Gov. DeSantis downplays Disney federal lawsuit appeal: ‘No basis for this case’

Gov. Ron DeSantis scoffed at Disney’s threats to appeal the federal lawsuit a Judge recently dismissed, as he touted his reform of Disney World’s government.

“I know they said they’re going to appeal. The reality is is they don’t have a basis for this case,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Lake Buena Vista surrounded by his allies. “Clearly, the Florida Legislature has the right to reform a local government structure, one that had all these problems.”

Last month, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed Disney’s free speech lawsuit against DeSantis after Disney accused state leaders of retaliating for speaking out against a controversial Florida law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.

“This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” Disney said after the lawsuit was dismissed.

DeSantis spoke close to the anniversary of signing a law that stripped Disney of its power to control its government board and allowed the state to appoint new members in their place.

“Is it one company gets to call the shots or is it we the people of the state of Florida who gets to call the shots?” DeSantis said. “It needs to be we the people.”

The new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) — DeSantis’ state board that replaced Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District — is an example of good government and positive reform, the Governor said. The state-appointed board members have lowered taxes at the district — primarily Walt Disney World Resort property — and pushed harder for local businesses to get work with the Disney government to even the playing field, officials said.

CFTOD Board Chair Martin Garcia accused Disney’s urban planning of being “to the detriment of the rest of Orange and Osceola counties.”

“Do you wonder why you sit in traffic on I-4 and inch along, and the minute you get in the district, there’s no traffic?” Garcia said. “This district has impacted Orange and Osceola counties, but hadn’t paid the impact fees so that the counties outside of the district could provide the services and the infrastructure that was necessary for all of the residents of Central Florida.”

Florida lawmakers passed laws that allowed the Disney World monorail to be inspected by the state and for the Governor to appoint new government members, but did not push any changes tackling Disney impact fees.

During the press conference, DeSantis called a mom onstage who said she didn’t trust Disney’s content.

In the same room was Bridget Ziegler, a Disney government board member whose threesome with her husband and another woman had gotten national media coverage. Bridget Ziegler’s husband, Christian Ziegler, was investigated for sexually assaulting the other woman, although he has not been charged with a crime. He did, however, lose his job as Florida GOP Chair.

At his press conference, the Governor took a slightly less adversarial tone against the giant entertainment company than his words in the past.

When mentioning Universal’s Epic Universe park and Disney’s talk of expansions, DeSantis said, “We want everyone to be successful.” Then he added, “But we need government to be transparent. We need it to be accountable and we need to answer to we the people, not to one single company, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Florida Politics reached out for comment to Disney World and did not receive a response late Thursday morning. The company has previously touted its value to Florida, reminding lawmakers about its $40 billion economic impact, according to a Disney-commissioned study last year.