Disney has settled six years of property tax lawsuits over the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary, and the agreements cut the Orange County Property Appraiser’s values for the first two resorts by more than $767 million. Judge Margaret H. Schreiber signed all six judgments this week, along with orders dismissing five other Disney tax cases. The Contemporary’s values stay exactly as the appraiser set them. What the new numbers mean for Disney’s tax bills is a bigger question than the headline figure of more than $700 million suggests.
Grand Floridian and Polynesian Values Cut by $767 Million in Multi-Year Disney Tax Settlement Wins
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- How far the Grand Floridian and Polynesian values dropped in each tax year
- Why a lower just value does not automatically mean a lower tax bill
- Which other Disney tax cases were dismissed the same morning
These judgments close out Disney’s challenges to the three monorail resorts for tax years 2015 through 2020. Disney filed a new lawsuit every year from 2016 to 2021, and all six cases are now settled. The final just values sit well below the ones the appraiser first assigned.
The Cases & What Was at Stake
Disney filed one lawsuit per tax year, from June 2016 for tax year 2015 to June 2021 for tax year 2020. Each complaint named the same three parcels. It’s important to note that Disney had already paid its tax bills in full. The county had the money it requested. Disney argued that the appraiser’s values exceeded market value and improperly counted intangible property, the same argument behind its Yacht & Beach Club win in 2024.
Several of the officials named in those first filings have since changed. Rick Singh was Property Appraiser for the first five complaints. Amy Mercado had taken over by the sixth. The Reedy Creek Improvement District, also a defendant early on, is now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and the judgments name both.
The Year-by-Year Breakdown
We compared the values in Disney’s original complaints against the final judgments. The Grand Floridian took the largest cuts. Its just value dropped by a third for tax years 2015 and 2016.
Here are the Grand Floridian’s numbers:
| Tax Year | Original Just Value | Settled Just Value | Reduction | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $531,777,530 | $356,290,945 | $175.5 million | 33% |
| 2016 | $554,527,171 | $371,533,205 | $183.0 million | 33% |
| 2017 | $520,166,320 | $395,326,403 | $124.8 million | 24% |
| 2018 | $463,941,717 | $371,153,374 | $92.8 million | 20% |
| 2019 | $489,447,284 | $416,030,191 | $73.4 million | 15% |
| 2020 | $439,294,465 | $395,365,019 | $43.9 million | 10% |
| Total | $2,999,154,487 | $2,305,699,137 | $693.5 million | 23% |
The Polynesian’s cuts are smaller, but they are the same size every year:
| Tax Year | Original Just Value | Settled Just Value | Reduction | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $167,337,157 | $155,623,556 | $11.7 million | 7% |
| 2016 | $173,173,799 | $161,051,633 | $12.1 million | 7% |
| 2017 | $177,296,746 | $164,885,974 | $12.4 million | 7% |
| 2018 | $180,682,211 | $168,034,456 | $12.6 million | 7% |
| 2019 | $189,351,719 | $176,097,099 | $13.3 million | 7% |
| 2020 | $170,637,510 | $158,692,884 | $11.9 million | 7% |
| Total | $1,058,479,142 | $984,385,602 | $74.1 million | 7% |
Over the six years, the Grand Floridian’s just value drops by about $693.5 million, and the Polynesian’s drops by about $74.1 million. Together, that comes to roughly $767.5 million, more than three times the $215 million in reductions we reported in June from the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge and BoardWalk settlements.
The reductions follow a pattern. Grand Floridian cuts start at 33% for tax years 2015 and 2016, then step down to 24%, 20%, 15% and 10% through 2020. The Polynesian drops by 7% every year. Percentages that tidy point to a negotiated formula instead of six fresh appraisals.
Our earlier coverage showed the same approach to other property tax settlements, with roughly 10% cuts for Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge and roughly 3% for Art of Animation Resort.
The Contemporary does not appear in the tables because every judgment leaves its original just and assessed values final. For tax year 2015, the judgment notes the court had already dismissed Disney’s claim over that parcel with prejudice.
How Much Will Disney Save?
That question is much harder to answer than the headline numbers suggest. Every judgment says the assessed value stays unchanged, and the tax bill builds on assessed value.
The recalculated bills may match what Disney already paid, though we don’t yet know the final amounts. In fact, we’re likely never going to know just how much Disney may have saved here. While the original lawsuits offer insight into Disney’s property tax bills, a settled amount is likely not going to be made public. Our best bet for knowing how much Disney may have saved will be from any county disclosures on refund amounts.
Next, the Property Appraiser has 30 days to issue corrected certificates. The Tax Collector and the Oversight District then recalculate each bill. Disney either receives a revised bill with 30 days to pay or a refund through its attorneys.
Five Other Cases Close, and What Comes Next
Judge Schreiber also signed orders that same morning dismissing five other Disney tax cases with prejudice. That means Disney cannot refile them. The case numbers show Disney filed those lawsuits between 2022 and 2024. Each side pays its own legal fees, and the orders do not name the properties involved.
These settlements come with limits. Neither side admits fault, and the judgments say they cannot serve as evidence of any property’s value in another tax year or lawsuit. They also leave Disney’s newest challenges untouched. Those include the more than a dozen lawsuits filed in December 2025 over assessed values totaling more than $5.4 billion, many with no court dates until 2027.
Cast Member unions and the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association have urged Disney to drop its lawsuits. Orange County Public Schools has set aside $119 million in case refunds come due, as we reported in June.
Story So Far
- September 25, 2024: Walt Disney World Wins Property Tax Battle, Could Receive $80 Million Refund (or more!) tells how a judge ruled the appraiser’s 2015 Yacht & Beach Club value invalid because it counted intangible assets.
- December 16, 2024: Walt Disney World Files Multiple Lawsuits Contesting Property Taxes…Again covers Disney’s new round of lawsuits over its 2024 assessments.
- December 15, 2025: Walt Disney World Sues Government Over Billions of Dollars in Contested Property Taxes covers more than a dozen lawsuits over 2025 assessments.
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!