ORLANDO, Fla. — Before allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis took over, Disney World’s governing district, which at the time was controlled by Disney supporters, reached an agreement in February with the company to prohibit a long list of businesses from ever being operated on its property.
Forbidden establishments included tattoo parlors, liquor stores, adult entertainment, oil refineries and trailer parks. But they didn’t include prisons, which the Florida governor recently mused could be built there, when talking in a trolling tone about his year-long feud with the entertainment giant.
“What should we do with this land? And so, you know, it’s like, OK, kids — I mean, people have said, you know, maybe have another — maybe create a state park. Maybe try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison,” DeSantis said last month. “Who knows? I mean, I just think that the possibilities are endless.”
The agreement, which the DeSantis allies say stripped them of power by giving Disney control of design and construction of the theme park resort, is at the center of dueling lawsuits between the DeSantis-appointed board and Disney, as well as a new law seeking to rescind the deal that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature passed last week.