Disney World Files New $12 Million Lawsuit Against Florida

The constantly litigious Disney World Resort is butting heads with the Florida Orange County government once again.

The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando is the planet’s single most popular theme park, drawing in double-digit millions of tourists each year. Along with those tourists come billions of dollars that are injected into the economy of Central Florida; in particular, Orange County particularly benefits from the Disney Park being mostly located in its bounds (with Osceola County also nabbing a piece). It is undeniable that Disney World is a major part of the economy of Florida as a whole, which has historically resulted in the Mouse House having a disproportionate (though usually background) measure of control over the state’s regulations and direction. But, in more recent years, Disney has faced a rising wave of pushback from elected officials. Related: Governor DeSantis Bows to Disney Lawsuit, Reedy Creek Decision on the Line

Most prominently, that has included Governor Ron DeSantis, who spent the better part of a year in various legal battles with Disney World after former CEO Bob Chapek took a public stance against the notorious “Don’t Say Gay” law. Technically titled the Parental Rights in Education Act, the law has since been largely de-fanged by a compromise with LGBTQIA+ groups who challenged it in court. While it seemed for a moment that Walt Disney World and DeSantis (and his Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board of supervisors) had made up and were playing nice, the governor has recently resumed his attacks on the Mouse. At the recent Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, DeSantis called out Disney, saying, “Any time some big bad corporation opposes what they want to do, they cower in the corner like little scared kitties. So we said no, we’re going to lead the state of Florida. We’re not going to subcontract leadership to a woke corporation based in Burbank, California.” Governor DeSantis will thus probably hate Disney Experiences’ new lawsuit against Property Appraiser Amy Mercado, an elected official of Orange County.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and HCP Grosvenor Orlando, which operates the Disney Springs hotel Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, has filed a lawsuit against Amy Mercado, saying the $1.34 million tax bill they are being jointly charged is “unrealistic, unjust, excessive, arbitrary.” Related: Disney Springs Replacement: New Location Announced, Opening Soon The Disney lawsuit against Amy Mercado in her capacity as Orange County property assessor claims that she over-estimated the value of the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista hotel by almost $12 million, stating, “the market value assigned to the subject property for 2023 is $62,367,670. The assessed value assigned to the subject property for 2023 is $50,253,776.” It goes on to claim that:

The Property Appraiser has unlawfully, systematically, and intentionally substituted her own assessment policy instead of following the mandates of Section 193.011 of the Florida Statutes and the Florida Constitution with regard to valuing real property for ad valorem tax purposes… As a result of the foregoing over-valuation, the 2023 market value and assessed value greatly exceed the just value of the subject property, and the ad valorem taxes resulting therefrom substantially exceed the taxes which would have been levied on the subject property had it been properly assessed.

Disney’s lawsuit against Amy Mercado is demanding that the $12 million that it claims it was overcharged be returned within 30 days. Sometimes, it seems like Disney just wants to keep fighting the Florida government. The full text of the lawsuit can be read here: Have you stayed at a Disney Springs hotel? Tell us about your experiences!