Disney

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District have reached a legal settlement that includes nullifying controversial development agreements that the entertainment giant entered with the former Reedy Creek Improvement District.The settlement was announced Wednesday and approved by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board.

Orange County lawmakers Friday backed a longshot proposal that could essentially return to the Walt Disney Co. control of a special taxing district that was revamped after Gov. Ron DeSantis got into a feud with the entertainment giant.In a voice vote, members of the Democrat-dominated Orange County legislative delegation supported a proposed House bill that seeks another redo of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District. The proposal would repeal a law passed last year that renamed the Reedy Creek district as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and gave DeSantis authority to appoint the district’s board.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to Walt Disney World’s governing district have released a series of reports justifying their takeover of the government and accusing their Disney-controlled predecessors of being a part of “the most egregious exhibition of corporate cronyism in modern American history.”

Disney on Tuesday released a study showing its economic impact in Florida at $40.3 billion as it battles Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees over their takeover of the district that governs the entertainment company’s massive theme park resort in central Florida.

The number of people traveling to Florida during the second quarter of 2023 decreased compared to a year earlier, according to estimates released Wednesday by the state’s tourism-marketing agency.

The governor urged Disney to drop a suit thaT alleges changes the governor supported in the board that governs Disney's property are retaliation for its opposition to a 2022 law that restricts instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools.

A group representing journalists is supporting Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in a federal-court fight against Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying state retaliation against the entertainment company violated the First Amendment.The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, filed court documents Friday arguing that U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor should reject a state request to dismiss a lawsuit that is part of a long-running feud between DeSantis and Disney.

Disney CEO Bob Iger dismissed as “preposterous” arguments by Gov. Ron DeSantis that the company is “sexualizing children” or experiencing a drop in attendance at its Florida resorts because of a long-running fight with the governor.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking that a federal judge be disqualified from the First Amendment lawsuit filed by Disney against the Florida governor and his appointees, claiming the jurist’s prior statements in other cases have raised questions about his impartiality on the state’s efforts to take over Disney World’s governing body.

The hotel starts at about $4,800 for two people for two nights. Package includes lodging, meals and passes to Hollywood Studios, one of Disney World's four parks.