Disney CEO Bob Iger says he would meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to hash out their disagreements.
"I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us," Iger told Time. "If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that. I'm one that typically has respected our elected officials and the responsibility that they have, and there would be no reason why I wouldn't do that."
DeSantis in late February signed a bill that gave him more control of Disney's special district, a move that came nearly a year after the company spoke out against a Florida bill to restrict certain classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.
But Disney's lawyers found a loophole in their agreement with the board, allowing the entertainment giant to maintain power over the district until the death of the last living descendant of King Charles III.
DeSantis' board is still seeking to assert control over development in two cities where Walt Disney World Resort is located, the latest twist in a battle for authority over the company's Florida theme parks.
A resolution, seen on Tuesday by Reuters, would give the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board the power to review and evaluate development in the 25,000-square acres of property in and around theme parks of Walt Disney Co.
The district would hold "superior authority and control" over planning, zoning and other land use in the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, under a Florida law that formed the state-appointed oversight board.
Iger told Time his goal is to increase value for Disney and Florida.
"Disney World opened just over 50 years ago," he said. "It was the vision and the dream of Walt Disney, probably the most ambitious thing he ever did — turning swampland in Central Florida into a business that employs over 75,000 people, that is visited by tens of millions of people every year, that is a major tourist destination in the United States, and for the state of Florida, that creates huge value for our company and its employees, and for the state of Florida itself.
"Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that. We have the wherewithal, and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida. It's that simple."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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