Hi,
I'm the reporter with the Orlando Sentinel covering Disney and I thought I may be able to add (a little) clarity about the $12.3 million. The figure is not based on any single permit; rather, it comes from a brief summary of the Space Mountain renovations put together by Reedy Creek's Building & Safety department for the district's Board of Supervisors.
As far as individual permit values go, the main permit for the project (for "improvements to facility, ride controls, fire alarm and guest flow") has a project value of about $8.6 million. I'm told there are another eight or so smaller permits that have been filed so far for the Space Mountain work, pushing the cumulative value to about $10.8 million, but I have not yet reviewed those permits myself.
I'm not sure where the remaining $1.5 million in Reedy Creek's total comes from -- my guess is that the difference will eventually show up in future permits, but that's just a guess. It's also possible that the overall $12.3 million figure could rise if more work is added down the road, although no one has told me one way or the other whether that's likely to happen.
As for what the amount represents, the permit figures are supposed to reflect all construction costs, including labor and materials. They typically do not reflect money spent on research or design, or on land.
Hope that helps a little bit.
Jason Garcia
jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com