Gov. DeSantis announces plan to retake the Magic Kingdom, possibly build prison near theme park

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Continuing his aim towards the Walt Disney Co., Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a plan to retake the Magic Kingdom after the state’s plan to control Disney’s special district was largely thwarted just before a new state-appointed board could officially take over.

It was just weeks ago Disney made headlines by seemingly outflanking the Governor and Florida Legislature by striking a deal that relinquished significant authority back to Disney until the death of the final living decedent of King Charles III.

READ: Gov. Ron DeSantis surrogates escalate tit-for-tat versus Disney

“That’s not gonna fly,” said DeSantis in a Monday press conference.

Now, Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a multi-layer plan to take back control.

A bill will soon be filed in the State Capitol revoking the contract, while the new state-run board looks at options to nullify the deal on its own.

Potential legal challenges could be coming as well.

“We want to make sure that Disney lives under the same laws as everybody else,” said DeSantis.

But part of the Governor’s plan would subject Disney to regulations other major theme parks are exempt from, including ride inspections.

State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said the ride inspection piece is just one of the Disney-specific attacks.

“These are policies that specifically target one company,” said Eskamani.

READ: DeSantis’ board says Disney stripped them of power

The Governor also discussed reappraising Disney’s property values, raising millage rates to pay down the district’s $1 billion debt, banning mask mandates in the district and notably, the Governor floated some ideas concerning what the state could do with non-Disney-owned land in the district.

“Maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows,” said DeSantis.

Eskamani said she’s skeptical the Governor’s plan will stand up in court, but she said she’s disheartened to see the Governor continue his crusade against the Magic Kingdom.

“The only other type of government that has such a sick obsession over controlling private enterprise are Communist governments,” said Eskamani.

Action News Jax has reached out to Disney for comment on the Governor’s new plan but did not receive a response directly addressing Monday’s announcement.

During an April 3 shareholders’ meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger criticized DeSantis’ actions as “anti-business and anti-Florida.”

Disney posted on Twitter after the press conference announcing the first-ever Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite for their theme parks.

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