Walt Disney World has secured another round of property value reductions in its long-running tax dispute with the Orange County Property Appraiser, this time involving Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
Newly filed agreements have lowered the resort’s estimated market value, known as “just value,” for the tax years 2015 through 2023. The total reduction over these nine years is about $75.3 million. Values were decreased by around 3% for the years 2015 to 2021 and by 2% for the years 2022 and 2023.
The first judgment reported this week covered only 2015 through 2018, which is where the widely shared figure of nearly $34 million came from. Additional judgments later extended the agreement through 2023, bringing the total reduction much higher.
It’s important to explain what the numbers mean. Disney is not getting a $75.3 million check. This amount is from the reduction in the resort’s property value, not how much Disney paid in taxes. Now, Orange County officials need to recalculate the tax bills for each year affected before they can decide on any refund. The final amount has not been announced yet.
These were also negotiated, stipulated judgments rather than a judge independently deciding that Disney’s proposed values were correct. The filings state that the agreements are not admissions by either side and cannot be used as proof of value for other tax years.
The Art of Animation agreement follows several other recent settlements involving Walt Disney World hotels. In June, the assessed values for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge were reduced by nearly $44 million for the 2015 tax year. Additional agreements covering later years for those resorts, plus a Disney Vacation Club parcel at Disney’s BoardWalk, pushed the combined property value reductions in that group of cases beyond $215 million.
Disney’s basic argument has remained consistent. The company says Orange County’s assessments have exceeded actual market values and improperly captured income or value tied to Disney’s business operations, branding and other intangible assets rather than strictly taxable real estate. Disney raised those same objections in another group of lawsuits filed over 2025 assessments for the four theme parks, multiple resorts, the water parks and other property across Walt Disney World.
That dispute has a long history. In a previous case involving Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort, a Florida appeals court agreed that the property appraiser could not use a valuation method that improperly included value connected to business activity and intangible assets. However, the court also found problems with Disney’s proposed valuation and sent the matter back for further proceedings.
The latest settlements have raised concerns among local educators and labor groups because property taxes help fund Orange County Public Schools. The district has reserved $119 million for possible refunds tied to property tax litigation involving Disney and other companies. Superintendent Maria Vazquez has said that any money left after the cases are resolved could potentially be redirected toward teacher salaries.
Disney is dealing with several ongoing disputes, including issues with Pop Century Resort and other properties listed in its 2025 filings. The company has achieved large reductions in the property values it uses to calculate taxes. However, it is still unclear how much this will cost Orange County agencies and what refunds Disney might receive.
