Disney’s property tax fight draws protests from Orange County unions

Disney union members are knocking on thousands of doors in Orange County to raise public awareness and call out Disney for its ongoing property tax lawsuits, arguing the litigation is hurting public schools.

Unite Here and the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association are collaborating to hold a series of town halls about the Mouse’s tax fight with the Orange County Property Appraiser.

“Don’t take, but give,” said Diego Henry, a union leader who works at Animal Kingdom’s Pandora, in a message directed at his employer. “Be the magic that you emulate.”

Since 2015, Disney has been suing the Property Appraiser’s Office to lower property tax assessments. Every year, the multibillion-dollar company files a flurry of annual lawsuits over its popular theme parks, hotels and the behind-the-scenes areas that help operations.

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) has set aside $119 million — a number that grows every year — to prepare for any financial impact if Disney prevails in the lawsuits, school documents show.

OCPS is preparing for the outcome, said school spokesman Michael Ollendorff. But he is unsure whether the District’s charter schools have done the same to plan for any tax fallout because of the Disney litigation.

If not, that could financially affect the charters, which are funded by public taxpayer money but are run by their own private boards separate from the Orange County School Board.

The Disney lawsuits aren’t new, but the unions’ campaign — including one town hall tonight — comes during an extraordinary moment for public schools.

Florida’s schools face big enrollment losses from birth rates dropping and kids leaving to get taxpayer-funded vouchers for other schooling options after the Legislature opened up universal enrollment. The Legislature also approved a budget last week that appropriates about $4.5 billion for vouchers.

With that as the backdrop, Orange County recently closed seven schools with low enrollment.

This week, lawmakers are in a Special Session to discuss property tax cuts on a ballot initiative that could potentially affect schools. DeSantis’ proposal would hit OCPS for $277 million annually, according to an analysis from the Orange County Tax Collector’s Office. However, the Legislature appears to be supporting a plan to protect school taxes from any changes if voters approve the constitutional amendment in November.

Meanwhile, The Walt Disney Co. is thriving and operating the world’s most popular theme park in Orlando. Even with down attendance at Disney World, the theme parks division’s operating income jumped 5%, to $2.6 billion, in the latest quarterly earnings released in May.

Disney did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

“The increases in the assessments of our property are unreasonable and unjustified,” Disney said in a 2017 statement. “Similar to other property owners in Orange County, we have no choice but to take action to dispute these errors by the property appraiser. We look forward to presenting our case in court.”

Property Appraiser Amy Mercado inherited the Disney legal fight when she took over in 2021, said Ana Torres, Mercado’s General Counsel and Chief Deputy Property Appraiser.

“Our office has been diligently reviewing each case, including the financial data for each property involved in litigation — not just those filed by Disney. In most instances, a property’s financial data was not previously provided to our office and is only now being obtained through the litigation process,” Torres said.

“Litigation involving other properties is ongoing and our office will continue to defend against all claims. We will also continue to engage in settlement discussions with property owners and reach resolutions where warranted. “

However, the Property Appraiser’s Office has settled a handful of the lawsuits, including Animal Kingdom’s tax bill from 2015 to 2025, Torres said.

Florida Politics is seeking to understand the financial implications of the settlements and will update the story when it gets additional information from the Tax Collector or Property Appraiser’s Office.

Meanwhile, Disney union members continue to take a leave from their theme park jobs to canvas the neighborhoods as they hit more than 40,000 doors. Some people are surprised, unaware Disney was fighting over its taxes in the first place. Others get angry.

“Sometimes it’s raining, but every single day I have the same motivation because I want things to change,” said Anne Rose, a cook at Epcot. The union canvassing has also drawn support from U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a progressive Orlando Democrat.

More than 300 people attended the most recent town hall sponsored by the teachers and Disney unions, with two more scheduled this Summer.

The next public town halls will be 6 p.m. on Tuesday (June 2) at 1020 Webster St. in Orlando, and 6 p.m. on July 2 at Renaissance Senior Center at 3800 S. Econlockhatchee Trail.