Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday floated the idea of building a prison next to Disney World, as his feud with the house of mouse continues.
"If you look at this whole special district, Walt Disney Corporation, obviously, owns a lot of it, but the district owns other land," DeSantis said at a press conference at Lake Buena Vista. "Now people are like, 'What should we do with this land?' People have said, 'Maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks.' Someone even said, 'Maybe you need another state prison.' Who knows?"
DeSantis, a Republican, said to this point he had not been considering what to do with the land, but that building state projects on the property will be studied.
"I just think that the possibilities are endless," he said. "So that is now going to be analyzed to see what would make the most sense. And that wasn't necessarily even on the radar."
DeSantis' quarrel with Disney began last year when the company came out swinging against his Parental Rights in Education Act, which limits discussion of sexuality and gender identity in Florida's elementary school classrooms.
Florida lawmakers then passed a bill giving DeSantis effective control over a board that oversees municipal services and development in a special district in central Florida that encompasses Walt Disney World resort.
Just before stepping down, outgoing Disney-friendly members of the board passed agreements that transferred developmental power to the entertainment giant. New board members installed by DeSantis said the agreement essentially stripped them of any real power.
Striking back, DeSantis said Monday that the state legislature will file a bill that will "formally nullify" any development agreements that Disney struck with outgoing members of the oversight board that tie the hands of DeSantis' appointees.
"To do an end-run around on the people of Florida shows how arrogant they are," DeSantis told WFLA's "Good Morning Orlando" before Monday's press conference.
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