TMZ caught another GOP senator at Disney World this weekend, but this one once wrote an op-ed swearing he’d never set foot there again

Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida was spotted at Disney World, and he got ahead of the story himself by posting a family photo from the park. This is notable because Scott had publicly vowed to boycott Disney just a few years ago over its “woke” policies.

Scott posted a photo with his wife Ann and their granddaughter, writing, “Hey TMZ. Yes, I’m at Disney with my grandkids. Should we be in DC? Yes! But I don’t get to make that decision.” TMZ ran the story anyway, with the headline, “In Your Face, TMZ!!! I’m at Disney World and Proud of It!!!” 

The site also noted the irony of senators being away from Washington, writing, “True, the leadership told members to skedaddle out of D.C., but what about the last 2 months, when NO ONE would bend, no one would compromise, and the victims were the people who hadn’t gotten a paycheck in 6 weeks?”

Scott’s 2022 boycott promise looks very different now

Back in 2022, Scott wrote an op-ed in a conservative publication titled “No one wants a woke mouse in their house.” In it, he said, “Disney used to be the happiest place on Earth, now it’s just woke central.” He was responding to Disney’s public opposition to Florida’s legislation that restricted teachers from discussing sexual topics with young children.

In that same op-ed, Scott reflected on his past visits to the park. “I’ve enjoyed taking my children and grandchildren to Disney World, and I really had no problems with Disney in my eight years as Florida’s governor. But now, just like many huge corporations in America, it’s going woke. It’s really a shame,” he wrote.

He then made a clear statement: “Maybe we should thank Disney for showing us who it really is. I’ll tell you one thing – I won’t be going back or watching Disney+ anytime soon, and I bet a lot more parents and grandparents are making that same choice.” 

He also appeared on television at the time, saying, “I got rid of my Disney+, I’m not planning on going back to the park. But these companies, it doesn’t make any sense. They sit here and criticize us in America, but then they’ll go to China, and it’s Okay that China puts a million people in prison for religion, takes away the basic rights of Hong Kong citizens…but then they want to criticize us for doing logical things.”

Scott is not the only Republican senator whose Disney visit has made recent headlines. Senator Lindsey Graham, 70, was also photographed at Disney World the weekend before Scott’s visit, during a period of heightened tension over President Trump’s ongoing war on Iran. 

Some GOP colleagues have not been quiet about their frustration with Graham either – Republican senators pushing back against Graham’s recent actions has become a growing story in its own right. Graham initially said he was there to “meet friends.”

According to The Daily Beast, he was seen holding a $40 Little Mermaid-themed bubble wand, waiting in the $59 buffet line at Chef Mickey’s restaurant, and riding the Space Mountain rollercoaster. When later asked about the trip, Graham was direct: “Because I like Disney. It’s a great place to go. It’s a great place to share friends.”

Graham also defended taking a break, saying, “But I didn’t do anything wrong, and I didn’t shut the government down. I don’t know where everybody else went on the break, but I’ve been working my butt off here. But, I’m entitled to life, too.”

His communications director added a statement from Graham explaining that he had first attended a meeting in South Florida with Trump official Steve Witkoff to discuss the possibility of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, before heading to Orlando. Graham also said, “I voted 7 times to fully fund the government. Call a Democrat.” 

Meanwhile, some Republican senators warning about the party’s political vulnerabilities ahead of the midterms have pointed to issues like rising gas prices hurting the GOP’s election chances as a bigger concern than vacation optics. Graham has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s military campaign against Iran, which began on February 28, and recently praised the president’s strategy on television, saying, “This is how you win in 32 days.”