DeSantis floats building rival theme park, state prison next to Disney World as fight continues

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ramped up his fight against Walt Disney World on Monday by proposing to build a competing theme park or a prison next to the complex.  

“Come to think of it now, people are like, ‘Well, what should we do with this land? Maybe create a state park. Maybe try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison,” the governor said. “I just think that the possibilities are endless.” 

The thinly veiled threat comes after Disney reached an agreement with the outgoing board of the Reedy Creek Improvement District to retain control over the land surrounding its Florida parks. The new agreement gives Disney veto power on all public projects in the district and requires the board to spend money on products that benefit the company. Another part of the agreement prohibits the district from using any of its characters until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.” 

Despite being reported on by local media, the DeSantis administration seemed unaware of the agreement for nearly a month. 

The governor denied that his administration was outflanked by the company, calling the move to control the district “legal fiction.” He said on Monday that the Republican-controlled state Legislature will move swiftly to nullify the agreement Disney reached with the outgoing board. 

The new board, made up of pro-DeSantis appointees, will meet for the first time Wednesday and is set to “hold Disney accountable,” according to the governor. 

The company denies that the agreement was made illegally.

“All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s government in the Sunshine Law,” the company said in a statement. 

After Disney publicly denounced the “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year, Mr. DeSantis launched an effort to take back control of the special Disney district. He has proposed increasing taxes on the company to raise additional revenue that could be used to pay down the district’s enormous debt. If that debt, estimated at $1 billion, were eliminated, the state could dissolve the district. 

Mr. DeSantis’ battles against what he calls woke businesses have been central to his administration and the lead-up to his expected presidential run. His new biography, “The Courage to Be Free”, dedicates a chapter to the battle with the House of Mouse. 

While the governor remains tightly in control of Republicans in his home state, advocates for former President Donald Trump, who has been antagonistic toward Mr. DeSantis, have used the Disney issue as a chance to ridicule him. 

“President Trump wrote ‘Art of the Deal’ and brokered Middle East peace. Ron DeSantis got out-negotiated by Mickey Mouse,” Taylor Budowich, head of MAGA Inc., tweeted.