DeSantis’s Disney Oversight Board Moves To Strip District Employees Of Free Park Passes And Discounts

Fortune reports:

Already involved in two lawsuits with Disney, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to a board that oversees Disney World’s governing district on Monday launched a battle against the company on a new front — free passes and discounts for district employees.

Board members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District submitted a complaint to the state Inspector General, claiming that the millions of dollars in season passes, as well as discounts on hotels, merchandise, food and beverages, that their Disney-supporting predecessors provided governing district employees amount to unethical benefits and perks.

The arrangement appears to be more like an employee benefit rather than a taxpayer scam, similar to the way professors at a university may get free passes to athletic events or free tuition for family members, said Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor emeritus who wrote a definitive account of Disney World’s governance.

Read the full article. The oversight board contends that the perks operate as a kickback to Disney. District employees are separate from workers at the theme parks.

Petty, vindictive Ron DeSantis, mad that he never got to go to the Bibbidy Bobbity Boo Salon at Cinderella Castle, wants to strip Disney workers of free passes and discounts, arguing it sucks millions from Florida’s economy #GoDisney https://t.co/pKCXu3kHzs

— Lesley Abravanel 🪩 (@lesleyabravanel) August 22, 2023