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Disney self-government in peril after Florida House vote
The Associated Press ^ | April 21, 2022 | By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE

Posted on 04/21/2022 11:18:12 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida House of Representatives on Thursday gave final passage to a bill that would dissolve Walt Disney World’s private government, handing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis a victory in his feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to a measure that critics have dubbed the “ Don’t Say Gay ” law.

The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have transformed Orlando into one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, and serves to further sour the relationship between the Republican-led government and a major political player in the state.

For DeSantis, the attack on Disney is his latest salvo in a culture war waged over policies involving race, gender and the coronavirus, battles that have made him one of the most popular GOP politicians in the country and a likely 2024 presidential candidate.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: corporatewelfare; desantis; disney; dontsaygay; fl; florida; homosexualagenda; perverts; woke
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To: j.havenfarm

Yes, Disney management may come to regret their decision to pick this fight.

It would serve them right, to learn lessons which liberals don’t often learn. A major lesson here, is that actions have consequences. Wading into a contentious political battle, and picking the liberal minority side, has consequences for your business. If you have a business and choose to go into areas you have no business going.


61 posted on 04/21/2022 12:22:26 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Boogieman

You do realize there was nothing in that area before Disney, right? It was swamp, and citrus. Orlando is largely a creation of Disneyland. If Disneyland closes it would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs (the park alone employs around two hundred thousand) and billions in revenue. Basically, that would nuke Orlando.

I am not saying it is wrong, Disney’s intervention in Florida politics on the side of the Pervs can’t be tolerated, but the consequences will be non-trivial.


62 posted on 04/21/2022 12:23:50 PM PDT by Little Ray (Civilization runs on a narrow margin. What sustains it is not magic, but hard work. )
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To: Quality_Not_Quantity
Disney will fight this tooth & nail, hammer & claw, all the way to the Florida Supreme Court and perhaps even to the SCOTUS.

And Disney will still lose.
What the state government gives, the state government can take away.

63 posted on 04/21/2022 12:24:54 PM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida, was a crucial element in the company’s plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. The city never materialized, however; instead, it morphed into the Epcot theme park.


The city never materialized,


64 posted on 04/21/2022 12:26:05 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

This is a surprisingly balanced article for AP?


65 posted on 04/21/2022 12:27:29 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Disney+ and CNN+ should merge. Two pluses equals a big minus.


66 posted on 04/21/2022 12:28:12 PM PDT by thegagline (Sic semper tyrannis )
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To: Little Ray
You do realize there was nothing in that area before Disney, right? It was swamp, and citrus.

In 1967.
This is 2022

If Disneyland closes it would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs (the park alone employs around two hundred thousand) and billions in revenue

How much would it cost Disney?

67 posted on 04/21/2022 12:30:20 PM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: Little Ray

It’s not the end of the world......Disney had its run.....and blew it!

A lot of folks much prefer Universal now......( my favorite)
Even Sea World

Disney’s loss will be the other parks gain.


68 posted on 04/21/2022 12:34:19 PM PDT by Guenevere (‘Let us fight as if it all depended on us, but let us look up and know it all depends upon Him’)
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To: SmokingJoe

I don’t care what it would cost Disney. I care what it would cost the people of Orlando, and Florida. There are potentially going to be far reaching consequences to this bill and I fear they have not been considered, given the speed with which legislation was written and passed.

Remember, when you pull the pin on Mr. Grenade, he is no longer your friend.


69 posted on 04/21/2022 12:35:06 PM PDT by Little Ray (Civilization runs on a narrow margin. What sustains it is not magic, but hard work. )
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To: HamiltonJay

Welcome to the CA tourism hell watch where you step.


70 posted on 04/21/2022 12:44:26 PM PDT by cnsmom
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To: Little Ray

Then again, Disney picked this fight in the first place. So there’s that consideration.

While it’s theoretically possible Disney could shut down in Florida, it’s hard to imagine that they would do that in retaliation for legislation which revokes special status they have had over the last 50 plus years. Theoretically Disney could do that but realistically they are not going to shutter those theme parks, just to show DeSantis who is boss.


71 posted on 04/21/2022 12:44:42 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: cuban leaf
If DeSantis vetoes, a serious deep stater is outed.

He's going to veto a bill he, himself, called the legislature into special session to pass?

72 posted on 04/21/2022 12:51:46 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: Little Ray

“If Disneyland closes it would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs (the park alone employs around two hundred thousand) and billions in revenue. Basically, that would nuke Orlando.”

If Disneyland closes, there will probably be plenty of buyers willing to purchase it, reskin it, and reopen it. If it’s a moneymaker for Disney, it would be a moneymaker for someone else.


73 posted on 04/21/2022 12:56:37 PM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Tell It Right

Did they have the same special treatment in So Calif???


74 posted on 04/21/2022 1:01:53 PM PDT by ridesthemiles
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To: Guenevere

For obvious reasons, I won’t go to Disney any more. Last time I went to a park I took my aging self and my Aunt to Universal, though. I like Sea World too, and the American Renaissance hotel across the road had a great deal last time I was there.

Problem is, I have really fond memories of Disneyworld. I was there in 1976 before Epcot opened, back when they had books of tickets. I rode 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at least twice. I remember riding back at night, exhausted, on the monorail to the hotel (did we stay at the Contemporary? I can’t remember) with Mom, Dad and sister, while a lightshow made an undulating sea serpent and played the British Grenadiers. Total magic. Still haunts me. I have not been happier than that very many times in my life.

I scrimped and saved and went back with my friends in the 1990s. We rented a house for a whole week (cheaper than a Disney resort, for sure!). Got the park hopper pass and visited Typhoon Lagoon, Disney MGM studios, the Magic Kingdom, and Epcot, along with some sites outside the park like Great China (which was amazingly cool for PRC propaganda...). We also went to Universal and had a blast. The Jurassic rides had just opened!

Also took my girls there - twice. I think I had more fun than they did. The last time we went, we stayed at Orleans Landing and I did “Behind the Scenes at the Magic Kingdom” and learned a little about what made Disney run.

So, as you can imagine, I can’t really let all that go, despite what the Pervs have done to it. Disney needs a good beat down so that it remembers that it is in the business of putting on a good show and increasing stockholder equity, and not trying to put out an insane ‘message.’ But I don’t want it to die.


75 posted on 04/21/2022 1:02:30 PM PDT by Little Ray (Civilization runs on a narrow margin. What sustains it is not magic, but hard work. )
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To: Boogieman

76 posted on 04/21/2022 1:03:28 PM PDT by nascarnation (Let's Go Brandon!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Don’t underestimate the damage already done to SS Disney although the leaks for now may be below the waterline

Seems reasonable to me that this now requires their CPA to issue a qualified opinion. Or to note the business risk in their management letter. If the Governor signs this, it will need to be addressed in all kinds of statements and filings.

Folks, this will require a huge response from Disney management, a major distraction to their leadership. This is not a mon-and-pop bakery getting sued here.

Insurers, contracts being hammered out, other business partners, SEC, Wall Street, all have a hook in this mess.

Sure would be a great time to be working at Disney. /snark


77 posted on 04/21/2022 1:07:21 PM PDT by Strident (< null >)
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To: Boogieman

I don’t think so.

Despite the Pervs, Disney has a reservoir of good will, and branding power. Whatever was opened there wouldn’t be “Disney.” It would be a cheesy amusement park.

On one hand I want Disney to hurt and to associate the pain with its support of perversion. I want it to shed those people and come back.


78 posted on 04/21/2022 1:08:15 PM PDT by Little Ray (Civilization runs on a narrow margin. What sustains it is not magic, but hard work. )
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To: Boogieman

“If Disneyland closes it would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs

Disneyland is in California, not Florida.

The 200 thousand workers number is a joke.

Most employees are part time.


79 posted on 04/21/2022 1:08:52 PM PDT by blackberry1
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To: Dilbert San Diego

What I can’t understand is why Disney stockholders are not throwing screaming fits. Disney is destroying its greatest asset, its brand, and costing its stockholders dividends and equity. That alone should be enough to see a bunch of its leadership out the door.
But not a whimper...


80 posted on 04/21/2022 1:11:05 PM PDT by Little Ray (Civilization runs on a narrow margin. What sustains it is not magic, but hard work. )
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