Allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney reached a settlement agreement Wednesday in a state court fight over how Walt Disney World is developed in the future following the takeover of the theme park resort's government by the Florida governor.
In a meeting, the members of the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District approved the settlement agreement, ending almost two years of litigation that was sparked by DeSantis’ takeover of the district from Disney supporters following the company’s opposition to Florida’s "parental Rights in Education" law, dubbed by activists "Don’t Say Gay."
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The 2022 law bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades and was championed by the Republican governor, who used Disney as a punching bag in speeches until he suspended his presidential campaign this year.
The district provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, among other things, and was controlled by Disney supporters for most of its five decades.
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"Everything we've done has been in the best interests of the state of Florida and we have been vindicated on all those actions. Going forward we're going to continue to govern with the best interests of the state of Florida," DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday.
Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement Wednesday that the company was pleased a settlement had been reached.
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“This agreement opens a new chapter of constructive engagement with the new leadership of the district and serves the interests of all parties by enabling significant continued investment and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunity in the state,” Vahle said.
Following Disney's opposition to the law, DeSantis took over the governing district through legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and appointed a new board of supervisors. Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees, claiming the company’s free speech rights were violated for speaking out against the legislation. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in January.
Before control of the district changed hands from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees early last year, the Disney supporters on its board signed agreements with Disney shifting control over design and construction at Disney World to the company.
The new DeSantis appointees claimed the “eleventh-hour deals” neutered their powers and the district sued the company in state court in Orlando to have the contracts voided.
"I'm glad that they were able to do that settlement, those eleventh hour covenants and restrictions were never gonna be valid, we knew that. The challenge to the state oversight board to replace Reedy Creek, that's not going anywhere, obviously that was dismissed in district court," DeSantis said.
Disney filed counterclaims that include asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable.
Under the terms of Wednesday's settlement agreement, Disney lets stand a determination by the board of DeSantis-appointees that the comprehensive plan approved by the Disney supporters before the takeover are null and void. Disney also agrees that a development agreement and restrictive covenants passed before the takeover are also not valid, according to the settlement terms.
Instead, a comprehensive plan from 2020 will be used with the new board able to make changes to it, and the agreement suggests Disney and the new board will negotiate a new development agreement in the near future.
"We have an interest as a state in moving forward to make this region very strong, this oversight, tourism oversight board in that district is a big part of that and I think that there's gonna be ways where we can do things that are in the best interests of the state of Florida and I think Disney can be a part of that," DeSantis said. "A year ago, people were trying to act like that all these legal maneuverings were all going to succeed against the state of Florida and the reality is here we are a year later and not one of them has succeeded, every action that we've taken has been upheld in full and the state's better off for that."
