Florida

Disney Fans Are Fighting Online in Response to the Company's Lawsuit Against DeSantis

Walt Disney World vacation-planning forums have turned into political battlegrounds.

NBC Universal, Inc.

On Disney World vacation-planning blogs and forums, daily discussion usually revolves around ride wait times, crowd density and annual pass rates. But when Disney World sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, conversation turned to the culture wars.

One moderator of the Disney World subreddit wrote, “I’ve removed at least 40 comments from people being very rude/ hateful towards Desantis and more importantly his children and spouse.”

A separate commenter responded to the lawsuit by writing, “Please boycott [Walt Disney World] from June 3rd to June 11th. Thank you in advance.”

On Wednesday, the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board declared Disney’s development agreement for future park plans in Orlando “void” and “unenforceable.” That same day, Disney sued DeSantis and the board members, alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” that violated the company’s protected speech. On Thursday, DeSantis brushed off the lawsuit as “political” during a press conference.

The lawsuit also follows DeSantis’ move to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special governing district that was formed so Disney could maintain its own city-within-a-city, complete with its own infrastructure, roads, fire department and water district. DeSantis signed the bill in April 2022 and it will take effect in June 2023.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com

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