Walt Disney World Sues Orange County Over Property Values—Could Homeowners Do the Same?

One of the biggest property taxpayers in Central Florida is taking Orange County to court over 2025 assessments it calls “excessive,” seeking new bills and refunds.

Walt Disney World has filed a wave of lawsuits challenging the county’s appraisal methods for marquee properties like Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, alleging that “intangible” value was improperly baked into the numbers.

The timing is notable. There’s been a surge of anti-property tax rhetoric in the Sunshine State, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis going so far as to call for a possible end to residential property taxes. While that exemption, if passed, wouldn’t apply to corporate landholders like Disney, the company's suits could offer homeowners some guidance on how to deal with their own tax burdens. 

So, if your home’s assessed value feels wrong, does suing the county ever make sense? The short answer is yes, in limited circumstances, but most disputes are won (or lost) through the appeal process long before a courtroom. Here’s what to know.

What Disney is suing over—and why it’s doing it again

Walt Disney World has filed over a dozen lawsuits in Orange Circuit Court challenging Orange County’s 2025 property tax assessments across a wide swath of its real estate footprint—from the four theme parks to multiple resorts and even ancillary parcels. 

The company is asking the court to vacate the original 2025 tax bills, order new assessments using what it calls an “appropriate appraisal methodology,” and ultimately reduce what it owes.

The scale is enormous. Court records cited by WKMG list assessed values of about $794.6 million for Epcot, $621.8 million for Magic Kingdom, $639.4 million for Hollywood Studios, and $495 million for Animal Kingdom. Several resorts are valued in the hundreds of millions as well, including Coronado Springs (about $349.7 million) and the Grand Floridian (about $333.2 million).

While Disney’s tax burden is singular, the strain of feeling ballooning property tax bills is far from it. As home prices have gone up, so have property tax bills. Nationwide, over 40% of Americans could save $100 or more by protesting their assessment value, according to a report from Realtor.com®. 

The technical fight: 'just value' and 'intangible property'

Disney’s lawsuits hinge on a basic idea in Florida property tax law: “just value.” That’s essentially market value, or what a property would reasonably sell for if it were listed on the open market today.

Disney says Orange County didn’t stick to that standard. Instead, the company argues the county’s valuations included “intangible” value—value that isn’t the real estate itself—rather than limiting the assessment to taxable property. Disney contends that the county inflated the numbers and violated Florida law and the state constitution’s “just value” requirement.

It’s an important distinction, because when a fight is about the methodology, not just one questionable comparable sale, the stakes can swing fast, especially for one-of-a-kind destinations.

Homeowners can run into a similar problem when an assessment is driven up by flawed assumptions, outdated data, errors in the property record, or sudden shifts in neighborhood prices. 

One Florida couple learned how quickly these factors can snowball. After they added a second story so they could age in place, the county reclassified the home as “new construction.” That change effectively wiped out their Save Our Homes assessment cap, and their annual property tax bill reportedly surged from about $15,000 to more than $90,000.

Could homeowners do the same and file suit?

If you think your property was overvalued, you generally have three paths in Florida: request an informal review with the property appraiser, file a petition with the county Value Adjustment Board (VAB), or file a lawsuit in circuit court challenging the assessment (or challenging the VAB’s decision).

And while yes, you technically can sue, court is a narrow, deadline-driven remedy. Florida law generally imposes a 60-day window to contest an assessment or 60 days after a VAB decision.

There’s also a pay-to-play element. Before you sue, you must pay at least the amount of tax you admit in good faith is owed, obtain a receipt, and file that receipt with the complaint.

The obligation doesn’t end there. An assessment challenge can be dismissed if you fail to keep paying subsequent years’ taxes before they become delinquent.

That’s why Disney is better built for this more than the average homeowner. Its potential refunds are enormous, it has years of experience litigating assessments, plus specialized counsel who can stick with a complex case through multiple years of procedural hurdles. Most homeowners simply don’t have the time, budget, or legal bench to make that kind of long fight pencil out.

The path most homeowners should take first

Instead, for most homeowners, the smartest step is to start with the lowest-cost option and escalate only if you have strong evidence that you could save more than you spend if you win.

Step 1: Request an informal review with the property appraiser

Start with an informal review. Bring any recent comparable sales, photos, and repair estimates that document condition issues, and ask what data the office relied on (square footage, bed/bath count, effective year built, lot size, exemptions/classification). Realtor.com offers a useful tool that allows you to easily collect these comps and bring them for your review. 

But note, an informal conference does not extend the deadline to file a formal appeal, so make sure to request one early.

Step 2: File a petition with the Value Adjustment Board

If, after meeting with the appraiser, you still believe your home has an inaccurate valuation, file a petition. In Florida, valuation petitions are generally due within 25 days after the TRIM notice is mailed—a very short window that can vary by county and tax year. Check the exact deadline on your notice to ensure you don't miss it.

Step 3: Consider court only if necessary

If you're still not getting anywhere, then it may be time to file suit. Florida allows a lawsuit without first filing a VAB petition, but litigation is typically reserved for the highest-stakes disputes, not a routine “this feels high” disagreement.

The evidence that tends to matter most are recent sales comps, an independent appraisal, objective condition documentation, incorrect property-record details (square footage/bed-bath), and missed exemptions or misapplied classifications.

So if your assessment looks wrong, act fast, gather evidence, and start with the appeal process before you ever think about court. Litigation is an option, but it’s usually a last resort for higher-stakes disputes or clear legal issues, not a routine valuation disagreement. 

The sooner you review your records, pull solid comps, and meet the deadline on your notice, the better your odds of keeping your tax bill tied to reality.