Disney’s responses to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill (what critics have called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — which is now law) has had a number of impacts on the company, and prompted responses from all kinds of political leaders.

Disney’s most recent statement (made when the bill was passed into law) prompted a response directly from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Since then, we’ve seen references made to Disney’s handling of the situation made in discussions surrounding the potential repeal of the Reedy Creek Improvement District — the district that essentially allows Disney World to act as its own county and gives it a great amount of self governance. Now, another political figure has chimed in.

A Quick Recap

First, let’s do a very quick recap of what’s happening. When the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was signed into law, Disney issued a statement saying the law should have never passed or been signed, and that their “goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis then made a statement saying that Disney’s comments about working to repeal the law have “crossed a line.”

Following this, Florida representative Spencer Roach said that there had been meetings regarding the repeal of the act that created the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID). Roach said, “If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County.”

Governor DeSantis indicated that he would be open to this idea of the repeal. DeSantis said, “I would not say that that’d be retaliatory. I mean, the way I view it is, you know, there are certain entities that have exerted a lot of influence through corporate means to generate special privileges in the law…I don’t think we should have special privileges in the law at all.” (Click Orlando)

DeSantis then expanded a special session of the Florida legislature to include the ability to consider repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement District Act.

If you’re not familiar with it, Reedy Creek is a special improvement district that governs the land Disney World operates on in Orlando. Essentially, because of the way that the RCID is set up, Disney World governs its own land and in many ways gets to act as its own county. This gives it a lot of freedom in decision making when it comes to how it handles development on its land in Orlando, and other things.

We’ve analyzed the impact that the repeal could have on Disney World and why one individual said it would mark “disaster” for Disney.

Analysts have also indicated that stripping Disney World of their power with the RCID could cost residents and local counties.

Governor Newsom’s Response

In response to the Florida Governor and Legislature’s recent actions (in discussing the repeal of the RCID and expanding the special session to include this possibility), California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a message on Twitter.

Newsom asked, “THIS is what ‘business friendly’ means?” He also noted that California protects free speech and helps its businesses grow. Newsom finished his tweet by saying “Punishing businesses for speaking out against hatred is the move of an authoritarian regime.”

THIS is what “business friendly” means? 🤔

We protect free speech in California. We help our businesses grow, thrive, and invent the future.

Punishing businesses for speaking out against hatred is the move of an authoritarian regime. https://t.co/dACO1jL5PC

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 20, 2022

This isn’t Governor Newsom’s first time issuing a statement to show the differences between California and Florida in relation to political issues Disney has become involved in. Earlier in the year, Newsom posted a message on Twitter in which he reposted an article from the LA Times that said Disney employees were reportedly “hurt” and  “angry” over Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s response to the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.

Newsom then directed some words at Disney and said, “Disney, the door is open to bring those jobs back to California – the state that actually represents the values of your workers.”

If you’re wondering what the jobs comments is about, Disney previously announced that they would be relocating THOUSANDS of jobs from California to Orlando. Disney has even made a big land purchase in Orlando for their new campus.

Disney’s new campus in Orlando is set to be home to “more than 2,000 Cast, Imagineers and employees.”

The website that had been built to organize certain walkouts by Disney Employees also listed the following as one of the demands: “Stopping any efforts to move employees to Florida office locations, ensuring employee safety and employment retention.”

A Mountain Disneyland?

Governor Newsom isn’t the only one reaching out to Disney. Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted on Twitter saying “Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In CO, we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland.”

Polis also said they would “grant Mickey and Minnie full asylum in Colorado.”

Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In CO, we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland and @twitter we’re ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are https://t.co/r7Vcvu20eb

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 19, 2022

 

We have not seen Disney make any kind of response to Governor Newsom’s or Governor Polis’ comments. Could any of Disney’s plans change in the future given the current situation with the Florida legislature? Only time will tell. We’ll be sure to look for more updates.

Click here to see why analysts have said that stripping Disney World’s power could COST residents and counties