Walt Disney World as the Lake Buena Vista STOLport. During the early 1970s, scheduled passenger service was operated by Shawnee Airlines with small de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter commuter turboprops which had STOL (short take off and landing) capabilities on flights to Tampa and Orlando. The airport is no longer in operation. When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the site employed about 5,500 "cast members". Today, Walt Disney World employs more than 74,000 cast members, spending more than $1.2 billion on payroll and $474 million on benefits each year. The largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World has
Bay Lake, Florida Bay Lake, Florida Bay Lake is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 47 at the 2010 census. It is named after a lake that lies east of the Magic Kingdom. All four of the Walt Disney World theme parks, and one of Walt Disney World's two water parks, are in Bay Lake. Bay Lake is one of two Florida municipalities controlled by the Walt Disney Company, the other being Lake Buena Vista. The city is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Chapter 67-1104 of the Laws of Florida, incorporating the city of Bay Lake,