Reedy Creek Improvement District
| Reedy Creek Improvement District | ||
|---|---|---|
| Improvement district | ||
|
||
 Map showing RCID cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista |
||
| Area | ||
| • Total | 38.6 sq mi (100 km2) | |
| Website | rcid |
|
The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) is the immediate governing jurisdiction for the land of the Walt Disney World Resort. As of the late 1990s, it comprised an area of 38.6 sq mi (100 km2) within the outer limits of Orange and Osceola counties in Florida. The RCID includes the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, and unincorporated RCID land.
After the success of Disneyland in California, Walt Disney began planning a second park on the East Coast. Disney disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland, and therefore wanted control of a much larger area of land for the new project. He flew over the Orlando-area site, as well as many other potential sites, in November 1963. Seeing the well-developed network of roads, including the planned Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike, with McCoy Air Force Base (later Orlando International Airport) to the east, Disney selected a centrally located site near Bay Lake. Disney used multiple shell companies to buy up land at very low prices from unknowing landowners in the area that would eventually become the district. These company names are listed on the upper story windows of what is now the Main Street USA section of Walt Disney World, including Compass East Corporation; Latin-American Development and Management Corporation; Ayefour Corporation (named because of nearby I-4); Tomahawk Properties, Incorporated; Reedy Creek Ranch, Incorporated; and Bay Lake Properties, Incorporated.
...
Wikipedia