ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Months after Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointment agreed to end long-running litigation After much wrangling, the two sides are expected to approve the agreement, which could pave the way for the company to invest $17 billion in a Florida resort and build a fifth major theme park at Walt Disney World.
The five Disney World district supervisors, appointed by Gov. DeSantis, are scheduled to vote Wednesday on a new development agreement that the two sides agreed to negotiate after a March settlement ended litigation in state court.
Disney’s contract with the Central Florida Tourism Authority, which provides municipal services such as fire protection, planning and mosquito control, runs for the next 15 years. For the better part of 50 years, the authority was run by Disney allies, but was taken over last year by appointees from Governor DeSantis.
Under the terms of the deal, Disney will be approved to build a fifth major theme park at Disney World over the next 10 to 20 years, as well as two smaller theme parks, such as a water park. The company can increase the number of hotel rooms on the site from about 40,000 to more than 53,000, and increase retail and restaurant space by more than 20 percent. Disney will keep control over the height of buildings because it needs to maintain an immersive environment.
In exchange, Disney must donate up to 100 acres (40 hectares) of its 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares) at Disney World to the construction of infrastructure projects managed by the District, contract at least half of its construction projects to Florida-based companies, and spend at least $10 million on affordable housing in Central Florida.
The March settlement ended nearly two years of litigation that began when DeSantis took over the district from Disney supporters after the company opposed Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The 2022 law would ban classes on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades and was backed by the Republican governor, who used Disney as a punching bag in a speech. He called off his presidential campaign. this year.
As punishment for Disney’s opposition to this controversial law, Governor DeSantis took control of Disney’s jurisdiction and appointed a new oversight board through a bill passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. Disney sued Governor DeSantis and his appointees, alleging that the company’s free speech rights were violated when they spoke out against the law. A federal judge ruled Fired Disney filed the lawsuit in January but appealed it. As part of a March settlement, Disney agreed to put the federal lawsuit on hold.
Early last year, before control of the district was transferred from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees, Disney supporters on the board reached a deal with Disney to transfer control of the design and construction of Disney World to the company. DeSantis’ new appointees They claimed that “last-minute deals” had neutered their power. The district then sued the company in state court in Orlando to void the contract.
Disney filed counterclaims, including seeking a declaration in state court that the agreement was valid and enforceable. The state court lawsuit was dismissed as part of a settlement in March.
___
Follow Mike Schneider on X, formerly known as Twitter: Mike Schneider.