Just months after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stripped Disney of its self-governing status, a neighboring theme park has been granted many of the same benefits.
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted earlier this week to create a special district for the 719 acres encompassing Universal Orlando Resort and its ongoing expansion. Taxes and fees collected in that area will fund the district. All land is owned by either Universal Orlando or the company that owns the Hilton Orlando adjacent to the park.
The special district will reportedly use $174 million in bonds to fund infrastructure, including a planned rail service station connecting the Orlando airport to an area near the park.
The train is the key part of the deal. Officials are concerned about traffic inflow to the area with the forthcoming expansion of Universal. (Disney, also, is planning to expand its parks.) The new line would also link to the Orange County Convention Center.
All of the board seats for the special district will be held by Universal employees. That’s far different from the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which oversees Walt Disney World and other Disney theme parks in Florida. The board overseeing that area was taken over by DeSantis allies after the state dissolved Reedy Creek’s special status.
That could add a new twist to the ongoing legal battle between Disney and DeSantis. The entertainment giant has alleged the governor’s actions were retaliation against Disney for the company exercising its First Amendment rights in opposing the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The law, which was signed by DeSantis in March 2022, prohibits teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. Supporters of the legislation argue that it allows parents to broach LGBTQ+ topics to their children in their own way and time, while critics—who coined the term "Don't Say Gay"—argue it will hurt young LGBTQ+ children, who already face greater health and suicide risks compared to their cisgender or straight peers.
After the bill was signed into law, Disney released a public statement saying "the 'Don't Say Gay' bill should never have passed," and vowed to work to have it repealed.
The company's stance set off a firestorm of criticism from conservatives who accused Disney of being too "woke.” DeSantis soon revoked the park's self-governing status, slashing the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and attempting to strip its employees of their free passes and discounts.
Disney claimed that the crackdown amounted to illegal harassment of a law-abiding business, and sued the governor in April.
“A targeted campaign of government retaliation—orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech—now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights,” Disney claimed.
The company narrowed the suit in September to just a free speech claim, alleging “weaponization of government.”
But DeSantis, who is seeking the GOP's presidential nomination, has come under fire from free-market Republican donors for targeting corporations like Disney, calling it his "fatal error."
