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The interesting thing is that Disney is the biggest employer of the H1B1 Visa workers. I remember seeing specials how American citizens who have been employed at Disney world for years, maybe even decades, were all of a sudden given an ultimatum. Either train the new workers and you will leave with a nice severance package. Don't train and you are fired on the spot. And these foreigners took over most working aspects of the parks. As much money as Disney makes, I always found it insulting and one of the major reasons why I don't like the company. But now I wonder if the reason why they hired all these people is because it's much easier to use their immigration status over their heads to control them? I can just imagine one of them sees something horrible, but they are scared about being deported so keep quiet about it.
I remember that happening. I also remember when we were there, and the union was fighting against the requirement that employees learn Spanish.
By 2000, the last time we were there, the place was rundown. Washers and dryers out of order in the laundry on Fort Wilderness, and creepy people working around Disney. No greeting. No smiling. Just creepy! Rides down! Paint peeling all around the Magic Kingdom. Limited entertainment. Characters were not roaming around, one had to go to a special place at a special time. It was a mess, so we never went back.
I am amazed at the number of people I have met that go to FL regularly, yet have never been to WDW. Wise choice as money can be spent better elsewhere.
Businesses need to learn that being political has a cost.
the dishonest deMSM invariably writes this up as desantis doing this in response to 'criticism about HB 1557 from disney'
this is a lie by omission. disney did far more than criticize it: they vowed to get it repealed or overturned.
“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that."
-disney
they've been mighty quiet recently. could be they realized they bit off more than they could chew
Mostly because most of the Disney Board is NOT happy with Bob Chapek. It was under his leadership that all that happened and became the big problem. The Board of Directors has, more or less, put a muzzle on him. It is speculated that he will not survive the last 11 months of his contract.
what's the operational and financial benefit to Disney to have the special district?
From my perspective it also has to do with permitting and approvals. Disney does not have to go through normal development and building permitting approvals, they go through their own district and/or direct to the outside agencies (environmental, etc) as their own representative via Reedy Creek.
Reedy Creek Improvement District is like many other special taxing districts within many cities and counties across the country.
In 1967, Disney got the support of Florida's then-Republican governor, Claude Kirk, and the legislature to establish the Reedy Creek Improvement District. It gave Disney near-total control of nearly 40 square miles as it built and then operated its theme park. It exempts the park and its environs from nearly all state regulations. Property taxes and elevator inspections are exceptions.
what's the operational and financial benefit to Disney to have the special district?
Not being a tax attorney I can't address that part of the financial, but I suspect they did it for at least a couple of obvious reasons. First, that Florida doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation for electing smart and thoughtful leaders, so in terms of public works and such it does offer some protection to the company from being strong-armed by some sleazy politician looking to cash in on the Disney gravy train. The water district element would be a good example. It keeps Disney from being subject to rate hikes based on the whims and greed of local officials.
Same could be said of the law enforcement element. You have to remember Disney World opened in 1971, a time where a lot of Florida cops considered a bullet to the head or at least a good beating an acceptable way of dealing with folks that weren't lily white Christians.
The ironic thing about all of this seems to be that DeSantisCo. is doing everything Disney took measures to insulate and protect themselves against. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the governor is seeking to eliminate those protections.
That would also mean the demise of 100's of small businesses that depend on being part of the Disney ecosystem as it were, but hey, that'll show 'em. I would agree there would be some entertainment value in watching Florida's economy tank and DeSantis being run out of office because of it.
Yeah, it's hilarious.
Years of crying victim because a private company has a terms of service and they feel the need to be entitled to violate it without consequences as a part of their rights to free speech and they feel they've been cancelled. Now they're cheerleading using government to run Disney out of the state because Disney has an opinion on a piece of legislation which actually is a free speech issue.
Years of crying victim because a private company has a terms of service and they feel the need to be entitled to violate it without consequences as a part of their rights to free speech and they feel they've been cancelled. Now they're cheerleading using government to run Disney out of the state because Disney has an opinion on a piece of legislation which actually is a free speech issue.
Florida, entertaining as always.
No one is crying victim, Disney hits us, we hit back. That's not being a victim. A victim is sitting around crying and crying. We're getting even.
And Disney can say or even lobby for whatever they want to do, sure. We can then revoke any legislation that favors Disney. I thought you DemoDonkeys were all about corps paying their fair share in taxes?
Why should any private corporation hold "self governing powers"? Disney should be subjected to the same regulations and authorities as any other private entity or private citizen within the boundaries of Florida.
No one is crying victim, Disney hits us, we hit back. That's not being a victim. A victim is sitting around crying and crying. We're getting even.
And Disney can say or even lobby for whatever they want to do, sure. We can then revoke any legislation that favors Disney. I thought you DemoDonkeys were all about corps paying their fair share in taxes?
Disney can go to hell as far as I'm concerned.
Someone had a wrong opinion and the feelies got hurted? Send in the DeSantis to cancel the bad opinions.
The alternative is a megabillion private corporation effecting political change within the state. Can’t have that, either. Adaptation will be necessary by everyone.
Or, Disney can shut up and get back into the entertainment business.
We’ll see how this plays out but either way, Disney won’t win this one.
Sounds like a lot of chest thumping by both sides.
This is what happens to the show when it tries to keep on running even after it has jumped the shark.
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