Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers put more pressure on Walt Disney World on Monday, 17 April 2023, by announcing a bill that will use Florida’s regulatory powers to keep an eye on the rides and train at the park resort in a way that has never been done before.
DeSantis said at a news gathering near Disney World that in the next few weeks, lawmakers would introduce a bill that would end an exemption for Disney parks regarding ride checks by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The farm office in Florida is in charge of checking the safety of entertainment rides. However, the state’s biggest theme park owners, like Disney and Universal Destinations & Experiences, are exempt from this rule and do their safety checks. Under the plan, rides in special government areas, like Disney World, would no longer be free from the rule.
In a statement released Monday, Disney said its testers had been the best in the business. Experts say that Disney and other big theme park owners may have more experience testing complex rides than state or local authorities.
Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor emeritus who wrote “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando,” the best book about how Disney World is run, said that the inspections for Disney rides are much more thorough than at county fairs.
“You need inspectors with the kind of expertise I think they have,” he said of the people checkingΒ Disney rides.
DeSantis’s announcement was the latest in a back-and-forth between Disney and the governor that began last year when Disney spoke out against the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which says that schools can’t teach about se*xual 0rientation and g*nder identity from kindergarten through third grade.
In response, Florida lawmakers passed and DeSantis signed a bill that changed how Disney World’s company-run government works by letting the governor choose the five peopleΒ on the Board of Supervisors. Disney used to be in charge of the board.
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Last month, the new DeSantis officials said that their Disney-controlled predecessors played a trick on them by stripping the new board of most of its powers and giving Disney control over the design and building of the theme park resort before the new members could take their places.
DeSantis said that the deal between Disney and the old directors was illegal because it was self-dealing and the old board didn’t get enough notice. He also said politicians could get rid of it and would look at a bill next week.
“They talked about a development agreement that would render everything we did null and void,” DeSantis said. “Well, that’s not going to work. That’s not going to fly.”
In a statement, Disney said that the deal was based on a plan accepted by state officials last summer.
The governor also suggested that the new board sell the district’s utility to pay off the district’s $1 billion in bills and make sure Disney World never again has to require people to wear masks like it did when it closed and reopened in the first year that the COVID-19 virus spread.
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By taking on Disney, DeSantis has strengthened his image as a “culture warrior” who is ready to fight political opponents and use the power of the state government to achieve political goals. He is likely to stick with this plan through his projected run for president in 2024.
DeSantis joked on Monday that the new board or lawmakers could do other things with Disney’s 27,000 acres (10,926 hectares) in central Florida, like build a state park, a rival theme park, or a jail.
“I think the possibilities are endless,” said DeSantis.
Foglesong said that by having to pass another bill about how Disney is run, DeSantis and other politicians might be tacitly agreeing that the deal between the previous board and the company was true.
He also said that it was rare for a Republican who might run for president to go after a big company and try to control it more like DeSantis is doing with Disney.
“He’s talking like Bernie, the socialist,” said Foglesong, referring to U.S. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. “What Republican candidate for major office talks like this?”
Source- NPR.com
