DeSantis threatens to build a PRISON next to Disney as payback for trying to strip his powers: Florida Governor ramps up Reedy Creek war and refuses to let 'corporate kingdom' serve 'as its own government'

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday threatened to build a state prison next to Walt Disney World as payback for the company's attempt to circumvent the authority of his oversight board.

The Republican governor ramped up his war against the Magic Kingdom by declaring the state legislature, controlled by his party, will void Disney's legal maneuvering that effectively stripped his new oversight board of authority over the company.

And he promised more crackdowns to come next week as he rains down war on theme park giant in order to keep Mickey, Minnie and company from living happily ever after.

DeSantis went to Disney's hometown to make his escalate his war. It was there he dropped his bombshell announcement  that he's considering putting criminals next to the theme parked visited by millions of families with their children every year.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announces the state Legislature will void Disney's legal maneuvering that effectively stripped his new board of its authority

Walt Disney World and its fellow theme parks reside in a special tax district known as Reedy Creek. 

In his remarks, DeSantis noted the company's agreement with the old oversight board concerning land development in that district. 

Disney owns undeveloped land there . But so does the state of Florida, DeSantis noted, adding 'you know, quite frankly, I wasn't even thinking about that land.'

'People are like, well, there's what should we do with this land?,' he noted. 'People have said, you know, maybe have another, maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks.'

Then he dropped his bombshell: 'Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows?'

'I just think that the possibilities are endless,' he said.

DeSantis has launched an all-out war against Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney world

DeSantis railed against the Disney corporation for trying to outmaneuver him when it cut a special deal with the old oversight board it controlled before the new board, appointed by him, took over.

'They thought that they could create some type of development agreements that would essentially render everything that we did null and void and put them in control in perpetuity for this. Well that's not going to work. That's not going to fly,' he said.

He said legislation is in the works to nullify that agreement. 

'One of the Florida's statutes provides the legislature with the authority to revoke development agreements in this exact type of instance,'  he said during the press conference.

'And so I've worked with both leaders of the House and Senate. There is a bill that will be put out in the Florida Legislature that will make sure that the agreements purported to be entered into by Disney are revoked and the people's will is established,' he noted.

'We will not have one corporation serving as its own government,' he declared. 

He said that even if the legislature didn't revoke the agreement, the deal wouldn't hold up legally, calling it a 'sham agreement.' 

And he's taking it a step further, going for a one-two punch against theme park giant.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he may build a prison on land state owns next to Disney World - above Pinocchio in prison in the 1940 Disney classic

The Reedy Creek Improvement District stretches for nearly 40 square miles and includes the entire Walt Disney World Resort

As DeSantis takes action on the state side, his new oversight board will debate a resolution this week that will keep Disney from using the two cities its theme parks reside in to maintain control over their franchise.

'For them to try to do an end run around the people of Florida to shows how arrogant they are,' the governor told iHeart radio in Orlando Monday morning. 

'We are also going to have our state control board meet on Wednesday. And they're going to be unveiling a series of initiatives designed to make sure that Disney is held accountable and so stay tuned for those as well.'

The combo moves come as part of the all-out war DeSantis has begun against the house that Mickey Mouse built. His battles against Disney have elevated his national profile ahead of speculation he will announce a presidential bid this spring. He's also turned it part of his 'war on woke' as he makes the culture wars a centerpiece of his strategy.

DeSantis has hinted for weeks such actions were coming.

'There will be additional legislative action taken in Tallahassee that will nullify what they tried to do with the 11th hour and then potentially, you know, arm the board with the ability to make sure that this is run appropriately,' he said earlier this month during a speech in Michigan.

For weeks now he's talked tough against the company, telling Disney to 'buckle up.' He's also contemplated hitting Disney in its wallet, imposing a new hotel tax and tolls on roads leading into the park.

Disney and DeSantis clashed when the company spoke out against the governor's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law - a state law prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

As part of that war, DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida legislature terminated the self-governing privileges that Disney World had held since 1967.

To take away Disney's self-governing power, DeSantis appointed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District controlled by Disney and oversaw development at Disney World.

Before the newly-appointed board took control, Disney officials and the old board cut a deal allowing the company to sidestep the new board's control, using an obscure legal clause that name-checks King Charles III.

Additionally, Disney secured approvals for the next 30 years on zoning, infrastructure and air-rights that the company might need if it chooses to expand its theme park - meaning it can do so without approval from DeSantis' hand-picked board. 

DeSantis and his team pushed back against talk the governor had been outmaneuvered. DeSantis demanded a state investigation into the old board's actions.

And the new board appointed by DeSantis is looking to exert its authority over development in Disney World and the two cities controlled by the theme park giant. 

The two cities within the Reedy Creek district where Disney's park sits - Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista - have a combined population of only 53 people. All of the residents are believed to have close ties to Disney.

Some expect Disney to use its control over the two cities - which have city councils and mayors - to maintain authority over its theme parks.

The Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom are inside the city limits of Bay Lake, while Disney Springs is in Lake Buena Vista.

But the new resolution, seen by the Orlando Sentinel, gives control of Disney development to DeSantis' new Central Florida Tourism Oversight board.

'The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District's authority over comprehensive planning, zoning, land development regulations, environmental protection regulations, and platting and subdivision regulations shall control within the entire District, including within the jurisdictional limits of the City of Lake Buena Vista and the City of Bay Lake,' the resolution states. 

The proposal is on the agenda for the board's April 19 meeting. 

As DeSantis takes action on the state side, his new oversight board will debate a resolution this week that will keep Disney from using the two cities its parks reside in to maintain control over their franchise

Disney is showing no signs of backing down, as both sides heat up the war of words and prepare for what is likely to be a long and costly legal battle.

CEO Bob Iger earlier this month blasted DeSantis for being 'anti-business and anti-Florida' at the company's annual shareholder meeting. He accused the governor of retaliation against the company.

Iger also told Time magazine he's willing to sit down with DeSantis.

'If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that,' he said.

Disney World is the largest employer in central Florida, with close to 75,000 employees, drawing 36.2 million visitors in 2021, according to the Themed Entertainment Association. 

DeSantis, in his radio interview on Monday morning, wouldn't say either way if he'd meet with the Disney CEO.

'At the end of the day, you know, they need to understand that they are not going to live under a different set of rules as everybody else. I mean, that's just the reality. And I think that the fact that they tried to do the secret agreements at the end, yes, they're gonna fail. But the fact that he would try that tells me that they haven't got the message yet,' he said when asked about a sit down.

Disney made a whopping $7.4 billion from its parks for the most recent quarter of the 2022 financial year - up 70 percent from a year earlier, when it was recovering from COVID shutdowns. 

The theme park is now charging for some of its formerly free features, including its Genie+ app ($15) and parking ($30). Even the price of its iconic Mickey Mouse ears has increased by over a third since 2021, from $29.99 to $39.99.

The company averaged 18 million annual visitors to Disney World before the pandemic - a room at the park's value hotel, Pop Century, today costs roughly $168 - up more than $70 from 2013, when a room at the resort would cost you $95. That's an increase of more than 77 percent. 

Ticket prices at the park - now over $100 - have increased at roughly double the inflation rate over the 2010s. 

Disney World in Florida sits in what is called a special tax district, known as Reedy Creek. The setup allowed the company to self-govern as a de facto county - controlling fire protection, policing, road maintenance, and development planning. 

Because of the deals Disney made with the old board, DeSantis' new board can't do much more than maintain the roads and control basic infrastructure.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has offered to have a sit down with Ron DeSantis

Disney maneuvered to protect itself from DeSantis' new oversight board with an obscure legal clause tied to King Charles III (above)

The deal Disney made states that the provisions will remain in place until '21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England living as of the date of this declaration'. 

This 'last survivor' is one-year-old Princess Lilibet of Sussex, who lives in California.

The so-called 'Royal Clause' is used by lawyers to avoid rules against contracts which last in perpetuity. The British Royals were selected because information about their family tree is readily available, and because the family generally have 'longer life expectancy,' according to law firm Bricketts.

Often used in relation to trusts and options to acquire property, the legal maneuver was created to circumvent laws that last in perpetuity, and to maximize the possible length of time for which trusts in particular could remain in force.

In this particular case, that time period - if not overturned - could be a considerable number of years, with Charles's youngest living descendant, Princess Lilibet, only one-year-old.