Thread by @Tyler2ONeil

🚨BREAKING: Internal docs reveal a MASSIVE gov't corruption scandal between Disney🐭 & Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID). Disney effectively controlled local gov't through bribes💰, including Disney World passes not available to the public. 🧵 1/16 dailysignal.com/2023/12/03/mou…

RCID bought employees “Complimentary Tickets”🎟️ that worked for EVERY SINGLE DISNEY PARK except 1. Spouses got 1 similar ticket and staff got at least 3 transferable tickets, more if they had 4+ kids. Nothing like this is available on the open market & staff knew it. 2/16

How much💰 did these cost?
RCID paid only $725 for each complimentary ticket in 2019. A Magic Key pass that year cost $1,399 & only got you into 2 Disney CA parks. The second-highest pass ($1,219) got you into Florida's 4 parks.
In 2021, RCID paid Disney $1.5M for 🎟️s. 3/16

These are TAXPAYER funds💰 going to subsidize GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES' access to amusement parks🎢. To make matters worse, the cost went up over time. In 2013, RCID paid $714K for these tickets. By 2021, the cost had risen to $2.15M. 4/16

RCID appears to have hidden😲 these payments on its tax forms. The forms appear in a section titled "Transactions with Principal Landowners" & are marked as "financial and other administrative services." 5/16

RCID staff also got a 50% discount on Disney🐭 cruises🚢. They had to specially contact the cruise line for the discount. A cruise director explained that RCID didn’t appear on the list for online discounts “due to the sunshine state laws” of Florida.😲 6/16

While the local gov't used TAXPAYER DOLLARS💰 to reimburse Disney🐭 for this benefit, gov't officials didn't know that. One RCID employee wrote, "please extend my appreciation to the [Disney] World Corporation for this benefit." 7/16

RCID reimbursed Disney🐭 for other discounts: RCID staff got discounts at Disney merch stores, including stores not available to the general public. Taxpayers paid between $52K & $74K for this. RCID staff also got food discounts, costing taxpayers north of $20K annually. 8/16

RCID staff also enjoyed lavish parties at Disney🐭 venues. Taxpayers footed the bill for a retirement party at Disney's Yacht Club Resort with cookies & cream mousse and a premium beer & wine package. It cost $14,842. 9/16

When an RCID employee unexpectedly passed away in 2022, the local gov’t hosted a “Celebration of Life” party at Disney Coronado Springs resort. That party cost $33,600 10/16

As the FL gov't report notes, these benefits "cultivated the view" that RCID employees were "a valued part of the Disney🐭 corporation." They called themselves the "Magic Behind the Magic." These employees even got "perners," a personnel number in Disney's tracking system. 11/16

RCID employees—who, again, are government officials—sometimes said they were "very worried about being subject to the whims of Disney."🐭 When one staffer said that to his colleague, the colleague replied, "What else is new?"😲 12/16

In one case, RCID staff noted that Disney's🐭 goals conflicted with the DOD-owned Shades of Green resort🫡. An email shows employees noting that Disney "likes" or "doesn't want" certain outcomes. The outcome that Disney "liked" prevailed... 13/16

When @GovRonDeSantis started to consider dissolving RCID, the district started working WITH DISNEY🐭, the company it was supposed to be regulating, to create an "incentive" program to keep RCID staff on board. 14/16

@GovRonDeSantis "RCID’s entanglement with Disney🐭 made it difficult for RCID employees to know where RCID responsibilities ended and Disney responsibilities began," Florida's report notes. Disney had "captured" the gov't agency tasked with overseeing it. 15/16

@GovRonDeSantis Whatever you think of DeSantis’ reasons for dissolving RCID, this report shows that returning the district to the state government and, ultimately, the voters is a key reform away from horrific local corruption. 16/16 dailysignal.com/2023/12/03/mou…

Sorry, the link at the top is broken. This one works: dailysignal.com/2023/12/04/mou…

The link is broken. This one works: dailysignal.com/2023/12/04/mou…