A family heads to the entrance of the Disney Monorail — Courtesy: Shutterstock — James Kirkikis
The conflict between Walt Disney World and the state of Florida is far from over, and it shows no signs of abating. This week, Walt Disney World changed its lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other major political leaders in a way that appeared to be a prank as much as a legal maneuver. Now, Florida has carried out a threat to expand inspections on Disney World property, beginning with the iconic Monorail.
According to Click Orlando, DeSantis signed HB 1305 yesterday, a transportation measure that, among other things, gives the state the authority to inspect Walt Disney World’s Monorail transportation system. Previously, Florida law enabled big theme parks such as Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld to conduct all of their own inspections, but the state’s vengeance against Disney has weakened those capabilities, but only for Disney. The new Florida law specifically applies to…
[A]ny governmentally or privately owned fixed-guideway transportation systems operating in this state which are located within an independent special district created by a local act which has boundaries within two contiguous counties.
In case there was any doubt, this phrase is so particular that it exclusively pertains to the Disney World Monorail. This is the type of move that prompted Disney to sue the governor, saying that the firm was being unfairly targeted and punished for exercising its right to free expression. It will not be surprising to see Disney revise its complaint with these new facts.
If the state exercises this new power, it has the potential to produce difficulties in the parks that Disney World visitors aren’t used to seeing. We witnessed monorail service being disrupted on a park day in order to undertake inspections. However, doing so would penalize Disney World guests, including many locals, so things may not go quite that far.
Disney has largely used Governor DeSantis’ own words against him, as he and others have not been shy about stating that the actions being taken, such as the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, are specifically because Disney chose to speak out against the Parental Rights in Education Act, also known as “Don’t Say Gay.”
Disney has modified their lawsuit, including an epigraph from a recent DeSantis speech in which he said, “Of course, it all started with our parents’ rights bill.” Including the statement was an unusual choice, but it clearly focused attention on the retribution that Disney is claiming. It also, perhaps unintentionally, makes one think of the legendary Walt Disney quote that Disney “was all started by a mouse.”
The action against the Monorail also came a day after Bob Iger mentioned it on the Disney Company’s Q2 2023 quarterly results call, where he stated that if investing in theme parks in Florida gets more difficult and expensive, Disney could shift its focus elsewhere.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.