Board members of Governor DeSantis’ Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that replaced Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District recently discussed pedestrian access for Shades of Green guests.
The Shades of Green Issue
In April 2023, Walt Disney World began a multi-year construction project on the roadway that runs in front of the Shades of Green Resort, an Armed Forces Recreation Center located on Walt Disney World property. This construction and the new 4-lane roadway would permanently cut off pedestrian access between Shades of Green and the rest of Walt Disney World via the Polynesian Village Resort that had existed back to the 1970s.
At the time the military community was outraged by the closure and received no feedback to complaints from Disney and little from Shades of Green other than it was a done deal.
See our post from the time: Big Change at Shades of Green – Transportation
The pedestrian walkway from Shades of Green to the Polynesian Village Resort had many fans!
People liked to use the walkway for many reasons:
- To dine or Shop at the Polynesian
- To catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom or Transportation and Ticket Center (and on to EPCOT)
- Thus missing the huge security lines from the parking lots at the TTC (where Shades buses drop their guests)
- To take the boat service to the magic Kingdom
- To continue the walk all the way to the Magic Kingdom via the Poly-Grand Floridian and GF-MK walks
- Many with scooters took this route vs waiting on a bus (that can only take 2 scooters at a time)
The Board
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is the new local quasi-government in control of the land upon which Walt Disney World is built.
Florida Governor DeSantis replaced the Disney-aligned Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) and its board with  the new governing body in February 2023, ending an arrangement that allowed Disney to effectively self-govern its Central Florida property since 1967.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District voted to approve a settlement deal with Disney on March 27th. The settlement ended the two-year litigation battle over control of the formally titled Reedy Creek Improvement District that encompasses the Walt Disney World Resort.
The settlement officially invalidated Disney’s previous shifty attempts to retain governing control over the district via the RCID Board granting Disney powers just prior to stepping down for a period that would last until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III of England.
The agreement also ended all pending litigation by Disney in Florida state court.
Central Florida Tourism Oversight District News
The recent agreement with Disney frees the new board to move forward as it chooses in administering the district.
In a recent (December 2023) meeting, the board raised a potential of a project for a pedestrian bridge for the Shades of Green Resort, that one of the board’s hired lawyers says was blocked by Disney. That bridge would make it easier for guests at Shades of Green to access other areas of Disney property as mentioned above.
The board has placed this issue on their short term list to evaluate the district constructing a bridge or providing some way for guests of Shades of Green to cross the road.
This is promising news, though should it come to fruition, will only come to be in the future. Disney’s construction project outside Shades of Green’s property is scheduled for completion in 2027. I would not expect a pedestrian bridge until then or later.
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Robert says
Hooray! This is great news. I hope it comes to fruition.
Pam says
We come in September this year. It is totally needed. Hope it extends over parking lot to avoid having to walk out of way behind the shed and closer to the monorail.
Vincent Peyton says
It is clear that the Military Community has lost its important place with the Disney Corporation as it has shifted its interests over the last decade or two. Most recently, the Florida resident park passes were offered for less than the highly regarded and discounted Military Salute tickets. Discounts for rooms offered can be better for those with stays lasting longer than four days, being a Florida Resident or Disney Annual Passholder. The once easy to calculate 40/35/30 percent discounts for Deluxe, Moderate and Value Resorts were replaced with a system where a strictly limited number of rooms is offered for a much smaller discount, if any is offered at all.
The closure of the sidewalk broke the pedestrian tie to Disney World. Perhaps it could have been that the Reedy Creek District was told to severe the pedestrian tie to save money or maybe to make the resort a less attractive option for guests that are disabled and use scooters, those that use the walk as a part of their fitness routine, or for those that simply didn’t want to wait for the bus or pay to park at the theme parks. Whatever the reason, it devalued the resort for many of us and continued to show a lack in caring about the military community that once was perceived as important to the company.
They may eventually re-tie the pedestrian walkway to the property (If DeSantis Board will connect it), but it is probably unlikely that the military community will be deemed as important to the Disney Corporation as it once was following Walt’s Service to his country.
Steve Bell says
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Vincent,
The devaluation of the Military Community by the Disney Corporation is something this author and website has experienced first hand in the background for many years. Where once MDT and Disney had a regular, continuous open two-way dialog regarding their military offerings, that has not been the case for many years and they now ignore my attempts to communicate. Once upon a time, MDT was able to offer advice and have Disney change their offerings in order to better serve our community. No longer.
All the things that you mention followed their severing communications with this site. It’s sad that it has come to the point that it is even hard for the general public not to miss.