Disney Just Won a $34 Million Tax Lawsuit

While we often talk about just how much is changing and going on inside the Disney World parks, with so many attractions being built and new lands under construction, there’s also a lot happening with the resort that’s happening outside the park gates.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

Disney has been at the center of a few property tax lawsuits recently after filing 15 lawsuits against Orange County in December 2025. Now, it’s been revealed that they’ve won yet another one of those lawsuits, this time for Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

The lawsuits filed last year alleged that the Orange County Property Appraiser, Amy Mercado, failed to comply with Florida law and adopted appraisal practices that resulted in assessments exceeding the market value of the properties. This would mean that Disney has been paying far more property tax than it should have been, and has been seeking to get the properties reappraised so the market value assessments are accurate.

Timon, Pumba, and Simba at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

Now these kinds of lawsuits aren’t uncommon, and we’ve seen them filed many times in the past by Disney. For this lawsuit in particular, Disney was looking for the property tax for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 to be revised. The following screenshot is taken directly from the lawsuit itself, detailing the property taxes for each of those years.

Tax numbers and breakdown from the lawsuit

Most recently, Disney won another lawsuit regarding Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge Resort’s 2015 just value, resulting in a flat 10% cut. Now that this lawsuit has been won as well, it remains to be seen if the other lawsuits Disney filed at the end of 2025 will also give way to revised property taxes. For now, the tax reduction won for Art of Animation adds up to nearly $34 million in reduced property value, which will likely lead to a tax refund, as Disney was required to pay their 2025 property taxes before the lawsuits were able to be filed.

Disney’s Art of Animation

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the latest news regarding these lawsuits, as we could also see Disney win them for all four theme parks, both water parks, as well as additional resorts. Stay tuned to DFB!

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