DeSantis-Disney détente: Is the feud over? Will more expansion come to Florida theme park?

Is Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was married at Disney World, welcoming the theme park giant again? And is Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger equally ready to embrace Florida?

The answer appears to be yes and yes. And that's a marked change from roughly two years of acrimony between the governor, the state legislature and Florida's most famous entertainment conglomerate.

The state and Walt Disney Co. have settled one major lawsuit, which ends the challenge to the new governing board, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Another dispute over the education law has also been resolved with the governor and LGBTQ+ advocates all claiming a "W," by the way.

So, spring 2024 finds the parties immersed in look-forward speak. Does this mean a DeSantis-Disney détente has arrived? Here are seven things to know.

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1. Disney-DeSantis détente is great. But what was the fight all about?

The fight between the governor and GOP legislators and the Disney company was triggered by the global entertainment giant's internal criticism of Florida's 2022 Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" measure.

It then mushroomed into lawsuits and countersuits as the state took over the theme park giant's self-governing board, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, granted by the state in the 1960s to woo Walt Disney himself to build the initial Magic Kingdom theme park in Central Florida.

The acrimony got particularly ugly when neo-Nazi groups began gathering for roadside rallies in the Orlando area and then staged a demonstration at one Disney World entrance. The rhetoric against Disney by conservatives turned nasty, too, with accusations Disney was sexualizing children and "grooming" them.

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2. What has DeSantis said about the Disney feud?

Speaking last month, DeSantis still insisted the dispute with the Walt Disney Co., for which he drew skepticism and even backlash from GOP corners, was "in the best interests of Florida." But noting the agreement in which Disney acceded to the governing board that the governor and Florida Legislature created, the governor said "we have an interest as a state in moving forward to make this region very strong" and that Disney is "a part of that."

The governor noted that rival theme park fiefdom Universal Orlando is about open a third theme park, Epic Universe, and he called the expansion a "game-changer." He said he would welcome additional investment by Disney as well.

"I've got to think Disney would have an interest in maybe offering another one," DeSantis said about a potential fifth park in the Kissimmee area. "The district will be ready to negotiate something to be able to be good for the state of Florida, to be good jobs and be good for all those things."

3. What has Disney chief Bob Iger said about DeSantis feud?

Disney CEO Bob Iger, who was not at the helm of the company when the fight with Florida began, has also sounded more conciliatory and bullish.

At the company's shareholder meeting, Iger said settling the litigation ruling panel at the special district board is a “win-win.” He added resolving the standoff over governance should "enable us to pursue the kinds of significant investment in our Florida parks.”

4. So what could more Disney expansion in Florida look like?

Maybe, as has been speculated, there could be a fifth theme park on the property. It's been more than 25 years since Disney opened a new park, and that's the longest period between the creation of its four existing locations, Magic Kingdom (1971), Epcot (1982), Disney Studios (1989) and Animal Kingdom (1998).

The company has expanded its holdings at the parks, with an Avatar-themed land at Animal Kingdom and an expanded Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, as well as new hotels and amenities at its resorts, plus added cruise ships at Florida ports.

Before the feud, Disney was talking about as much as $17 billion in new investments that could total 13,000 new jobs.

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5. Nonetheless, this one Disney expansion foray in Florida looks to be dead

An unlikely reconsideration is a new headquarters outside Orlando. A casualty of the fight with the governor — who once mused about building a prison next to the theme parks — is Disney's canceling plans for a $1 billion headquarters in Lake Nona, where it planned to base 2,000 employees.

The move was criticized by Disney fans and others in the industry, who said unhappiness with the company's move to Florida cost it a brain drain, especially of the fabled Imagineers who are behind much of the company's most popular attractions and innovations.

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6. Iger settles DeSantis feud and stiff-arms challenge by Palm Beach billionaires

At Thursday's shareholder meeting, billionaire Nelson Peltz sought to gain more managerial control in launching an activist-investor campaign to win board seats via the shareholder ballot box. To that end, Peltz got assistance from another Palm Beach billionaire, former Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter.

Peltz has been critical of Disney's purchase of 21st Century Fox and the company's sagging fortunes in the movie business, especially its animation offerings. Part of the problem, Peltz told the Financial Times last month, is the company's "wokeness."

“People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained,” the publication quoted him as saying. “They don’t go to get a message.”

The publication also quoted Peltz calling out The Marvels movie, saying "why do I have to have a Marvel that's all women" characters and actors? He also asked of the Black Panther films, "Why do I need an all-Black cast?"

Nonetheless, Disney shareholders rejected Peltz's offer. Iger and the other 11 board members favorable to him appear to have won by comfortable margins.

In a celebrity sidenote, Petz's daughter, Nicola, a model-actress married Brooklyn Beckham, son of David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, on April 9, 2022 at his Palm Beach mansion.

7. One last thing: Despite Disney's success in Florida, its existence here got off to a rocky start

Interestingly, Disney turned to Central Florida after a deal to locate Disney World in northern Palm Beach County fell through. Disney and John D. MacArthur, known as the "father of Palm Beach Gardens," had a handshake deal to build the park on 320 acres along PGA Boulevard.

The deal came not long after Disney created Disneyland, which was built on a former orange grove in Anaheim, California, in 1955. The famed animator's brother, Roy, didn’t want the Florida park’s neighbors to press against the attraction as they were in California and his attempt to negotiate for more land provoked MacArthur’s wrath, effectively killing the deal.

Disney found even less of a welcome mat when he went he sought financing from Ed Ball, one of Florida's top financiers and power brokers of the era, as well as a founder of the infamous "Pork Chop Gang" that controlled the state government. Rather than offer Disney capital, Ball dismissed the enterprise saying he didn't deal with "carnival people."

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: With DeSantis feud ebbing, will more attractions come to Disney World?