Reedy Creek Improvement District

[OrlLover]

The problem I have with this battle is that Disney is specifically being targeted because of a personal vendetta against the company.

It’s not fair at all and just because “they have too much power” does not make it right. Making them comply with modern state laws is one thing but going so far as threatening to charge tolls around property to spite them is another level of petty and immaturity from the Governor.

I so wish Iger was running the show when this situation initially came about because none of this would have happened. But at the same time when you have power hungry leaders anything can go awry.

 

[Jerroddragon]

The problem I have with this battle is that Disney is specifically being targeted because of a personal vendetta against the company.

It’s not fair at all and just because “they have too much power” does not make it right. Making them comply with modern state laws is one thing but going so far as threatening to charge tolls around property to spite them is another level of petty and immaturity from the Governor.

I so wish Iger was running the show when this situation initially came about because none of this would have happened. But at the same time when you have power hungry leaders anything can go awry.

Isn't Iger the one one who was in charge when they made a statement? What would have changed? I think Disney was dammed either way

Edit: So do people here believe Iger would have had made a better statement or rather Disney not say a thing?

 

[Brian G.]

Isn't Iger the one one who was in charge when they made a statement? What would have changed? I think Disney was dammed either way

No. It was when Chapek was still there.

 

[fryoj]

Not sure why we should have to baby you guys, but I honestly think this is a topic that can be had if people stick to the more narrow set of guidelines laid out which include:

That's just where we are at as a society. It's Twitter syndrome in some ways. Someone says something, someone responds, and then everyone dogpiles on. People don't have filters any more and there's no repercussions.

This is a screwed up mess all around and people have deeply personal opinions on it. A lot of people can turn it off and have a rational discussion, but a lot of people just can't.

One of the best things about this board is that the hot button topics are largely kept out of here. On this one, it might be better locking it and just letting the mods post relevant news topics when they come up.

 

[CyborgDinosaur]

No one's really a good guy here, let's be honest. Does Disney deserve the power they have with RCID anymore? No.

Why doesn't Disney deserve the power they had? I'm not going to pretend that the Disney Corporation is a benevolent entity that has anything but profits as its end goal, but I don't think this sentiment can be taken for granted. What exactly about the arrangement they had was detrimental to anyone else? Did they abuse their power in some way? What problem would be solved by replacing the board?

 

[Nick]

On this one, it might be better locking it and just letting the mods post relevant news topics when they come up.

I've thought about this being the best course of action. We'll see.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Why doesn't Disney deserve the power they had? I'm not going to pretend that the Disney Corporation is a benevolent entity that has anything but profits as its end goal, but I don't think this sentiment can be taken for granted. What exactly about the arrangement they had was detrimental to anyone else? Did they abuse their power in some way? What problem would be solved by replacing the board?

Thats why Its political because they did nothing but put out a statement.

I even post a website with all the other special districts in the state, if this was anything but political then more speical districts would be losing the status but to my knowledge isn't only Disney

 

[Nick]

Why doesn't Disney deserve the power they had? I'm not going to pretend that the Disney Corporation is a benevolent entity that has anything but profits as its end goal, but I don't think this sentiment can be taken for granted. What exactly about the arrangement they had was detrimental to anyone else? Did they abuse their power in some way? What problem would be solved by replacing the board?

I'm not saying their special district should be stripped. I'm saying that as a private company, they undoubtedly had too much power and as I have also said over and over, while their power probably needed to be reduced, they are being targeted for all the wrong reasons.

Thats why Its political because they did nothing but put out a statement.

I even post a website with all the other special districts in the state, if this was anything but political then more speical districts would be losing the status but to my knowledge isn't only Disney

We've acknowledged it's political several times, we're not acting like it's not. We're asking people to act like grown ups, but in today's climate even that probably won't be enough.

Also, just because there's other special districts doesn't make all of them equal. It's not normal for a large company to basically be its own government. It was created in 1967 to get the resort off the ground and to be able to bring tourism in because they were building in the middle of a swamp where there was no power or sewage nearby.

RCID made complete sense back then. The power TWDC has should be reduced, but not because some guy holds a grudge.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I'm not saying their special district should be stripped. I'm saying that as a private company, they undoubtedly had too much power and as I have also said over and over, while their power probably needed to be reduced, they are being targeted for all the wrong reasons.

We've acknowledged it's political several times, we're not acting like it's not. We're asking people to act like grown ups, but in today's climate even that probably won't be enough.

Also, just because there's other special districts doesn't make all of them equal. It's not normal for a large company to basically be its own government. It was created in 1967 to get the resort off the ground and to be able to bring tourism in because they were building in the middle of a swamp where there was no power or sewage nearby.

RCID made complete sense back then. The power TWDC has should be reduced, but not because some guy holds a grudge.

I guess my question is why?

Besides taking out about one law, has Disney abused the power? To me it seems like it has been a wok for everyone and literally no one cares until they made one basic corporate statement and now it’s an issue

 

[JoeCamel]

I guess my question is why?

Besides telling out about one law, has Disney abused the power? To me it seems like it has been a wok for everyone and literally no one cares until they made one basic corporate statement and now it’s an issue

Plus they pulled their donations.......

 

[Nick]

I guess my question is why?

Besides telling out about one law, has Disney abused the power? To me it seems like it has been a wok for everyone and literally no one cares until they made one basic corporate statement and now it’s an issue

Personally i've always thought it a bit odd that Disney was allowed to self-govern. For me, this is all the wrong way to go about this situation and i'm not saying Disney should even fully be stripped of RCID. What i'm saying is this: Big company has too much governmental power. Reign them in sure, but it's being gone about completely wrong and has been overcorrected.

 

[CyborgDinosaur]

What i'm saying is this: Big company has too much governmental power.

But why do you think it was too much power? They own the entire area of land, so there are no other residents' or business's competing interests to consider. Taxpayers were able to save a ton of money not paying for Disney's infrastructure, which is maintained to an extremely high standard. Disney's safety record is top notch, and they've been a great steward of tens of thousands of acres the environment on much of their land (areas which would be immediately be paved over if they sold it off). What issue, specifically, do you think was in need of correction?

 

[Nick]

But why do you think it was too much power? They own the entire area of land, so there are no other residents' or business's competing interests to consider. Taxpayers were able to save a ton of money not paying for Disney's infrastructure, which is maintained to an extremely high standard. Disney's safety record is top notch, and they've been a great steward of tens of thousands of acres the environment on much of their land (areas which would be immediately be paved over if they sold it off). What issue, specifically, do you think was in need of correction?

I literally have nothing that i'm pointing to specifically. It's great that Disney has been good on all of that stuff, but the only thing i'm arguing (which I want to make very clear is very separate from the situation going with why this started) is that they are a private company and private companies should not be allowed to self-govern. I'm just against that.

Like I said, great that Disney has been responsible, but with how broad Disney's power was, they could've easily done a lot of things really bad, too. I mean hell, they had the ability to build a Nuclear plant on site if they wanted to. That's simply too much power for a company to have over such a large area.

My argument is not that Disney should have lost RCID altogether, but simply that a lot of the power they have probably should've been rolled back decades ago.

 

[ultimateforce]

"Yes this private company has supreme power over a large section of the state this is ok because they haven't abused their power yet!"

 

[OrlLover]

Plus they pulled their donations.......

Which is one of the reasons why this being dragged out as they huge amounts of money to these Government officials.

 

[CyborgDinosaur]

Oh no, they had additional control over zoning, permits, and infrastructure within land entirely owned by them using their own tax dollars while still being entirely subject to state and federal law. The horror.

There are over 1,800 other special districts in Florida, including the Orlando Community Redevelopment Agency that Universal Orlando Resort sits inside of and the Village's Village Center Community Development District. Should we go after them all next? Is there actually something unique about Disney's special district, or could it be that this has nothing to do with the power of special districts?

 

[GAcoaster]

The Reedy Creek District was set up by Disney for Disney. It is a unique setup by design. That's what Walt wanted so he could build EPCOT with limited interference-- it has since then become a tool of Disney to avoid paying for things. I don't agree with the governor's doing this out of spite, but I also agree Disney has gotten away with a lot because they controlled the RCID.

 

[CyborgDinosaur]

The Reedy Creek District was set up by Disney for Disney. It is a unique setup by design. That's what Walt wanted so he could build EPCOT with limited interference-- it has since then become a tool of Disney to avoid paying for things. I don't agree with the governor's doing this out of spite, but I also agree Disney has gotten away with a lot because they controlled the RCID.

Name a project they used the special district to avoid paying for, then. As far as I can tell, this district has done the exact opposite and prevented Orange county residents from having to pay for Disney's infrastructure, which is why the legislature abandoned their original plan of dissolving the special district.

 

[GAcoaster]

All you have to do is look at the parking garages for Disney Springs-- built and operated by Reedy Creek solely for the purpose of Disney. They had the ability to float bonds to pay for projects so Disney didn't have to budget for them. The idea is it is "in the service of the district", but if that was truly the case then RCID should have also been running all the buses, boats, and monorails too. They picked and chose what we specifically Disney and what was RCID.

Disney picked the people who lived in the city of Lake Buena Vista and the city of Bay Lake who were the only people who could vote or serve on the RCID boards. This made sense with the idea that EPCOT was going to be an actual city, but since that never came to pass the district remained a simple rubber stamp of Disney. That's why Celebration and Golden Oak were removed from the Reedy Creek District-- to make sure those property owners had no say in what Disney did even though they were built by Disney on land that they owned.

 

[Nick]

We’re actually having a pretty good conversation about RCID and whether Disney should’ve had this much power for so long, so with some hesitancy, I post news of the Tourism Oversight Board’s plans for the April 26 Board Meeting.

A void agreement means that Disney will have to take them to court if the think they are in the right, but until proven legal in court, the “King Clause” will be deemed void and the CFTOD Board will have full authority until any potential time where a judge were to overturn this move by the CFTOD if I have it all correct.