Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has finally won his yearslong battle with Disney, proving that conservatives can effectively fight back against left-wing corporations.
On Wednesday, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, which is composed of five DeSantis appointees, unanimously voted to approve a 15-year development plan that allows Walt Disney World Resort to add a fifth major theme park and two minor theme parks.
With the company’s $17 billion investment, Disney will also increase the number of hotel rooms at Disney World, while $10 million will be spent on affordable housing in Central Florida. The state will also receive 100 acres of the company’s land to work on infrastructure projects.
The mended relationship between DeSantis and Disney is taking shape in other ways, too. For example, the company has resumed political donations to Republicans in Florida.
This agreement would have been unobtainable even just a few months ago, when the governor and Disney were still fighting each other in court.
The conflict started in 2022 after DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which banned teachers from discussing sexual topics with children in third grade or below. This perfectly reasonable legislation was attacked by the media as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and Disney vocally opposed it. This was an obvious overstep, and it was particularly inappropriate for a children’s entertainment company to advocate teaching kindergarteners about sexual orientations.
Florida Republicans responded by first attempting to abolish the company’s special tax district and self-governance completely before they decided simply to remove Disney’s ability to appoint members of the oversight board. This is why all five appointees were selected by DeSantis.
After a conflict over some of the DeSantis appointees’ decisions, Disney sued the governor over “a targeted campaign of government retaliation.” Nearly a year of litigation later, both parties agreed to put the lawsuit aside and try to work together, with this week’s agreement symbolizing the new path forward.
This is just another example of DeSantis’s unprecedented success in Florida. While he was criticized by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and even former President Donald Trump for his efforts, he stood firm and came out on top.
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Disney had been given near-unilateral control over its resort in Florida, so DeSantis’s actions were not government overreach against a private company but rather rolling back a government handout that was unfairly favoring a private company. DeSantis understands the difference between state overreach and using legitimate forms of state power, which continues to make him one of the most effective governors in the nation.
While many Republicans would have caved in much earlier, DeSantis stood firm on what he knew was right and won. Private companies that are dependent on state support arguably should not exist, but since they do, they should fear biting the hand that feeds them.