“This agreement opens a new chapter of constructive engagement with the new leadership of the district and serves the interests of all parties by enabling significant continued investment and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunity in the State,” said Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort.

The settlement is the latest development in a lengthy legal dispute between Disney and DeSantis.

The feud erupted in 2022 when Disney’s then-chief executive Bob Chapek came out in opposition to the state’s Parental Rights in Education bill, known by critics as the “don’t say gay” law. The legislation prohibits instruction on matters related to gender identity and sexual orientation in public classrooms.

DeSantis fired back by pushing for legislation dismantling the Reedy Creek tax district, which for decades has managed the 25,000 acres that encompass Walt Disney World in central Florida. Opponents of the governor saw it as a retaliatory power grab.

Disney filed a lawsuit alleging DeSantis was punishing the company for exercising its right to free speech, threatening its business operations, jeopardizing its economic future in the region and violating its constitutional rights. In January, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.

The Disney World oversight board installed by DeSantis accused its predecessor of using an 11th-hour agreement to sharply curtail the new board’s powers and bolster the company’s control over the Florida-based amusement park.

The new board criticized those actions, which granted the company broad veto powers over any improvements or changes to properties at its theme park and included a “royal lives” clause that made it valid in perpetuity.

The board sued in state court, and Wednesday’s settlement declares that actions taken by the former Reedy Creek special taxing district days before it was taken over by DeSantis appointees would be “null and void.” That included a long-lasting development agreement that would have greatly limited what the new board could do.

Charles Barakat, chairman of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, said he was “very much pleased” with the settlement. As part of the agreement, Disney also dropped efforts to seek public records from the DeSantis board.

The political feud has led Disney to be more selective regarding its investments in Florida, as Disney chief executive Bob Iger has hinted that corporate investments in the state could be in jeopardy. “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Iger said in a call with investors last year.

Against that backdrop Disney canceled a planned development at Lake Nona Town Center in Orange County in May, citing “new leadership and changing business conditions.” The company also pulled the plug on an immersive “Star Wars”-themed Orlando hotel less than two years after it was opened. Spokespeople for DeSantis have said the canceled investment at Lake Nona had more to do with business failures on the part of Disney.

Aaron Gregg contributed to this report.