Central Florida Wonders If Disney World Is Actually Worth $40 Billion

Amid its feud with Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, the Walt Disney Company commissioned Oxford Economics to conduct a study on Walt Disney World’s impact on Central Florida. The results showed that Disney World adds $40 billion to the local economy through guest spending, Disney World’s spending, and direct and indirect jobs. But now, some in Central Florida are starting to question that number and trying to figure out the exact economic impact that Disney World has on the area.

Related: Disney Wants to Remind Florida That It’s More Valuable To the State Than Ron DeSantis

In an Op-Ed in the Orlando Sentinel, writer Scott Maxwell agreed that Disney World’s economic impact on the state has been massive, but his concern was that neither the Walt Disney Company nor Oxford Economics would provide the data that helped them to arrive at the $40 billion figure.

Maxwell wrote: 

Obviously Disney transformed Central Florida. Without Walt’s vision, Orlando might be Lakeland But if the point of Disney’s PR campaign is that they’re worth $40 billion to this state, you might think they’d be willing to prove it. They are not. The company and its hired economists say the data they used to arrive at that total is “proprietary” information. Frankly, that doesn’t cut it for me. I think it’s important to know what kind of impact.

But beyond the economic impact, Maxwell argues that most of the jobs that Disney World has created in Central Florida are low-paying jobs in food services, hotel housekeeping, and janitorial services. Early last year, the cast members negotiated a new contract with Disney that would give them $17 an hour. 

It is difficult to gauge the exact impact that tourism and theme parks have had on Orlando, but Disney World generates billions in revenue every year and paid $3.1 billion in state and local taxes in fiscal year 2022. But that number includes sales taxes paid, not by Disney but by Guests at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Maxwell noted that studies like the one conducted by Oxford Economics are notorious for inflating the actual value of the subject. So, how much are Disney Parks bringing to Florida? The real answer is challenging to find. What we know for sure is that even though Disney lost the Reedy Creek Improvement District, its theme parks aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the relationship between Disney Parks and Florida is lucrative for both of them.

And we know that Walt Disney World transformed Central Florida, but if the $40 billion figure is accurate, Disney should consider spreading some of that wealth around to the hard-working cast members who make the magic happen.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.