The five new board members of the governing body, which had been controlled by Disney up until February, had on their meeting agenda rules prohibiting anyone from being barred from its offices for not wearing a face mask or not having the COVID-19 vaccine. Also, the agenda includes a resolution asserting the board’s “superior authority” over the district that covers Disney World’s 27,000 acres (10,926 hectares), including two miniscule cities.
The agenda also pointed to a potential shakeup of the administration’s staff with job descriptions listed for the governing body’s administrator and other key staff positions.
Last month, the new DeSantis-appointees claimed their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one by stripping the new board of most powers and giving Disney control over design and construction at the theme park resort before the new members could take their seats.
DeSantis and state lawmakers at a news conference on Monday ratcheted up the pressure even further, proposing upcoming legislation which would require state inspections of Disney rides, an unprecedented move since Florida’s largest theme park operators have been able to conduct their own inspections. The lawmakers also planned to consider a measure that would revoke the agreement between previous the board supervisors and Disney.
Republican State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia said he had a message for Disney: “You are not going to win this fight. This governor is.”
Disney has said all agreements made with the previous board were legal and approved in a public forum.
Disney CEO Bob Iger earlier this month said that any actions against the company that threaten jobs or expansion at its Florida resort was not only “anti-business” but “anti-Florida.”