ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The long-running Disney vs. DeSantis legal battle appears to be on the verge of being buried Wednesday, when leaders of the oversight district will vote on an agreement that will guide the future of Disney World’s development.
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If passed, the agreement allows Disney to build another major park and two more minor parks, like its water parks. It also allows 14,000 more hotel rooms to be constructed and several hundred thousand square feet of additional retail and restaurant space.
Adding the parks and hotels would greatly increase the capacity of Disney World and add thousands more jobs to the state’s largest single-site employer, should the Mouse House decide to pursue the expansions.
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As a part of the agreement, Disney would agree to spend at least $8 billion on its parks within a decade, and up to $17 billion in the next 20 years. $10 million would also go to affordable housing projects in the region.
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District leaders also laid out a timeline of projects they plan to pursue to address crowding around the parks, including intersection upgrades near Disney Springs, which is known for its traffic at night.
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Those projects will go hand in hand with FDOT’s work to overhaul the I-4 ramps around Disney and build bypass lanes to keep cars flowing.
The agreement represents a remarkable turnaround from the past two years, when the government and the corporation battled over control of the area in state and federal court.
The shift was signaled earlier this year, when Gov. DeSantis replaced both the CEO and the chairman of the district with more Disney-friendly individuals.
Wednesday’s vote will take place shortly after 9 a.m.
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