You remember this one. Last April, Florida put an end to the special status originally granted to Disney World back in 1967. The whole battle began after Disney decided to criticize the “Parental Rights in Education” bill which DeSantis had signed in March. Here’s a bit of background on the deal that was repealed.

Since 1967, Disney has received tax and regulation exemptions for an area known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The exemption in effect allows Disney to govern itself on Disney World grounds, including having its own fire department and board of supervisors, as well as its ability to oversee land and environmental regulations.

Past estimates have suggested that Disney saves tens of millions a year in regulations, taxes and fees because of the privileges, and repealing the exemption could put a big strain on the company. The Reedy Creek district spans over 27,000 acres, including Disney World’s four theme parks, two water parks and other hotels and retail outlets in the area.

By October, Variety was reporting that Disney had been “weakened” by the battle.

Six months after the “Don’t Say Gay” controversy, Disney has clearly been weakened by the fight while DeSantis’ profile as a conservative culture warrior has only grown. DeSantis has moved on to new controversies that have captured national attention, most recently shipping immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard.

But he has also kept up a steady drumbeat on LGBTQ issues. His administration has taken aim at youth who are gender transitioning, eliminating coverage for gender-affirming care for all ages in Medicaid, and investigating a drag brunch. And Disney, which prides itself on its support for the LGBTQ community, has stayed silent. The company is still engaged in a low-key way in Florida politics – underwriting organizations like Equality Florida – but has said almost nothing in public about Florida politics since vowing in April to help overturn the education law.

“Disney for whatever reason has gone quiet,” said Mike Kahane, of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, who organized a protest at Disney World in March. “I would speculate it has something to do with them trying to work out this bigger issue, which could have huge economic consequences to them.”

A month later, Bob Chapek’s run as Disney CEO ended unceremoniously as he was replaced by former CEO Bob Iger. As Ed pointed out at the time, the problem for Chapek was that Disney’s board (and Iger) didn’t think he’d spoken out loudly enough against DeSantis. But once he was back at the top, Iger didn’t try to reignite the fight with DeSantis. On the contrary, he tried to tone it down.

In response to an audience question about the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, Iger said the company would still promote “inclusion,” but signaled that he would adopt a different posture than his processor and suggested that the company will “listen to [its] audience” and “have respect for the people that [it’s] serving.”

Iger also suggested that the company made a mistake in its fight against Governor DeSantis, which resulted in the state legislature stripping Disney of its special administrative status. “I was sorry to see us dragged into that battle,” he said. “The State of Florida has been important to us for a long time. And we have been very important to the State of Florida. That is something I’m extremely mindful of and will articulate if I get the chance.”

But as DeSantis was quick to point out in an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s show, “We didn’t drag them in…they went in on their own, and not only opposed the bill. They threatened to get it repealed.” There were reports last month that maybe Florida legislators were responding to Iger’s change of tone and would considering resuming the sweetheart deal for Disney. But Gov. DeSantis denied it at the time and his spokesperson said at the time, “Governor DeSantis does not make ‘U-turns.” Today we learned he was telling the truth as Gov. DeSantis is ready to move forward with a bill that would put the Reedy Creek district under his control.

Gov. Ron DeSantis ratcheted-up his yearlong fight with the Walt Disney Co., with a plan Friday to take control of the governing board for its sprawling Central Florida property and make the company assume $700 million in outstanding debt…

“The corporate kingdom has come to an end,” DeSantis’ communications director, Taryn Fenske, told Fox News…

The Reedy Creek district is led by a five-member board who are essentially hand-picked by the Walt Disney Co. DeSantis would get to appoint the board, under the legislation he envisions.

After the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis passed a law last year that would abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District by this June, there have been concerns about how Disney’s enormous bond debt and the services on the company’s properties will be paid for if its taxing district goes away, and whether local governments would have to raise taxes.

The proposed legislation, though, would put the bond debt on the company, shielding the taxpayers of Orange and Osceola counties, where the 38.5-square-mile Reedy Creek district is located.

The next legislative session in Florida begins in March so the actual bill may appear then but there are also stories suggesting there could be some kind of special session to get this moving even sooner. DeSantis’ had a line in his recent inauguration speech that “Florida is where woke goes to die.” So for him, continuing to push back on Disney is probably smart politics. The decision last year to take them on certainly didn’t hurt him in the election and, assuming Disney doesn’t pack up and leave the state, it will probably make a good segment in a 2024 stump speech.