Walt Disney World Sues Orange County for Over Valuing Several of Their Properties

Disney is once again going after Orange County, Florida, filing lawsuits claiming the county is overvaluing their Walt Disney World properties. 

What’s Happening:

• The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that The Walt Disney Company has filed several lawsuits against Orange County, after receiving, what they believe to be, inflated property tax bills. 
• The filings, which were filed in the Orlando Circuit Court, claim the taxable value of Walt Disney World has been unfairly appraised for the 2025 year. 
• While Disney did not disclose what they believe to be a fair value, they object to the appraiser’s 2025 calculations, which includes Magic Kingdom ($621 million), EPCOT ($794 million), Hollywood Studios ($639 million), Animal Kingdom ($495 million), Blizzard Beach ($72.5 million), Typhoon Lagoon ($53 million), Caribbean Beach Resort ($243 million), Coronado Springs Resort ($349 million), Fort Wilderness Resort ($91 million), and the Grand Floridian Resort ($333 million).
• Disney has claimed, and judges have agreed, that the property assessments have included intangible calculations of its brand power and success.
• Where this becomes an issue for locals is mostly the public schools, which could lose tens of millions of dollars if the county is forced to reimburse Disney.
• Named in the cases is Orange County Property Appraiser Amy Mercado, which claims her office did not exercise “professionally accepted appraisal practices.”
• Disney paid the full value of their $105 million 2025 tax bill, which is required by state law to file a suit, with Disney looking for a reassessment, refunds and legal costs. 
• This is not the first time Disney has gone up against Orange County. 
• Back in 2024, Disney won a suit against the county for the overvaluing of their Yacht & Beach Resorts, which specifically noted an over 100% increase in value of the property between 2014 and 2015. 
• As we reported last year, Disney challenged the property value in 2016 when the appraised value of the resort jumped 118% between Jan 1, 2014 and Jan, 1 2015.
• Raising from $154m to $336m, the Judge noted that “there was no material renovation or expansion" to warrant the steep rise in value.”
• However, Disney has been fighting Orange County for approximately a decade, with only that case going to trial. 
• It’ll be interesting to see how this battle continues. 

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