The CFTOD Plans To Slash Disney World Road Maintenance
The Ron DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) released its proposed 2024 budget this week, and it is not good news for Walt Disney World.
The budget, which was unveiled at yesterday’s board meeting, details a decrease in both planning & engineering and the roadway division’s repair and maintenance expenditures by $3.15 million, or 19%.
Photo: CFTOD
The proposed budget will lower roadway maintenance from $16.61 million in the last fiscal year to $13.45 million. The 2024 fiscal year runs from October of this year until September 2024.
The decrease in the budget will be due to less “paving rehab” according to the document. At this time, no details were included about which roadways are involved.
Walt Disney World’s entrance. The CFTOD is cutting road maintenance.
This Is Why Reedy Creek Was So Important
When Walt Disney World initially secured the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, part of the allure of the special district was that the company would have more control over the construction and maintenance of their Central Florida land, including the roadways of Walt Disney World.
The former Reedy Creek Improvement District. Photo: Fox Business
According to the Florida Department of Transportation’s Florida Traffic Online map, Walt Disney World’s roadways see as many as 25,000 to 42,000 vehicles a day.
The latest budget from the CFTOD once again highlights the governing power that Disney lost when Florida Govenor Ron DeSantis dissolved Reedy Creek in favor of the governor-appointed CFTOD.
Ron DeSantis and Glen Gilzean. Photo: Central Florida Urban League
Disney currently has a federal lawsuit filed against DeSantis. In the suit, they are arguing that the govenor dissolved Reedy Creek in retaliation for Disney speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law (which critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”).
Until that lawsuit, as well as the state lawsuit over the company’s binding agreements with Reedy Creek in the waning days of the district’s existence are settled, the company will largely be powerless to stop the CFTOD’s interference.
The Walt Disney Company
The latest budget by the governor-appointed district, however, shows why Disney is fighting for their control back. It also highlights the importance of Reedy Creek to the company.
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