UPDATE: Three additional judgments have since been filed extending the Art of Animation Resort’s just value reductions through tax year 2023. The table and figures below have been updated to reflect the full 2015-2023 span.
Over the past month, we have reported extensively on Disney’s growing string of property tax wins against the Orange County Property Appraiser. Now, a new judgment adds a new resort to the list. The judgment was recorded today, cutting the just value of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort across four tax years. The reduction adds up to nearly $34 million in reduced property value. That reduced property value will likely lead to a property tax refund for Disney. Here are the details.
Art of Animation Resort Property Values Cut in New Judgment
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- What the new judgment changes for Art of Animation Resort
- How this judgment compares to Disney’s other recent tax wins
- Why Cast Member unions are pushing back on the litigation
The judgment covers a property tax parcel identified as the Art of Animation Resort, for tax years 2015 through 2018. As in Disney’s other recent settlements, the assessed value for each year remains unchanged. The judgment only revises the just value, an underlying market valuation used to calculate a tax bill.
The table below compares the Property Appraiser’s original just value against the settled just value for each tax year. Each of the four years landed at almost exactly the same percentage cut.
| Tax Year | Original Just Value | Settled Just Value | Reduction | % Cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $253,415,340 | $245,812,880 | $7,602,460 | 3.0% |
| 2016 | $273,598,860 | $265,390,894 | $8,207,966 | 3.0% |
| 2017 | $282,582,237 | $274,104,770 | $8,477,467 | 3.0% |
| 2018 | $323,672,183 | $313,962,018 | $9,710,165 | 3.0% |
| 2019 | $349,531,176 | $339,045,241 | $10,485,935 | 3.0% |
| 2020 | $323,158,127 | $313,463,383 | $9,694,744 | 3.0% |
| 2021 | $247,845,763 | $240,410,390 | $7,435,373 | 3.0% |
| 2022 | $306,899,112 | $300,761,130 | $6,137,982 | 2.0% |
| 2023 | $377,949,933 | $370,390,934 | $7,558,999 | 2.0% |
| TOTAL | $75,311,091 |
Every year from 2015 through 2021 landed at almost exactly the same 3% cut. The two most recent years break from that pattern, with 2022 and 2023 settling at a smaller 2% reduction instead.
Story So Far
- In September 2024, Disney won a years-long lawsuit over the Yacht & Beach Club Resort, with a judge ruling the prior Property Appraiser’s assessment method was illegal.
- That December, Disney filed its annual round of lawsuits contesting property tax assessments across dozens of buildings and resorts, including Art of Animation Resort.
- In December 2025, Disney filed more than a dozen additional lawsuits covering claimed assessed values of more than $5.4 billion.
- In June 2026, Disney won a reduction on the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge Resort’s 2015 just value, a flat 10% cut.
- Days later, a second judgment extended that same 10% cut across six more cases, with BoardWalk landing at a smaller, roughly 3% cut.
What Comes Next
The Art of Animation Resort’s 2015 through 2021 judgments line up with the smaller BoardWalk figure rather than the 10% cut applied to the deluxe resorts, another sign that these settlements aren’t following one uniform formula. The 2022 and 2023 judgments break from that pattern again, settling at an even smaller 2% cut, an amount not yet seen in the other cases we’ve covered. Judge Madrigal signed all four Art of Animation judgments, as well as the six-case Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, and BoardWalk settlement. Each judgment states clearly, as those cases did, that it is not an admission by any party regarding the correctness of the appraisal, and it cannot serve as evidence of just value for any other tax year.
As for the next steps, they’re the same as the other cases: the Property Appraiser must issue a Certificate of Correction within 30 days, then the Tax Collector and CFTOD will recalculate what Disney owes or is owed for each affected year, with any refund flowing to Disney’s counsel.
The same consolidated cases include a second Art of Animation-area parcel, Pop Century Resort, identified separately in the filings under a different parcel number, for tax years 2016 through 2022. Those claims remain pending, and the court has retained jurisdiction over them. Unlike the three before it, the 2023 judgment carves out no pending Pop Century claim.
Meanwhile, Disney’s broader tax fight with the Orange County Property Appraiser remains far from over, with several of the December 2025 lawsuits not expected in court until 2027. Even so, we’ll continue to follow this story as it develops.
Cast Member Unions Push Back
As we reported, Cast Member unions have grown increasingly vocal as Disney’s tax wins pile up. Orange County Public Schools set aside $119 million in reserve in case refunds become necessary from the pending lawsuits, and UNITE HERE Locals 362 and 737, along with the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, want Disney to drop the litigation and let that money go to public schools instead. UNITE HERE canvassers have knocked on more than 42,000 doors across Orange County as part of the effort.
Disney has not commented publicly on the unions’ position. With this latest judgment adding another win to the pile, the pressure from that corner is unlikely to ease.
As far as we know, the unions have not addressed the fact that the courts are ruling that Disney is owed this money. The unions, apparently, simply want Disney to stop pursuing refunds that the court has consistently ruled they are owed.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!