The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has introduced a new logo, finally wiping away the last vestige of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
What’s Happening:
- At today’s Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board meeting, the new logo seen above was revealed.
- Although the board has operated under the new name since March of this year, it has taken until now for a new logo to be designed and unveiled.
- For reference, below is the former Reedy Creek logo.
- Earlier this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that allowed him to appoint his own members to the Reedy Creek Board, all of whom are mentioned and being sued in the lawsuit from the Walt Disney Company.
- Phrasing in their recently amended lawsuit from Disney includes, “The State’s actions over the last two weeks are the latest strikes. At the Governor’s bidding, the State’s oversight board has purported to ‘void’ publicly noticed and duly agreed development contracts, which had laid the foundation for billions of Disney’s investment dollars and thousands of jobs. Days later, the State Legislature enacted and Governor DeSantis signed legislation rendering these contracts immediately void and unenforceable. These government actions were patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional.”
- Knowing DeSantis will do whatever he can, the lawsuit also adds “The Governor and his allies have made clear they do not care and will not stop. The Governor recently declared that his team would not only “void the development agreement”—just as the State has now done, twice—but also planned “to look at things like taxes on the hotels,” “tolls on the roads,” “developing some of the property that the district owns” with “more amusement parks,” and even putting a “state prison” next to Walt Disney World. “Who knows? I just think the possibilities are endless,” he said.”
- It should also be noted that Disney is not the only one with a district similar to that of Reedy Creek, with The Villages retirement and 55+ community and even Daytona International Speedway operating with their own similar district with their own regulations.