Senator Dan Blue:
Florida doesn’t seem a good fit for the happiest place on earth these days. In NC, y’all still means all. #ncpol #DisneyWorld https://t.co/OQQ6D2h63l
— Dan Blue (@DanBlueNC) April 19, 2023
This could be HUGE for North Carolina’s economy if Disney were to build theme parks in the state. Disney World in Florida attracts hundreds of millions of visitors each year, and with those visitors comes tourist money that helps out the local economy.
Do note that there already is one big amusement park in North Carolina — Carowinds, which is owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Group. It’s partially in the city of Charlotte, but the park rests on the border of both North and South Carolina.
Photo: Carowinds
North Carolina also has a Democratic Governor at the moment (Gov. Roy Cooper), who would likely NOT cause the same issues for Disney that DeSantis is currently causing.
And, as a North Carolinian myself, I would happily welcome Disney to our state! Sorry Floridians, but I’d love to visit a Disney park without getting on a plane or driving 8 hours!
We’ll keep you updated on this situation, including Disney’s possible response and if the bill passes. Stay tuned for more Disney news and updates!
