MickeyBlog News for May 1, 2023
We just had a relatively slow news week. Wait! We can have those?!
All we have to discuss is — *checks notes* — The Walt Disney Company suing the state of Florida.
Oh.
We’ll talk about this continuing nonsense and some of the latest park updates in this week’s MickeyBlog News.
War Were Declared
Yes, the random military dude from that Futurama clip is correct.
Disney just declared war on Governor DeSantis and the gerrymandered Florida government.
Ordinarily, we’d all rather talk about the various Disney happy stories that shine some light on our daily affairs.
Alas, this particular story has finally reached its moment of truth. So, we should talk about it first.
As MickeyBlog’s Jess Landers chronicles here, Disney finally drew a line in the sand against DeSantis and his fellow legislators.
Florida filed the paperwork to nullify various Disney contracts involving the Reedy Creek land.
At a board meeting on Wednesday morning, the new members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District claimed superior authority over this land.
Within minutes of that filing, Disney sued in federal court. Since DeSantis has chosen many of the recently appointed judges in Florida, it was the right move by Disney.
Even this aspect underscores how much Florida needs Disney. I say this because U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Fitzpatrick recused himself from the case.
Why did this happen? Fitzpatrick lists the reason as someone related to him “in the third degree” works with one of the parties.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in Florida who isn’t related to a Disney employee.
Judge Michael J. Frank will make the initial ruling on this claim instead. No matter how he rules, the reality is that this legal battle will probably take years.
DeSantis could announce that he is running for President of the United States as early as this week.
His battle with Disney has become a fundamental part of his platform. Meanwhile, Disney must defend its territory or risk all sorts of future aggravation.
About the Lawsuit
The entire lawsuit is available to read online. I’ve done so and can save you some aggravation.
The gist is that Disney uses the words of various public officials against them.
Disney quotes DeSantis press conferences and even includes text from his autobiography.
The lawsuit also states that “CFTOD’s actions were motivated by retaliatory intent” with supporting quotes to reinforce that fact.
Disney describes its lawsuit as one of the most straightforward cases any judge will witness in their career.
Here’s the exact quote: “(This legislation is) as clear a case of retaliation as this Court is ever likely to see.”
In other words, Disney believes its case is a slam dunk. Florida counters by arguing that all it’s doing is negating Disney’s previous special agreements.
I spoke with many attorneys about this, and they were incredulous about the matter.
First, nobody can understand why Florida is trying to kill its golden goose.
Second, most people involved with Reedy Creek would agree Disney governs the land fairly.
You can easily argue that Disney shouldn’t have the special privileges – because they probably shouldn’t – but nobody on either side disputes what happened here.
Florida’s ruling party punitively punished Disney for expressing its feelings on divisive legislation.
Here’s the esteemed Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel summarizing the legality here:
“DeSantis actually might’ve had a solid argument for dissolving Disney’s Reedy Creek district if he’d:
A) Argued to end all of the state’s many special districts;
B) Developed a thought-out plan to do so; and
C) Did all this before Disney ticked him off politically and cut him off financially. But he did none of that.”
The Weird Fallout
As part of the lawsuit, Disney directly sued every member of the CFTOD.
While their names may eventually be removed, they’re facing financial stress right now. Nobody wants to go against the Mouse in court.
So, one of the CFTOD board members announced that it plans to raise taxes on Reedy Creek businesses.
The new members must do this to raise money to defend themselves in this lawsuit.
Word leaked of this plan ahead of time, causing several local business owners to fly in to express their outrage during a recent CFTOD meeting.
While Disney businesses comprise approximately 88 percent of the land, that’s 12 percent of businesses who don’t.
The CFTOD just announced these companies, many of whom are at Disney Springs, will foot 12 percent of the bill for this nonsense.
People like the co-owner of The Boathouse argued that this would negatively impact their businesses, many of which are already financially stressed due to the pandemic.
Don’t be surprised if additional lawsuits arise from this mess. The CFTOD has scheduled an emergency meeting for May 1st to address the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, a divide is growing among former DeSantis allies.
Florida recently voted on nullifying Disney’s previous Reedy Creek agreement. The former chair of the Republican Party voted against the bill.
As the linked reporter indicates, “Cracks are starting to show in the Florida GOP’s support for Gov. Ron DeSantis war with Disney.”
The national optics of this odd feud are growing problematic.
So, that’s where we’re at with the weirdest Disney story I’ve ever covered…including the pandemic.
Disney Park Updates
What’s the latest with Fantasmic!? I realize that’s the question you’re probably asking in the wake of last Saturday’s fire.
The answer is that Disneyland continues to evaluate the situation. According to KTLA, “Performances of Fantasmic are currently paused through at least May 14.”
This three-week break gives management the opportunity to review the underlying technology with Maleficent and contemplate safety adjustments.
I would expect Maleficent to return in a modified state, possibly in a kind of permanent B-Mode akin to the Yeti at Expedition Everest.
Disney has paused all its fire effects across its theme park empire while it reevaluates.
That’s the right call with the company exercising an abundance of caution to protect guests.
In other Disney news, pickleball courts have arrived at several Disney resorts!
Resort management continues to prioritize the wellness of guests, and you love to see it!
Finally, Disney has announced some terrific news about an upcoming character greeting!
Disneyland Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disneyland Paris will all add character greetings with Ariel from the 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
Here’s the massively talented Halle Bailey announcing it:
Disney has indicated that this new experience will debut during the summer.
I presume it’ll happen in or around Memorial Day Weekend, which is the film’s opening weekend. However, that is solely my speculation.
Stay tuned to MickeyBlog for more updates about the character interaction.
Also, while you’re in the mood for Disney, check out our latest video from onboard the Disney Wish!
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Feature Photo: Fox35Orlando.com