Disney settles lawsuit in Florida theme-park dispute

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Disney has settled a lawsuit over the governance of the company’s Orlando theme parks stemming from last year’s takeover of the district’s board by Ron DeSantis, the governor of the US state of Florida.

The settlement with the board, known as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, resolves one of the big legal fights that followed DeSantis’ move to end the company’s 50-year-old right to in effect run its own government around Walt Disney World amid a dispute over the state’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law.

Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said the company was “pleased to put an end to all litigation pending in state court in Florida”.

The dispute between DeSantis and Florida’s largest private employer began when Disney voiced opposition to The Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its opponents in 2022, which limited discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The governor championed his fight against “woke Disney” during his failed presidential nomination bid.

After Disney’s statement DeSantis moved to take over the powerful Disney-controlled board that oversaw zoning, mosquito control and other governmental affairs in the area around the park.

But before the DeSantis-appointed board was in place, Disney’s allies neutered the ability of the new body to oversee the area. They also locked in a new 30-year development plan for the park.

The settlement announced on Wednesday will render those last-minute changes null and void. Instead Disney has pledged to negotiate with the new board, which has been revamped in recent weeks, over a revised development plan.

In a statement, a spokesman for DeSantis said his administration was “glad that Disney has dropped its lawsuits”.

“No corporation should be its own government,” the statement said, adding the administration was “ready to work with Disney . . . to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in central Florida”.

The settlement does not affect all the lawsuits stemming from the fight. Disney had vowed to appeal its First Amendment case related to the law after that suit — which accused DeSantis of “weaponising the power of government to punish private business” — was dismissed by a Florida judge in January. However, Disney said on Wednesday that it would delay its appeal of the case “pending negotiations” with the new board.

At the same time, the state has moved to ease the impact of the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Earlier this month the state of Florida reached a settlement with opponents of the law that will allow discussion of sexual identity and gender orientation in public schools as long as it does not occur as part of classroom instruction.

DeSantis has also shaken up the five-member board governing the area around Disney’s Florida theme parks. Earlier this month the board’s chair, Martin Garcia, who was a critic of the company, stepped down. On Wednesday Craig Mateer, the founder of Bags, a company that delivers luggage to hotels, was appointed as a board member.

Disney’s Vahle said the agreement “opens a new chapter of constructive engagement” and would lead to “significant continued investment” in Florida. Last autumn, Disney chief executive Bob Iger pledged to double Disney’s investment in its theme parks globally to $60bn over the next decade.