A decade-old property tax fight over two Walt Disney World resort hotels has finally been settled, and Disney came out on top once again. On June 8, Circuit Judge John E. Jordan signed a Stipulated Final Judgment in Disney’s challenge to the 2015 just valuations of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge Resort. The settlement lowers the just value on both parcels to the tune of nearly $44 million. Here’s the latest.
Disney Wins Property Tax Lawsuit Against Orange County Property Appraiser
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- The original 2015 valuations Disney challenged in court
- The revised values both sides agreed to in the settlement
- How the resulting taxes get recalculated and refunded
- Why this case took nearly a decade to resolve
WHAT DISNEY CHALLENGED BACK IN 2015
The dispute traces back to the 2015 tax year. Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh set the just value of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge at $251,785,581. The Wilderness Lodge Resort carried a just value of $185,529,359.
As is standard operating procedure, Disney paid the full tax bills, then sued in June 2016. The complaint argued the assessments exceeded the actual market value of the hotels and improperly folded in intangible property, both in violation of the Florida Constitution. In short, Disney contended it was being taxed on more than the real estate was worth.
WHERE THE VALUES LANDED
The settlement lowers both values, though the complaint never specified the figures Disney wanted. When Disney first sued in 2016, it challenged the assessments as excessive without naming a target figure, leaving the proper values for the court to determine.
Under the judgment, the just value of the Animal Kingdom Lodge parcel drops to $226,607,023, a reduction of roughly $25.2 million. The Wilderness Lodge Resort parcel falls to $166,976,423, down about $18.6 million. Together, the two cuts trim about $44 million off the original just values.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE TAXES NOW
The judgment lays out a clear sequence of events. The Property Appraiser issues a Certificate of Correction within 30 days, reflecting the revised numbers. The Tax Collector and the taxing district then recalculate what Disney owes based on the new values and prior payments.
If Disney owes additional taxes, it gets a revised bill and 30 days to pay without penalty. If Disney has a refund coming, the money returns to the company via its attorney’s trust account. Each side covers its own legal fees, and the judgment explicitly states that neither party admits that either valuation was correct.
A CASE THAT OUTLASTED ITS OWN DEFENDANTS
Here is the detail that stands out. The complaint was filed in 2016, but the judgment was not signed until June 2026, nearly ten years later. Over that span, the cast of defendants turned over almost entirely.
Rick Singh, the Property Appraiser named in the original suit, gave way to Amy Mercado, who appears in the final judgment. Scott Randolph remains as Tax Collector. The Florida Department of Revenue’s executive director changed from Leon Biegalski to Jim Zingale. Of course, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which Disney named as a defendant in 2016, is now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The CFTOD is the entity created in 2023 after the state restructured Disney’s special district.
The case did not resolve any of the broader questions about how Disney’s resort properties should be valued. The judgment is careful to note it cannot be used as evidence of just value for any other property or any other tax year. It closes a single 2015 dispute, and nothing more. That said, it’s not the end of this story by a long shot.
DISNEY WORLD CONTINUES SUING OVER PROPERTY TAXES
This settlement closes a single case, but it sits inside a much larger fight. As we reported, Walt Disney World has been suing the Orange County Property Appraiser over property taxes since at least 2015. Every year, Disney pays its tax bills in full and then challenges the assessed values in court, arguing the Appraiser has failed to use professionally accepted appraisal practices.
The pattern has continued steadily. Disney filed another round of lawsuits in late 2024, then followed with more than a dozen suits in December 2025 covering dozens of buildings and parcels, with claimed assessed values topping $5.4 billion. For that batch, the first court dates are not set until 2027, so resolutions remain a long way off.
Disney has also scored real wins. In 2020, the company prevailed in its challenge over the Yacht & Beach Club property, where the court found the appraisal methodology Rick Singh used was not just improper but illegal under Florida law. That case took more than five years to settle, which helps explain why the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge dispute took nearly a decade of its own.
DISNEY CAST MEMBER UNIONS FIGHT PROPERTY TAX LAWSUITS
Disney Cast Member unions are taking notice and starting to turn up the heat. As part of the pending lawsuits, the Orange County Public Schools has set aside $119 million should refunds be necessary. If Disney keeps winning in court, refunds are coming. UNITE HERE Locals 362 and 737, alongside the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, are starting to protest.
The argument from the union is that Walt Disney World should drop its lawsuits and allow the $119 million in reserve money to flow into the public school system. They say that Disney can pay more in taxes. The unions did not address the fact that Disney keeps winning in court. UNITE HERE Canvassers have spoken with thousands of residents across Orange County and knocked on more than 42,000 doors.
While Disney gets the headlines, it only represents about half of the large property owner litigation that sits in the Orange County Courts.
Walt Disney World has not returned a request for comment about the union’s position.
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