Things are CHANGING for the House of Mouse.

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Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District has been changed in some key ways. Recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that changes the name of the District, alters some of the District’s powers and responsibilities, and (most importantly) replaces the Board of Supervisors with individuals appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. And DeSantis has wasted no time. He has already appointed some individuals to the new Board. Just who are they? Let’s take a look!

In terms of a brief summary, know that Reedy Creek functions essentially as its own county government. Its Board of Supervisors (which governs the District) has the ability to make decisions about various things within the district including fire services, emergency services, waste management, land use, and more.

As we identified above, one key change made with the new law that addresses Reedy Creek is that the Governor now has the ability to appoint all 5 members of the new Board of Supervisors that governs the District. Under the previous arrangement (that had been in place for over 50 years), the majority landowner in the District (a.k.a. Disney) had been able to appoint the members of the Board.

Reedy Creek Fire Department Sign

Disney previously filled the Board with members who were expected to be “friendly” to Disney’s interests. Disney no longer has that power. That’s a critical change to the arrangement.

According to The Orlando Sentinel, Governor DeSantis has named “politically connected Republican allies” to serve on the board for the new District — which will be called The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (we’ll refer to it generally as “the District”). While DeSantis has indicated that, in his opinion, the new board members will draw on their experiences in law, business, and government, Democrats have “blasted the picks as unqualified.”

Representative Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, shared, “It’s incredibly alarming.” Just keep in mind that while the members have been appointed by the Governor, they must also be approved by the Senate in order to serve. The Sentinel points out, however, that the Florida Senate is “solidly controlled by Republicans who support DeSantis,” so essentially it is generally expected that they will be approved. So…who are the nominees?

Reedy Creek Trash Cans

First, we have Martin Garcia. Garcia is a lawyer in Tampa who will serve as chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Garcia, through his investment firm — Pinehill Capital Partners — has also donated around “$260,000 to political campaigns in Florida, including $53,000 to DeSantis and $25,000 to the Republican Party of Florida.”

And Garcia chaired Pam Bondi’s run for attorney general in 2010. Garcia was also reportedly involved with the situation surrounding DeSantis’ decision to oust Andrew Warren, the Democratic Hillsborough County State Attorney General. Reportedly, a member of DeSantis’ team said that they spoke with Garcia (and others) about a “push to take on ‘woke’ prosecutors.”

Garcia does not appear to have any records of disciplinary history within the last 10 years according to the Florida Bar. In a press release on the Governor’s website, Garcia is described as having “owned and operated a successful private equity investment firm and served on the board of a NASDAQ and three New York Stock Exchange companies.”

Magic Kingdom

Next up is Bridget Ziegler. Ziegler is a member of the Sarasota County School Board and the wife of “the newly elected chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.” Ziegler was actually the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, which the Orlando Sentinel described as “an education group that has called for book banning in public schools.”

She also supported the Parental Rights in Education Bill in Florida (which critics called “Don’t Say Gay”). That bill and Disney’s eventual response in opposition to it was actually what sparked the battle between Disney and Florida politicians and led to the changes made to the District.

According to WESH, Bridget Ziegler also “donated $42 to DeSantis’ campaign, while her husband gave $177. Her husband also gave $75 to the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC.” In a press release on the Governor’s website, she is described as also being “the Director of School Board Programs at The Leadership Institute” and as having “over a decade of experience in commercial insurance working with two of the largest global risk and insurance brokerage firms.”

In a press release on the Governor’s website, Peri is also noted as being the “founder, Chairman, and CEO of the airline software company Radixx International, Inc. after serving as Vice President and CTO of AirTran Airways.”

Disney World

The next member is Michael A. Sasso. Sasso is an attorney in Seminole County and “president of the Orlando chapter of the Federalist Society,” which the Sentinel describes as “a conservative legal group.” Sasso also serves on the Ninth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission (which is also appointed by the governor). That Commission typically recruits, interviews, and then certifies nominees that are being appointed to circuit and county courts.

He does not show any disciplinary history on the Florida bar within the last 10 years. In a press release on the Governor’s website, Sasso’s practice is described as focusing on “election law and complex business and construction litigation.” Sasso also serves as “the Public Employees Relations Commission and as a trustee of Valencia State College.”

©Sasso Law

The final individual DeSantis has appointed is Brian Aungst Jr. Aungst is an attorney from Clearwater and the son of the former mayor of Clearwater. He serves on the Sixth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. He also does not show any disciplinary history on the Florida bar from the last 10 years.

In a press release on the Governor’s website, Aungst is described as having “previously served as the Chairman of the Pinellas County Commission Redistricting Committee.” He reportedly also has a “growing land use law practice where he has gotten approval for hotels, condominiums, affordable housing developments, and the redevelopment of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.”

EPCOT

So, will these Board members essentially do more of the same as the old Board or will they take a very different approach? Richard Foglesong seems to think the Board could take a “radically different approach” to governing the District. According to the Sentinel, Fogleson (who wrote a book on the origin of Disney World), said “It is not clear to me the kind of people he appointed to Reedy Creek board are going feel the need to work collaboratively with the business executives.”

While the bill surrounding the changes to the District was being debated in the Florida legislature, some introduced amendments that would have barred individuals that had contributed to the election of the Governor from sitting on the Board. Other amendments would have stopped individuals from being appointed to the Board if they contributed to a political committee affiliated with the Governor. Those amendments ultimately did not pass.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ©Deadline

What could this new Board do that could potentially impact Disney in big ways? Representative Eskamani warned that the Board could potentially do things — like shooting down safety measures, road projects, or construction — to put pressure on Disney to end things DeSantis might not like.

Eskamani warned, “They could say Disney can’t do Gay Days anymore by dragging out zoning for a new project.”

©WFTV 9

So far, DeSantis has indicated that the Board will be meeting next week and that one of their first acts will be to work on the terms of a new agreement with the fire department (WESH). We will continue to keep an eye out for more news about these new Board members, what they ultimately do in the District, and how it’ll all impact Disney’s plans.

To see more about what DeSantis had to say regarding the new structure of the District, click here

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The post Meet the “Politically Connected Republican Allies” DeSantis Appointed to the Disney World District Board first appeared on the disney food blog.

If you’ve been following along with the situation between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, then you know that a LOT has happened in the past year.

Magic Kingdom

After Disney spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education Bill (also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill), DeSantis took steps to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is the governing body that oversees Disney World directly. After a long battle back and forth, the district has been renamed and new regulations have been outlined going forward…including a changing of the board members.

Previously, Disney appointed the board members directly for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but now those board members will be selected by Governor DeSantis and approved by the senate. According to the Orlando Sentinel, DeSantis has selected five nominees.

DeSantis signing the new bill

Martin Garcia, a Tampa lawyer, is who DeSantis wants serve as the chairman of the board. In the past, Garcia has donated $260,000 to political campaigns in Florida, including $53,000 to DeSantis and $25,000 to the Republican Party of Florida through his Pinehill Capital Partners investment firm.

©WFTV 9

Bridget Ziegler, a Sarasota County School Board member, is also among the picks to be on the board. Ziegler is the wife of Christian Ziegler, the newly elected chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and the co-founder of Moms for Liberty. Also on the list is Ron Peri, CEO of The Gathering USA ministry and a resident of Windermere.

Rounding out the list of five are two more attorneys, Seminole County attorney Michael A. Sasso and Brian Aungst Jr., an attorney from Clearwater. Sasso is president of the Orlando chapter of the Federalist Society and Aungst serves on the Sixth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission.

Reedy Creek Trash Cans

There has been some controversy about these selections, with DeSantis’s rivals speaking out against the choices for the board, calling the selections “unqualified” and “alarming.” One of the rules for board members is that they cannot have worked in the theme park industry in the past three years. DeSantis has claimed that the board members will “draw on a variety of experiences in law, business, and local government. We haven’t yet seen reports of these board members being approved by the senate, but we’ll be on the lookout for that next. 

We’re interested to see how this new board affects decisions made for Disney World going forward. We’ll make sure to keep you updated with any more information as it’s announced.

Why Disney Might NOT Fight the Death of Reedy Creek — Click Here

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The post Governor Ron DeSantis Names NEW Board Members for Disney World District first appeared on the disney food blog.

The exhibit “The Walt Disney Studios and World War II” will be opening at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 17, 2023.

The exhibit first opened at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco in 2021. It just finished a run at The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. It will be on display in The National WWII Museum’s Senator John Alario, Jr. Special Exhibition Hall from March 17 through September 24, 2023.

An opening reception will be held in person on March 16 at 6:30 p.m. CT and a presentation will be at 7:30 p.m. CT in the US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center. The presentation will also be livestreamed via Vimeo.

Registration for the reception is encouraged but not required. Guests can register on The National WWII Museum’s website.

The family-friendly exhibit is “expected to attract not only younger audiences but also art enthusiasts of all ages as we explore how one of America’s most beloved entertainment companies helped achieve Allied victory.”

Here is more information from The Walt Disney Family Museum:

When Walt Disney received word that the Disney studio lot in Burbank had been requisitioned as an Army anti-aircraft base after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, he and his staff pledged to support the war effort without hesitation—and without profit. This original exhibition illustrates how the The Walt Disney Studios devoted over 90% of its wartime output to producing training, propaganda, entertainment, and public-service films, publicity and print campaigns, and over 1,200 insignia, while also deploying a group of talented artists, including Walt Disney himself, to Latin America on a Goodwill Tour.

During this unique period in animation history, The Walt Disney Studios functioned as a morale-builder for both the civilian public and deployed Allied troops. Walt knew that cartoons would be an ideal medium for communicating with the American people—in an uncomplicated and amusing manner—about war-related issues and anxieties. In addition to the short films and military insignia produced, Disney characters appeared in a variety of home-front initiatives, from advertisements, magazines, and stamp books, to government posters promoting tax payment, food recycling, rationing, war bond sales, and farm production. The exhibition includes 550 examples of these rare historical objects and film clips.

Are you hoping to visit this exhibit? Let us know in the comments.

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The post The Walt Disney Studios and World War II Exhibit Opening March 17 at National WWII Museum in New Orleans appeared first on WDW News Today.