NEWS: Magic Kingdom Expansion Slowed Down By Disney's Relationship with Governor DeSantis

According to Florida Politics, citing court records, the Magic Kingdom expansion at Disney World has been slowed due to Disney’s relationship with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Piston Peak construction

In the records, it looks like Disney’s top leaders voluntarily slowed the expansion of Magic Kingdom because they were hesitant to work with a DeSantis-controlled board.

Disney World has been run by a governing structure known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and with 400 employees, Reedy Creek has handled Disney World’s infrastructure, roads, and emergency services, similar to a county government. In 2023, the legislature passed a law that gave DeSantis the power to appoint his own allies to the government board, taking away some of Disney’s full power.

Reedy Creek Improvement District

In a February 2024 deposition, John McGowan, Chief Counsel of the Walt Disney World Resort’s legal department, said, “Everybody understood that we were on the cusp of Reedy Creek being overtaken by a board we assumed, turns out correctly, was going to be a hostile board. Everybody understood that it was the best interest of Disney, Reedy Creek, the legacy of Reedy Creek, everything that Reedy Creek has accomplished as a special district promoting tourism in the district, that it would be the best interest to protect the ability for tourism to continue to be expanded in the way it’s always intended to be expanded.”

©Reedy Creek Meeting Livestream

To combat this in 2022, Disney planned to secure the Reedy Creek board’s approval of an agreement granting it development rights to expand Walt Disney World in the future, but the plan had to be approved quickly before DeSantis could appoint new board members. Part of the plan included Disney selling land to its governing board at fair market value to build the public infrastructure needed for Disney’s expansion. This meant that later, it avoided the governing board seizing Disney’s land by eminent domain.

When the new DeSantis-appointed board took over, they discovered what the old board had done, which caused tensions between the new board and the Walt Disney Company. In 2023, the new board stripped Disney of all control over Reedy Creek, renaming it the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

©Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board Livestream

Because Disney was unsure how the new board would work together on land development regulation, the company decided to slow the Magic Kingdom expansion, which had not yet been announced. Disney stopped filing permits, as well.

@bioreconstruct on X

Since the disagreement, many of the key players involved have found new jobs or positions. All of DeSantis’s original appointees have been replaced with new DeSantis picks on Disney World’s governing board.

In a statement for Florida Politics’s story, Disney said, “These matters are in the past, and our development plans are moving full speed ahead with the support of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. We have more projects underway at Walt Disney World than at any other point in our history, creating jobs and positive economic impact for Floridians.”

©Bioreconstruct on Instagram

There are two major parts of the Magic Kingdom expansion that are currently in the works, including Piston Peak, the Cars-themed land, which is going on the old Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America. This will feature two attractions, one an off-road rally race and the other a more family-friendly ride.

@Disney

The other part is Villains Land, which most fans seem most excited about. Disney has been very quiet with the details, and we’re not sure about any rides or specific information besides this one piece of concept art.

There are currently no estimated timelines for the two projects, but we can see active construction on both sites as they continue expanding Magic Kingdom. Make sure you keep following Disney Food Blog for more.

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