Disney vs. Brightline, DeSantis, and Universal Studios

The ink has dried on one of the most frustrating contracts in Disney history…and it’s not even a deal that Disney signed.

Instead, Universal Studios has claimed something Disney executives desperately wanted but lost due to corporate and political subterfuge.

As a result of some truly fascinating machinations, Disney finds itself on the outside, looking in at the next generation of Florida transportation.

Let’s discuss the odd circumstances that positioned Disney against Universal Studios, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Brightline.

The Brightline Plan

Depending on where you live and how much you keep up with Disney, you might not have heard about Brightline until September.

This transportation option dates back more than a decade, though.

In 2012, All Aboard Florida announced the intention to connect heavily populated regions of Florida via high-speed rail service.

Due to its unique composition, roads through Florida primarily run north and south. Technically, it’s more northwest/southeast, but you get the point.

The highway system in the state tends to experience bottlenecks in the regions with the largest populations.

Also, many of these locales claim almost incomprehensible levels of tourism.

That’s a long way to go to say something obvious. Traffic often grows unbearable in certain parts of Florida, especially Orlando.

Meanwhile, the two most populous cities in the Sunshine State reside roughly 350 miles apart.

Somewhere in between them is Orlando, which is 100 miles south of Jacksonville.

You don’t need to have majored in logistics to figure out where this is going.

The enterprising folks at All Aboard Florida recognized a profound business opportunity, one with tremendous benefits for the state’s residents.

A high-speed train could crisscross the Sunshine State and carry guests from one tourist hub to another.

Initially, the company we now call Brightline started constructing next-generation train stations in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach.

The endgame always involved a hub in Central Florida, the home of three popular theme parks.

By adding a station somewhere in the greater Orlando area, Brightline could eventually connect residents of Miami and Jacksonville to Walt Disney World.

Disney’s Part of the Brightline Plan

Nobody needed to sell Disney on the Brightline initiative. If successful, it would drop thousands of loyal tourists at Disney’s doorstep.

The company wouldn’t even need to do anything special. Brightline performed all the heavy lifting.

Disney felt so confident about the plan Brightline presented that the theme park company ended Magical Express.

That’s a sorely missed amenity wherein the moment you dropped off your bags at your airport, Disney took control of them.

You’d find them waiting for you at the hotel the afternoon of your flight.

Once you arrived at Orlando International Airport (MCO), Disney would provide free bus transportation to your official Disney resort.

Magical Express effectively extended the concept of the Disney Bubble to the moment you touched down in Orlando.

The premise of Brightline would have streamlined the process. You’ll find the Orlando station at MCO.

At some point, Brightline intends to connect this station to one near Disney Springs.

Originally, you would have found the station somewhere AT Disney Springs, but those plans fell apart due to politics, lobbying, and some bizarre circumstances.

Yes, Disney ended Magical Express in anticipation of the next generation of travel.

Disney would have swapped out the old Magical Express buses for a high-speed train from the airport to Walt Disney World.

Obviously, that trip would have proven much quicker and more efficient because it sidestepped Orlando’s airport and Disney theme park traffic.

Everyone involved with this project would have benefitted from the plan.

Alas, anyone familiar with bureaucracy is acutely aware of how quickly plans can change.

What Went Wrong for Disney

Nobody likes to finish second. There’s a long-held philosophy about this at The Olympics.

The happiest people on the podium are typically the gold and bronze medal winners.

 You can guess why the gold medal winner is ecstatic, while the bronze medal winner is happy to have medaled at all.

The salty person is the silver medalist, the person who got close to the top of the mountain but fell just short.

That’s Universal Orlando Resort. By any reasonable metric, this theme park has exceeded all realistic expectations.

Still, being in NSYNC is good, but being Justin Timberlake is much, much better. The other band members can’t help but feel a bit jealous.

Universal Studios faces that frustration every day, as it lingers in the long shadow of Walt Disney World.

In 2025, Universal’s Orlando campus will open a new theme park, Universal Epic Universe.

Sure, the name is dangerously close to Boaty McBoatface, but the park will do extraordinarily well.

The problem is that Walt Disney World will remain the most popular choice in Florida. Nobody flies in from other countries for Universal Studios.

Comcast, the corporate owner of NBCUniversal, holds a more modest goal. It merely wants to siphon market share from Disney.

In a perfect world, guests will spend four or more days at Universal Orlando Resort rather than two, which is the typical amount.

Do you know what would increase the odds of that happening? Let’s say that someone built a Brightline station about three miles from the new park.

That would be really good for Universal Studios, right? Well, that’s probably what will happen.

The reason Disney Springs won’t get a station is because Disney refused after Brightline cut a deal with Universal. And that’s not all.

Disney vs. Universal, DeSantis, and Brightline

Did you hear the one about the theme park that found itself engaged in a public spat with the state governor?

That’s right, folks. The location of the Brightline station near Universal Studios isn’t accidental.

Comcast lobbied Florida politicians all the way up to the governor’s office in requesting the so-called Sunshine Corridor.

That’s a special Brightline route that would cut through Central Florida, stopping at a station by the Orange County Convention Center.

Florida officials have agreed to this project, which will cost $2 billion to build.

Even before Bob Chapek had a falling out with Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor had a closer relationship with Comcast.

When Universal Studios lobbied on behalf of the Brightline station near Epic Universe, Florida politicians agreed.

Disney officials haaaaaate this idea because guests will stop close to Epic Universe on the way to the Disney Springs area.

Yes, Brightline still plans to build a station close to the Disney entertainment complex. It just can’t do that on the Disney campus now.

Disney has bristled over the way that Universal Studios negotiated its way to being the hub for the next generation of travel in Florida.

Somehow, that’s not even the worst part. DeSantis recently went on record as saying that he stripped Disney of the Reedy Creek Improvement District due to fairness.

The governor has repeatedly used the term “level playing field” in describing what transpired. And he’s a total hypocrite.

Without a lick of irony (or self-awareness), Florida just provided Universal Studios with a special taxing district. The name is even similar.

Allow me to introduce you to the Shingle Creek Transit & Utility Community Development District.

Yes, Florida took away Disney’s special district, then turned around and gave one to Universal.

Did Disney Lose with Brightline?

I’m not trying to be glib, but I have to laugh at all of this. Even by shady politics standards, this one’s shameless.

Cronyism and corporate favoritism are on full display. And none of it is in the best interest of Florida.

A second Brightline station in Central Florida delays travel that much more…and the hallmark of Brightline is supposed to be fast travel.

Here’s the astounding part. The state of Florida just handed Universal full control of the governance of the Epic Universe land plus the Brightline station.

Florida has directed $174 million toward the project with the expectation that Universal will spend $129 million of it on the Sunshine Corridor station.

In a “you can’t make this stuff up” turn of events, there’s nothing forcing the Sunshine Corridor station to be built.

The recent events represent a strong step toward its construction, but nothing is finalized yet.

Universal’s special tax district is VERY real, though. And here’s my favorite part.

After the governor put into law the restriction that the new Reedy Creek board couldn’t include any former theme park employees, Universal got a different deal.

The entire board of the new Shingle Creek will consist of current Universal Studios employees.

So, DeSantis took something away from Disney to create a “level playing field.” Then, he turned around and gave the same thing to Universal Studios.

I guess the playing field is no longer level? To a larger point, Disney won’t benefit anywhere near as much from Brightline as expected a few years ago.

So, Disney has definitely lost the Brightline battle to Universal/Comcast.

However, Disney may yet win the war. This latest hypocritical nonsense should strengthen Disney’s lawsuit that much more.

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