Disney quietly dodged DeSantis’s oversight board, appointees realizeThe Washington Post, Mar 30, 2023
The Disney World oversight board installed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) accused its predecessor of using an 11th-hour agreement to sharply curtail the new board’s powers and bolster the entertainment giant’s control over the Florida-based amusement park.
In one of its last acts before DeSantis’s appointees took over, the board for the area that includes Walt Disney Co.’s Florida theme park agreed to a deal in February that grants the company broad veto powers over any improvements or changes to properties in the park, according to a copy of the agreement published by the Orlando Sentinel. Under the measure, any changes are “subject to [Disney’s] prior review and comment,” so as to “ensure consistency with the overall design and theming” of the park, effectively stripping much of the board’s power to regulate Disney.
The board is also prohibited from using Disney’s name or characters — “such as Mickey Mouse” — or distributing or selling Disney-related merchandise. It also gives the company the right to prior review and comment when the board changes building exteriors, among other strictures.
The new agreement invokes a “royal lives” clause: It is valid in perpetuity, or if forever is deemed to be 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.” Such clauses have been employed for centuries as a workaround for restrictions on agreements in perpetuity. The contract also contains stipulations allowing Disney to seek damages if the board violates any provisions.
More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/03/30/desantis-disney-world-board-loophole/
