Bay Lake is a city in
Orange County,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, United States. The population was 29 at the
2020 census. It is named after a
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
that lies east of
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...
. All four of the
Walt Disney World Resort
The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
s, and one of Walt Disney World's two
water parks, are in Bay Lake, though all Disney parks in the region have mailing addresses in nearby
Lake Buena Vista.
Bay Lake is one of two Florida municipalities inside the
Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District) which also includes
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
, the other being Lake Buena Vista. Bay Lake is part of the
Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Chapter 67-1104of the Laws of Florida, incorporating the ''City of Bay Lake'', was signed into law by Governor
Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967, the same day he also signed chapter
67-764(creating the
Reedy Creek Improvement District
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), is the governing jurisdiction and Special district (United States), special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It ...
, or RCID), also known as the
Reedy Creek Improvement Act
The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, otherwise known as House Bill No. 486, was a law enacted in the U.S. state of Florida in 1967 establishing the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort (the Reedy Creek Improvement District) as its own coun ...
, an
67-1965(incorporating the
City of Reedy Creek). It was and still is located fully inside the RCID, and all its duties have been taken care of by the RCID. As fully described in
Reedy Creek Improvement District
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), is the governing jurisdiction and Special district (United States), special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It ...
, the city has always been controlled by
the Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
and has allowed them powers that other area attractions have not had.
Chapter 69-836 of the Laws of Florida which became a law on July 3, 1969, without the governor's approval, redefined the city boundaries to exclude the easternmost part of Bay Lake. Chapter 69–1527, which became a law the same day, completely moved the city of Reedy Creek, with the land given up by Bay Lake included in the new city. Since then, Bay Lake has expanded to fill the original RCID west of Bonnet Creek, but the Reedy Creek Improvement District has expanded to include new land not in the city.
The RCID had all the powers of the city and more, raising the question of why cities were incorporated inside of it.
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
's original plans for the site included at least one futuristic living area, a planned "
community of the future". This was never built, but some of the ideas were incorporated into the
EPCOT theme park. The later
Celebration, Florida was deannexed from the city and the RCID in 1994 so
the Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
would not lose control of the district. The city is exclusively inhabited by Disney employees and their immediate families, residing in a community on the north shore of Bay Lake (on Bay Court). The only landowners are wholly owned subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company, rights-of-way for state and county roads, and five five-acre (2.0 ha) parcels owned by senior Disney employees to grant them voting power in the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Geography
The approximate coordinates for the City of Bay Lake is located at (28.391502, –81.566659).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (5.86%) is water.
The principal border that divides the cities of
Lake Buena Vista to the east and Bay Lake to the west is the canal called Bonnet Creek, adjacent to Bonnet Creek Parkway. Most of the attractions associated with the
Walt Disney World Resort
The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...
are actually located within the City of Bay Lake, including all four theme parks.
The only long-term residents in Bay Lake live in a mobile home park on Bay Court, a street which, in 1987, was a dirt road. As of that year many employees wished to live in Bay Lake or Lake Buena Vista due to their proximity to their jobs.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, the City of Bay Lake has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
zone (''Cfa'').
Demographics
2010 and 2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 29 people, 20 households, and 4 families residing in the city.
As of the
2010 United States census, there were 47 people, 6 households, and 4 families residing in the city.
2000 census

As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 23 people, 9 households, and 6 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 1.2 inhabitants per square mile (0.4/km). There were 9 housing units at an average density of 0.5 per square mile (0.2/km). The racial makeup of the city was twenty-two
whites (95.7%) and one
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
(4.3%). None of the people in Bay Lake were
Asian,
Native American,
Pacific Islanders,
other races,
multiracial people
The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more
races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...
, or
Hispanics or Latinos.
In 2000, there were nine households in Bay Lake, out of which three had children under the age of 18 living with them, five had
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, one had a female householder with no husband present, and three of the households were non-families. Three households were made up of individuals, and one consisted of someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $86,288, and the median income for a family was $86,288. Males had a median income of $76,284 versus $21,667 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $26,731. None of the population and none of the families were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
.
Because of Bay Lake statistics, legislators have to be careful not to use the words "maximum" and "average" in the computations used for the State of Florida's 2007 property tax reform debate. For example, in 2006, the "per capita levy" of property tax in Bay Lake was $176,230. Since the statewide average that year was $475, legislators have had to be careful to distinguish the phrase "average savings" from the phrase "savings by the average taxpayer."
Points of interest
*
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
:
**
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...
**
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
**Magnolia and Palm Golf Courses
**
Disney's BoardWalk Resort
**
Epcot
**
Disney's Animal Kingdom
**
Disney's Blizzard Beach
**
Disney's Hollywood Studios
**
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
**
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Government and infrastructure

The
Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has its Fire Department Emergency Services station in Bay Lake (it has a
Lake Buena Vista postal address).
[2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Bay Lake city, FL]
" U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 19, 2017
Page 1
Page 2
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/ref>
Education
Residents of Bay Lake (Bay Court) are zoned to schools in the Orange County Public Schools:[
* Bay Lake Elementary School
** It opened in 2016, relieving Horizon West area elementary schools and making it one of three schools to open that year in the county. Myrlene Kimble was the school's first principal. The building, with a capacity of 837 students, is on a property. In fall 2016 it had 785 students. Its design is similar to that of Independence Elementary School.
* Bridgewater Middle School
* Windermere High School]
Formerly it was zoned to the following:
* Independence Elementary School (prior to 2016)
* Windermere Elementary School
* Lakeview Middle School
* West Orange High School (prior to 2017)[Rezoning Spring 2016]
." Orange County Public Schools. Retrieved on April 22, 2017.
References
External links
Official Website for the City of Bay Lake
*
Information
at Reedy Creek Improvement District
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), is the governing jurisdiction and Special district (United States), special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It ...
website
{{authority control
Cities in Orange County, Florida
Company towns in Florida
The Walt Disney Company
Cities in the Greater Orlando
Populated places established in 1967
Cities in Florida
Reedy Creek Improvement District
1967 establishments in Florida