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| Epic Universe (source: Universal Studios) |
Orlando, Florida is home to two of the world's biggest and best theme parks - Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. The two parks have avid fans that tend to choose sides for which one they prefer. Both offer roller coasters, dark rides, live entertainment, dining, merchandise, and more. When Universal Studios Orlando built Diagon Alley, a separate expansion to their Harry Potter World, Walt Disney World responded with two immersive unique worlds - Pandora, themed after the movie Avatar, and Galaxy's Edge, themed after the Star Wars franchise. These two companies are competitor's much like McDonald's and Burger King or Kroger and Publix.
This friendly competition does not go unnoticed - the two parks are placed miles within each other, it's obvious they are competing for tourists and locals alike to spend their time at their parks. So it doesn't come as a huge shocker that Universal has now entered the news article's concerning the DeSantis and Disney situation. In the beginning of October, DeSantis did something that numerous news articles found riveting and reported on. Let's break down what happened and why it was so popular in the media.
According to O'Neil (2023), Universal Orlando Resort "score[d] a big government benefit." Before I discuss what this benefit entails, let me remind you that DeSantis took away the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special district that Disney had to made some details about running their business easier. Please refer to my previous article where I go into much more detail about what exactly the Reedy Creek Improvement District was. This is important to remember because what DeSantis took away from Disney, he granted effortlessly to Universal.
Universal Orlando Resort (UOR) has been given a new special district, the Shingle Creek Transit & Utility Community Development District. This special taxing district was proposed by UOR due to its upcoming new theme park - Epic Universe. The special district is being granted over $200 million total to fund public infrastructure and a new SunRail station that will connect the Orlando International Airport to the Orlando Convention Center. All employees that make up the board are also Universal employees, similar to the previous Reedy Creek Improvement District that DeSantis took away.
This whole thing is basically a slap in the face to Disney. DeSantis is essentially taking a cookie away from one child and giving it straight to the other, just because the first child misbehaved. This act from DeSantis and the Florida government just makes me further believe how immature this entire situation is and how ridiculous politics can get.
Citation
O’Neil, K. (2023, October 11). Universal gets something huge that desantis took away from Disney. TheStreet. https://www.thestreet.com/travel/universal-gets-something-huge-that-desantis-took-from-disney
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