Disney district’s privileges remain even as new board takes over | Commentary

Our Florida governor has been loud and clear: the Walt Disney Co. shouldn’t have privileges its competitors don’t share. I generously agree.

When 1967 legislation granted Disney a special-purpose government that I dubbed a Vatican with Mouse Ears in my 2001 book, “Married to the Mouse,” they gained the prerogative to plan, zone and perform building inspections throughout their property — a competitive advantage saving them time and money in all they built.

It’s the kind of advantage that Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s going after by appointing a new board to oversee the improvement district once known as Reedy Creek.

Example: In the mid-1980s Disney and Universal Studios raced to open the area’s first movie-studio theme park. Universal started first but was hobbled by having to comply with external regulations. In the end, Disney-MGM Studios opened 13 months ahead of Universal, about the same time needed for land-permitting.

Richard Foglesong, Rollins College Headshot. Photo: Scott Cook

User Upload Caption: Dr. Richard Foglesong is the Cornell Professor of Politics Emeritus at Rollins College and the author of “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando.”

Weren’t these regulatory advantages removed by DeSantis and the Legislature with the recent moves to take over Reedy Creek oversight? No. Exactly two powers were excised: the power to build an airport and to construct a nuclear power plant, neither of which, as I know from my research, Disney ever contemplated exercising. When they came, they asked for a lot, knowing they would get it.

And Disney’s exemptions grew as the county’s powers grew. In 1985, Orange County adopted an impact fee requiring new development to pay 52% of the cost of needed road improvements. Yet Disney claimed an exemption based on the terms of their Reedy Creek charter. At the time, their announced plans for hotel and shopping complexes would have generated $2.6 million in impact fees.