Disney Stripped New Board's Powers Ahead Of Florida Takeover: Reports

ORLANDO, FL — Board members appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World claim the previous board approved an agreement before the changeover that strips new members of many of their powers, according to multiple reports.

During a Wednesday meeting, the current supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said that the former board passed a 30-year agreement and restrictive covenants that make new members powerless to manage Disney's future growth in Florida, the Orlando Sentinel first reported.

"We're going to have to deal with it and correct it," board member Brian Aungst said Wednesday. "It's a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern."

The development is the latest in the feud between the entertainment giant and DeSantis.

In February, the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature passed legislation allowing the state to take control of Disney World's 55-year-old independent special taxing district known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which gave Disney World the right to self-govern its 25,000-acre footprint in Orange and Osceola counties.

The legislation renamed the Reedy Creek Improvement District to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and gave DeSantis the power to select the five-person board.

The move by Florida lawmakers was primarily seen as retaliation for the entertainment giant publicly opposing Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill — dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics — that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

Under the terms of the agreement, the district is prohibited from using the name "Disney" or any symbols associated with the theme park resort without the company's permission, nor can it use the likeness of Mickey Mouse, other Disney characters or other intellectual property in any manner. The company can sue for damages for any violations, and the agreement is in effect until perpetuity, according to the declaration.

The agreement also invokes a "royal lives" clause, according to The Washington Post. It is valid in perpetuity, or if forever is deemed too long, until the "death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England living as of the date of this Declaration."

According to the Post, similar clauses have been used for centuries as a workaround for restrictions on perpetuity agreements.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Disney said all agreements were above board and took place in public.

"All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida's Government in the Sunshine law," the statement said.

In response, board members hired several law firms in anticipation of fighting the agreement, including Cooper & Kirk, a conservative firm that's garnered more than $2.8 million in legal fees and contracts from the DeSantis administration, the Sentinel reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.