Reedy Creek demise

[OKW Lover]

Not sure if this is the right place for this. If not, I trust the Mods will move it.

Reedy Creek Improvement District was a huge lightning rod for a while there. It got taken over by state appointed board and the name changed. Some predicted this would make things more difficult for Disney to accomplish their plans.

Now that the "news" has faded into the background I'm wondering what impact all that posturing had. Being local I'm on property very frequently and I see lots of infrastructure work being done. I haven't heard about any permitting delays for new attractions. I also haven't heard of any new prison being constructed nearby.

Anybody else got more info?

 

[Brian Noble]

There are lots of new signs with the new name. Otherwise, business as usual---particularly now that, as I understand it, the Board appointments have shifted back to people who have some experience in tourism and development.

I was surprised to see that RCFD is still RCFD!

 

[WinterSolider]

I was one who firmly believed that "both sides" had good arguments in the debate. I agreed that it was weird for a corporation to essentially own its own municipal government. But I also agreed that Walt Disney World was a unique piece of property to administer with logistical needs that would be an undue burden for the surrounding counties to manage. And also that all of this was being done for the sake of creating political spectacle.

So I think where we landed is ultimately a good place. The political hacks are mostly gone and competent administrators are running the thing. In many ways, things are going to operate an awful lot like they did before, but with perhaps a new level of transparency than we had in the past.

Whatever you think about Bob Iger, he's a much more shrewd small-p politician than Bob Chapek was. On paper, Iger is more left-wing and Chapek more centrist, but Iger is shrewd and he cares about Green more than he cares about Red or Blue. Iger and DeSantis know that they're better off as allies than as enemies, but they also know that appearing as allies would be damaging to their brands so they're smart enough to keep it behind closed doors. Chapek had no such tact and he often ended up inflaming both the Left and the Right with a single decision.

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, the fuss all died down once Iger came back and quietly made some deals to get some better people on the board. The obstructionists were replaced by people Disney could work with, and it seems to be running smoothly now.

 

[OKW Lover]

In many ways, things are going to operate an awful lot like they did before, but with perhaps a new level of transparency than we had in the past.

I wonder about the transparency myself. I don't see much about the new board any more in the local news or elsewhere on the web.

 

[BrianL]

I wonder about the transparency myself. I don't see much about the new board any more in the local news or elsewhere on the web.

I think when Iger came back, he made some deals to bassically get it to all go away. Neither side is talking about it, and business continues as usual.

 

[RivShore]

I wonder about the transparency myself. I don't see much about the new board any more in the local news or elsewhere on the web.

Now that you mention it, i have not seen any mention of them in a long while. I'm sure Disney thinks no news is good news!

They do still post minutes/videos of each meeting, so there's that transparancy:
https://www.oversightdistrict.org/board-of-supervisors-documents/

 

[RivShore]

Sure seems like they are all getting along - from the Nov. minutes, we even get a (lesser) Disney character shout out from the Vice Chair of the board:

I want to recognize the holiday
9 season is in full swing around the District from
10 the parks to Disney Springs, everywhere in between.
11 As we gather with our families and friends and
12 loved ones, our communities, let's celebrate all we
13 have to be grateful for. And, in particular, I
14 want to be grateful -- I want to express some
15 gratitude to this entire team.
16 I want -- I'm very grateful for my fellow
17 Board members, great to see all of us here today;
18 the administration, our partners across the Walt
19 Disney World Resort, and the entire Central Florida
20 community for the Herculean effort -- I think
21 you've heard that one from me before, he's one of
22 my favorite characters -- certainly it takes to
23 keep our region one of the top tourism destinations
24 in the world. And so I want to wish everyone a
25 very Happy Thanksgiving

 

[irlandaise]

If you want a little nostalgia, RCID bonds are still for sale on the secondary market...

 

[RivShore]

just when we thought there was no news, this bit of good news:

BulletTrains USA.com​

BREAKING NEWS! The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is considering financially supporting a train rail corridor between Orlando International Airport and Disney Springs.
The CFTOD is the governing body that oversees the land of Walt Disney World Resort. They are considering a support payment of $500,000 to help focus on bringing a rail line to Disney Springs.
If approved and found worthy in the study, the Sunshine Corridor could be built. The proposed line would bring guests from MCO toward Epic Universe, SeaWorld, and Disney Springs.

 

[OKW Lover]

Interesting. It leads me to wonder if this would have happened under the previous board. And if so, would the amount be smaller or larger. Hmmm.

 

[RivShore]

Interesting. It leads me to wonder if this would have happened under the previous board. And if so, would the amount be smaller or larger. Hmmm.

Good question. You would think the new board would have a wider Central FL view of things than RC did and I vaguely remember DS pulling out of the running for a possible station. Now I have to go look for those articles.

 

[RivShore]

Disney was supportive back in the early 2020's, great review of the history here:

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-open-to-on-site-sunrail-station/

 

[The Jackal]

Disney was supportive back in the early 2020's, great review of the history here:

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-open-to-on-site-sunrail-station/

Yes Disney was all for it, if it went from the airport to Disney Springs directly. They pulled out when an alternate route was suggested to run near the convention center/ Universal in Orlando first then to Disney Springs. Sorry to say, but to back out the way they did was very childish. If I don’t get my way we’re are not playing!!!!! So Disney wants a Sunline train, but not the Brightline high speed train. So they basically want Brightline and taxpayers to pay for everything, then let Sunline train make runs from the airport to DS.