Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[ragerunner]

What is Disney’s current strategy for WDW and what $17 billion might bring over the next decade. 

 

[jrs2]

 

[aent]

There also appears to be some very good news regarding Disney! It appears their battle against Florida is coming to an end, with them giving up entirely on the fight against DeSantis, and it appears that the settlement negotiations involve requiring Disney to do massive investments into their Florida properties that were not otherwise planned. It likely will take a bit of time for it to be sorted out, but Disney is now negotiating with the state about what they are going to be building here instead of trying to sue us.

[F-L-A]

38 minutes ago, aent said:

There also appears to be some very good news regarding Disney! It appears their battle against Florida is coming to an end, with them giving up entirely on the fight against DeSantis, and it appears that the settlement negotiations involve requiring Disney to do massive investments into their Florida properties that were not otherwise planned. It likely will take a bit of time for it to be sorted out, but Disney is now negotiating with the state about what they are going to be building here instead of trying to sue us.

Sue us? Do you work for DeSatan?  Disney's fight is with him, not actual Floridians. He was willing to foot us peasants with the bill left by taking away Disney's special district. All that infrastucture Disney pays to maintain? Dear leader wanted us paying for it all instead. We'll still be paying for the damage he's done to Disney's reputation amongst gullible conservatives for years to come. Not that I want them all coming here, but we're a tourist economy, in a state run by an imbecile who is more than happy to burn it all down for his own benefit. Disney will never have any reason to invest large amounts of capital into their property here as long as they have Tweedle-Dumb actively sabotaging their business. Their cancelled relocation of entire divisions to Lake Nona serves as a testament to his incompetence. 

[aent]

2 hours ago, F-L-A said:

Sue us? Do you work for DeSatan?  Disney's fight is with him, not actual Floridians. He was willing to foot us peasants with the bill left by taking away Disney's special district. All that infrastucture Disney pays to maintain? Dear leader wanted us paying for it all instead. We'll still be paying for the damage he's done to Disney's reputation amongst gullible conservatives for years to come. Not that I want them all coming here, but we're a tourist economy, in a state run by an imbecile who is more than happy to burn it all down for his own benefit. Disney will never have any reason to invest large amounts of capital into their property here as long as they have Tweedle-Dumb actively sabotaging their business. Their cancelled relocation of entire divisions to Lake Nona serves as a testament to his incompetence. 

You seem to be entirely unaware of what the lawsuit was about. First off, it was suing the State of Florida, so as a resident, yes, it includes us, and second of all, DeSantis was never willing to put any of us with the bill. All bills have always been assigned to the district in which Disney is the primary taxpayer. Disney, while they pay to maintain their infrastructure, has avoided paying the taxes on said payments that everyone else, including me, Universal, and SeaWorld, all have to pay on services that are done for ourselves. In fact, with the investigation done so far, Disney is also now negotiating with the IRS about not paying taxes in relation to RCID that they were covering up.

DeSantis has always offered Disney huge benefits to get them to move stuff here... he offered benefits and was courting the relocation to Lake Nona, prior to Disney going and attacking the State of Florida. DeSantis was a huge Disney fan, he even got married there. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see further news about Lake Nona, as Disney has multiple issues in relation to that project that are unsolved, they are legally unable to just sit on that land without building what is promised, they have a use it or lose it provision and tax benefits tied to it they already agreed to, and rumors are the Disney settlement involves them massively increasing spending in Florida.

[codypet]

I mean the way the I-4 BTU improvements have been structured makes it very clear who the fight from the state is aimed at.  How does it make sense to forgo permanent express lanes from Sand Lake Road to Osceola Pkwy?

[shardoon]

20 minutes ago, codypet said:

I mean the way the I-4 BTU improvements have been structured makes it very clear who the fight from the state is aimed at.  How does it make sense to forgo permanent express lanes from Sand Lake Road to Osceola Pkwy?

Wait, they are not building them? I thought the plan was an express lane, kind of like South Florida with the rubber sticks separating? 

[aent]

33 minutes ago, shardoon said:

Wait, they are not building them? I thought the plan was an express lane, kind of like South Florida with the rubber sticks separating? 

That did get funded, but original plans called for a double decker which has been deemed necessary to get 4 express lanes in that area and there isn't enough money for that... that has been put on hold in favor of temporarily adding 2 express lanes. The 4 express lanes were funded in Osceola County. If Disney paid their fair share of impact fees, its likely the full project would have been funded, but they seem to have escaped that.

[Ivanhoe]

50 minutes ago, aent said:

That did get funded, but original plans called for a double decker which has been deemed necessary to get 4 express lanes in that area and there isn't enough money for that... that has been put on hold in favor of temporarily adding 2 express lanes. The 4 express lanes were funded in Osceola County. If Disney paid their fair share of impact fees, its likely the full project would have been funded, but they seem to have escaped that.

If there isn’t enough money for it, one must ask where it’s going instead of the most clogged artery in Florida. 

Why is DeShameless wasting your tax dollars to put up signs at the entrance to  Disney called the Central Florida Oversight District?

Florida is doing a lot of things wrong right now but term limits are not one of them. 

 

Edited March 28 by Ivanhoe

[shardoon]

New flash, governments all around the country waste money on BS. That is why this country as a whole is broke. Taxing the hell out of the people who mainly pay the taxes ain't gonna help it, we simply spend and waste too much money on everything. 

Edited March 28 by shardoon

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, Ivanhoe said:

If there isn’t enough money for it, one must ask where it’s going instead of the most clogged artery in Florida. 

Why is DeShameless wasting your tax dollars to put up signs at the entrance to  Disney called the Central Florida Oversight District?

Florida is doing a lot of things wrong right now but term limits are not one of them. 

 

so, when John Mica was our rep, we got Sunrail.  Then, Dem Stephany Murphy was bankrolled in.  She represents our district for transportation issues etc.  So, who exactly is to blame here?  Mica got us Sunrail; Murphy hasn't done squat.  What DeSantis has to do with this, I have no idea.

[jack]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

so, when John Mica was our rep, we got Sunrail.  Then, Dem Stephany Murphy was bankrolled in.  She represents our district for transportation issues etc.  So, who exactly is to blame here?  Mica got us Sunrail; Murphy hasn't done squat.  What DeSantis has to do with this, I have no idea.

I-4 is a state road ran by FDOT. The feds provide money if FDOT/the state of Florida lobbies for it. 

[codypet]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

so, when John Mica was our rep, we got Sunrail.  Then, Dem Stephany Murphy was bankrolled in.  She represents our district for transportation issues etc.  So, who exactly is to blame here?  Mica got us Sunrail; Murphy hasn't done squat.  What DeSantis has to do with this, I have no idea.

Cory Mills is our rep in that district so he's holding the basket on that. Murphy was gone the last term.

2 hours ago, Ivanhoe said:

If there isn’t enough money for it, one must ask where it’s going instead of the most clogged artery in Florida. 

Why is DeShameless wasting your tax dollars to put up signs at the entrance to  Disney called the Central Florida Oversight District?

Florida is doing a lot of things wrong right now but term limits are not one of them. 

 

Those are huge signs.  What possessed them to put those there?  Reedy Creek didn't have signs like that.

[jrs2]

...

Edited March 28 by jrs2

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

Cory Mills is our rep in that district so he's holding the basket on that. Murphy was gone the last term.

Those are huge signs.  What possessed them to put those there?  Reedy Creek didn't have signs like that.

You're right.  Cory Mills is the 7th District, which is north of there, now predominantly Seminole and areas to the NE, etc.. 

However, Dems Darren Soto and Maxwell frost are of the 9th and 10th Districts respectively, which comprise the Beyond Ultimate Corridor to the SW.

So, where is the blame for the democrat(s) directly responsible for that corridor?  @Ivanhoe You blame spending $$$ on new RCID replacement signs for the shortfall, and a the false presumption that I-4 traffic near 429 trumps, say, Miami rush hour traffic, or even Tampa traffic along I-75 near the I-4 Interchange.  have you even been to those places during rush hour?  Is it that out of the realm of possibility that maybe money has been prioritized for those regions over this one?  Why do you think they created the OOCEA to begin with back when places like Jax, Tampa, and Miami all had bypass freeways built and Orlando didn't? Because they were bigger than Orlando and, for the most part, they still are.

Also, @jack, Volusia and/or Daytona Beach had to hire a lobbyist to secure funds for the redone I-4/US 92 Interchange, otherwise it would not have gotten done when it did- and Volusia is red.  However, Isn't Osceola blue?  Isn't Orange blue?  So why have those two blue counties sat on their butts and not done ANYTHING to secure more funding for Beyond Ultimate?  Why haven't they gotten with FDOT and pushed them to ask the Fed for more money?  Volusia did.

And, @Ivanhoeit is hypocritical to blame a Republican for not allotting enough money for the type of project that Dems probably wouldn't support anyway (in lieu of say public transportation).  Maybe those two don't care about the Lexus Lanes (versus public transportation initiatives).  And if that's the case, how is it DeSantis' fault if they aren't lobbying for it?

And on the public transportation front, what has Soto done to get $$$ for the Sunrail airport link?  He's been in office for 3-4 terms now, and that's squarely within his district.  That's public transportation, isn't it? And it benefits his district, doesn't it?  DeSantis's fault too, huh?

And I find it ironic that the Republican representing West Volusia (6th District) has gotten funding (or will get the credit for it) for the DeLand Station of Sunrail, while nothing has been done for the airport link which falls squarely within blue-controlled territory.

So, @Ivanhoe, before blaming DeSantis, first learn the political landscape of the affected area and look to there first when assigning blame- because it starts at the local level first.

[shardoon]

2 hours ago, codypet said:

Cory Mills is our rep in that district so he's holding the basket on that. Murphy was gone the last term.

Those are huge signs.  What possessed them to put those there?  Reedy Creek didn't have signs like that.

I have not seen the signs, but if it's what is described, that is pretty stupid.

[shardoon]

3 hours ago, jrs2 said:

You're right.  Cory Mills is the 7th District, which is north of there, now predominantly Seminole and areas to the NE, etc.. 

However, Dems Darren Soto and Maxwell frost are of the 9th and 10th Districts respectively, which comprise the Beyond Ultimate Corridor to the SW.

So, where is the blame for the democrat(s) directly responsible for that corridor?  @Ivanhoe You blame spending $$$ on new RCID replacement signs for the shortfall, and a the false presumption that I-4 traffic near 429 trumps, say, Miami rush hour traffic, or even Tampa traffic along I-75 near the I-4 Interchange.  have you even been to those places during rush hour?  Is it that out of the realm of possibility that maybe money has been prioritized for those regions over this one?  Why do you think they created the OOCEA to begin with back when places like Jax, Tampa, and Miami all had bypass freeways built and Orlando didn't? Because they were bigger than Orlando and, for the most part, they still are.

Also, @jack, Volusia and/or Daytona Beach had to hire a lobbyist to secure funds for the redone I-4/US 92 Interchange, otherwise it would not have gotten done when it did- and Volusia is red.  However, Isn't Osceola blue?  Isn't Orange blue?  So why have those two blue counties sat on their butts and not done ANYTHING to secure more funding for Beyond Ultimate?  Why haven't they gotten with FDOT and pushed them to ask the Fed for more money?  Volusia did.

And, @Ivanhoeit is hypocritical to blame a Republican for not allotting enough money for the type of project that Dems probably wouldn't support anyway (in lieu of say public transportation).  Maybe those two don't care about the Lexus Lanes (versus public transportation initiatives).  And if that's the case, how is it DeSantis' fault if they aren't lobbying for it?

And on the public transportation front, what has Soto done to get $$$ for the Sunrail airport link?  He's been in office for 3-4 terms now, and that's squarely within his district.  That's public transportation, isn't it? And it benefits his district, doesn't it?  DeSantis's fault too, huh?

And I find it ironic that the Republican representing West Volusia (6th District) has gotten funding (or will get the credit for it) for the DeLand Station of Sunrail, while nothing has been done for the airport link which falls squarely within blue-controlled territory.

So, @Ivanhoe, before blaming DeSantis, first learn the political landscape of the affected area and look to there first when assigning blame- because it starts at the local level first.

Good thing the Key bridge wasn't in Florida. Knee jerk reactions around here these days are to blame DeSantis for everything that they don't like and I'm sure many on here would squarely blame him for the lack of dolphins and rock island protecting the bridge support pillars. 

I know many on here would love a Democrat utopia here in Florida. Maybe we can get a governor like the Illinois governor. What a swell guy, I'm sure his policies are better than Deshameless or whatever juvenile name many call our governor. 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/illinois-lawmaker-warned-board-released-alleged-killer-chicago-boy-sick-to-my-stomach

Edited March 28 by shardoon

[aent]

7 hours ago, Ivanhoe said:

If there isn’t enough money for it, one must ask where it’s going instead of the most clogged artery in Florida. 

Why is DeShameless wasting your tax dollars to put up signs at the entrance to  Disney called the Central Florida Oversight District?

Florida is doing a lot of things wrong right now but term limits are not one of them. 

 

They are literally building the express lanes in the Disney area starting construction in the next year or so, it was literally funded BY DeSantis. Prior to DeSantis overhauling the plan and prioritizing I-4, the Beyond the Ultimate improvements were expected to take 30+ years to be completed. Now many of the improvements are being pushed up by decades over what was planned before DeSantis was in office, in the Disney area. The area immediately south/west of Disney wasn't slated to get any improvements for a long time, but now, starting construction late this year or early next year, the project has been extended by 10 miles of giving 4 express lanes. He is literally doing exactly what you want.

He also has spent zero of our tax dollars on any signs for the CFOD. I checked, the number is ZERO.

2 hours ago, jrs2 said:

And on the public transportation front, what has Soto done to get $$$ for the Sunrail airport link?  He's been in office for 3-4 terms now, and that's squarely within his district.  That's public transportation, isn't it? And it benefits his district, doesn't it?  DeSantis's fault too, huh?

 

Yup, and don't forget OBX. Mica got funding to get some improvements done, and we were expecting OBX to start construction within a year when he got voted out. Now we've literally got nothing, directly because the complain about everything, do nothing democrats took over.

[F-L-A]

22 hours ago, aent said:

You seem to be entirely unaware of what the lawsuit was about. First off, it was suing the State of Florida, so as a resident, yes, it includes us, and second of all, DeSantis was never willing to put any of us with the bill. All bills have always been assigned to the district in which Disney is the primary taxpayer. Disney, while they pay to maintain their infrastructure, has avoided paying the taxes on said payments that everyone else, including me, Universal, and SeaWorld, all have to pay on services that are done for ourselves. In fact, with the investigation done so far, Disney is also now negotiating with the IRS about not paying taxes in relation to RCID that they were covering up.

DeSantis has always offered Disney huge benefits to get them to move stuff here... he offered benefits and was courting the relocation to Lake Nona, prior to Disney going and attacking the State of Florida. DeSantis was a huge Disney fan, he even got married there. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see further news about Lake Nona, as Disney has multiple issues in relation to that project that are unsolved, they are legally unable to just sit on that land without building what is promised, they have a use it or lose it provision and tax benefits tied to it they already agreed to, and rumors are the Disney settlement involves them massively increasing spending in Florida.

I have no idea how you've already forgotten that he wanted to kill the special district that allows Disney to act as its own quasi-government entity, as political retaliation for them daring to publicly disapprove of his backwards educational bills. If he had succeeded, Orange County would be paying to maintain all Disney infrastructure within the county. We were about to be taxed out the wazoo, and  yes, your governor was perfectly fine with that. He doesn't think anything through, he just acts upon getting his feelings hurt. 

And no one is forcing Disney to commit to the cancelled relocation. You're kidding yourself if you think there's any chance of that happening at this point. He's sent Disney a clear message about how anti-business this state is under his authoritarian rule, his "benefits" be damned. 

Edited March 29 by F-L-A

[Ivanhoe]

5 hours ago, jrs2 said:

You're right.  Cory Mills is the 7th District, which is north of there, now predominantly Seminole and areas to the NE, etc.. 

However, Dems Darren Soto and Maxwell frost are of the 9th and 10th Districts respectively, which comprise the Beyond Ultimate Corridor to the SW.

So, where is the blame for the democrat(s) directly responsible for that corridor?  @Ivanhoe You blame spending $$$ on new RCID replacement signs for the shortfall, and a the false presumption that I-4 traffic near 429 trumps, say, Miami rush hour traffic, or even Tampa traffic along I-75 near the I-4 Interchange.  have you even been to those places during rush hour?  Is it that out of the realm of possibility that maybe money has been prioritized for those regions over this one?  Why do you think they created the OOCEA to begin with back when places like Jax, Tampa, and Miami all had bypass freeways built and Orlando didn't? Because they were bigger than Orlando and, for the most part, they still are.

Also, @jack, Volusia and/or Daytona Beach had to hire a lobbyist to secure funds for the redone I-4/US 92 Interchange, otherwise it would not have gotten done when it did- and Volusia is red.  However, Isn't Osceola blue?  Isn't Orange blue?  So why have those two blue counties sat on their butts and not done ANYTHING to secure more funding for Beyond Ultimate?  Why haven't they gotten with FDOT and pushed them to ask the Fed for more money?  Volusia did.

And, @Ivanhoeit is hypocritical to blame a Republican for not allotting enough money for the type of project that Dems probably wouldn't support anyway (in lieu of say public transportation).  Maybe those two don't care about the Lexus Lanes (versus public transportation initiatives).  And if that's the case, how is it DeSantis' fault if they aren't lobbying for it?

And on the public transportation front, what has Soto done to get $$$ for the Sunrail airport link?  He's been in office for 3-4 terms now, and that's squarely within his district.  That's public transportation, isn't it? And it benefits his district, doesn't it?  DeSantis's fault too, huh?

And I find it ironic that the Republican representing West Volusia (6th District) has gotten funding (or will get the credit for it) for the DeLand Station of Sunrail, while nothing has been done for the airport link which falls squarely within blue-controlled territory.

So, @Ivanhoe, before blaming DeSantis, first learn the political landscape of the affected area and look to there first when assigning blame- because it starts at the local level first.

I have no plan to respond to you point by point as this entire post is conjecture and little to do with anything I said. As par for your course.

[Ivanhoe]

9 hours ago, jrs2 said:

so, when John Mica was our rep, we got Sunrail.  Then, Dem Stephany Murphy was bankrolled in.  She represents our district for transportation issues etc.  So, who exactly is to blame here?  Mica got us Sunrail; Murphy hasn't done squat.  What DeSantis has to do with this, I have no idea.

You seem to have forgotten that Paula Dockery pulled every trick out of a hat to kill Sunrail and then governor Scott continually delayed state funding for it through legislative delays.  
It was the local counties in bi-partisan measure led largely by Buddy  Dyer who fought tooth and nail against Tea Party Republicans and they eventually won.

Edited March 29 by Ivanhoe

[codypet]

10 hours ago, Ivanhoe said:

You seem to have forgotten that Paula Dockery pulled every trick out of a hat to kill Sunrail and then governor Scott continually delayed state funding for it through legislative delays.  
It was the local counties in bi-partisan measure led largely by Buddy  Dyer who fought tooth and nail against Tea Party Republicans and they eventually won.

Was it Sunrail that Paula Dockery pulled that stunt for?  My recollection it was for FLHSR.

[codypet]

This is a photo of one of the signs so people can visualize it.  They occur along 429 and I-4 everytime you enter the district.  So you see this sign just north of Championsgate, then again north of Osceola Parkway going EB.  Remember Reedy Creek had no such sign.  I believe the Osceola Pkwy one is larger.  Likely the same going WB, or SB and NB of 429.  Its not the politics of these signs that really bug me, its that as someone who's in highway engineering signs like this one, and the "Florida Open for business" signs Rick Scott pushed to install ruin the integrity for the intent of guidesigns per the MUTCD.  They're effectively state run billboards and IMO a waste of money on that front.  Similarly, the Turnpikes "Sunpass/Barber Shave" signs fall in that category for me too.  We don't need more distractions on the road with pointless signs.  

Where do I draw the line between billboard and informational sign?  Right here.  This teeters on the line for being an ad IMO and the reason is because of the emphasis on the roadway network's own software system.

Edited March 29 by codypet

[jack]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

Was it Sunrail that Paula Dockery pulled that stunt for?  My recollection it was for FLHSR.

Other way around. 

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2011/07/01/paula-dockery-has-harsh-words-for-scott-on-sunrail-decision/

 

 

20 minutes ago, codypet said:

This is a photo of one of the signs so people can visualize it.  They occur along 429 and I-4 everytime you enter the district.  So you see this sign just north of Championsgate, then again north of Osceola Parkway going EB.  Remember Reedy Creek had no such sign.  I believe the Osceola Pkwy one is larger.  Likely the same going WB, or SB and NB of 429.  Its not the politics of these signs that really bug me, its that as someone who's in highway engineering signs like this one, and the "Florida Open for business" signs Rick Scott pushed to install ruin the integrity for the intent of guidesigns per the MUTCD.  They're effectively state run billboards and IMO a waste of money on that front.  Similarly, the Turnpikes "Sunpass/Barber Shave" signs fall in that category for me too.  We don't need more distractions on the road with pointless signs.  

Where do I draw the line between billboard and informational sign?  Right here.  This teeters on the line for being an ad IMO and the reason is because of the emphasis on the roadway network's own software system.

Whomever approved these should be thrown off of a bridge. Government waste at its finest. No one care that drivers are entering a special district. 

[jack]

17 hours ago, jrs2 said:

You're right.  Cory Mills is the 7th District, which is north of there, now predominantly Seminole and areas to the NE, etc.. 

However, Dems Darren Soto and Maxwell frost are of the 9th and 10th Districts respectively, which comprise the Beyond Ultimate Corridor to the SW.

So, where is the blame for the democrat(s) directly responsible for that corridor?  @Ivanhoe You blame spending $$$ on new RCID replacement signs for the shortfall, and a the false presumption that I-4 traffic near 429 trumps, say, Miami rush hour traffic, or even Tampa traffic along I-75 near the I-4 Interchange.  have you even been to those places during rush hour?  Is it that out of the realm of possibility that maybe money has been prioritized for those regions over this one?  Why do you think they created the OOCEA to begin with back when places like Jax, Tampa, and Miami all had bypass freeways built and Orlando didn't? Because they were bigger than Orlando and, for the most part, they still are.

Also, @jack, Volusia and/or Daytona Beach had to hire a lobbyist to secure funds for the redone I-4/US 92 Interchange, otherwise it would not have gotten done when it did- and Volusia is red.  However, Isn't Osceola blue?  Isn't Orange blue?  So why have those two blue counties sat on their butts and not done ANYTHING to secure more funding for Beyond Ultimate?  Why haven't they gotten with FDOT and pushed them to ask the Fed for more money?  Volusia did.

And, @Ivanhoeit is hypocritical to blame a Republican for not allotting enough money for the type of project that Dems probably wouldn't support anyway (in lieu of say public transportation).  Maybe those two don't care about the Lexus Lanes (versus public transportation initiatives).  And if that's the case, how is it DeSantis' fault if they aren't lobbying for it?

And on the public transportation front, what has Soto done to get $$$ for the Sunrail airport link?  He's been in office for 3-4 terms now, and that's squarely within his district.  That's public transportation, isn't it? And it benefits his district, doesn't it?  DeSantis's fault too, huh?

And I find it ironic that the Republican representing West Volusia (6th District) has gotten funding (or will get the credit for it) for the DeLand Station of Sunrail, while nothing has been done for the airport link which falls squarely within blue-controlled territory.

So, @Ivanhoe, before blaming DeSantis, first learn the political landscape of the affected area and look to there first when assigning blame- because it starts at the local level first.

I am not going to go on a rant about the stupidity of the feds funding state roads, butI-4 was/is a P3 project led by former Governor Scott. Which makes sense that a former CEO dealing with the aftermath of a recession would get creative to deliver a large scale project. DeSantis is in a different situation and remember the guy has never collected a salary that was not paid by the government. Instinctively, he thinks government first.