The Walt Disney World Company manages and operates the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The resort land is owned by the Walt Disney World Company, the Walt Disney Travel Company, and the Walt Disney World Hospitality and Recreation Corporation. All are wholly owned subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company. The Reedy Creek Improvement District is the immediate governing jurisdiction for the land located in the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista. The Walt Disney World Company is the Orlando area's largest employer, with approximately 57,000 employees, known as "Cast Members".
Compass East Corporation was incorporated in Delaware on December 7, 1964. On September 30, 1966, Latin-American Development and Management Corporation, Ayefour Corporation (a pun on Interstate 4), Tomahawk Properties, Incorporated, Reedy Creek Ranch, Incorporated, and Bay Lake Properties, Incorporated, all Florida corporations, were merged into Compass East Corporation. These companies were responsible for buying up the land that would become the Walt Disney World Resort; there were many companies used in order to obscure the purpose of the companies.
The Reedy Creek Drainage District, later renamed the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was incorporated on May 13, 1966 to manage the land owned by the Compass East Corporation. On September 26, 1967, Compass East Corporation was renamed to Walt Disney World Company. By this time, most of the land had been bought and the news of the Walt Disney World Resort was public.
The Walt Disney World Company was reincorporated in Florida on September 30, 1997. On January 26, 1998, Ranch and Grove Holding Corporation, which had owned some of the land in the Walt Disney World Resort since April 12, 1972 was merged into the Walt Disney World Company. Reedy Creek Energy Services, Incorporated, originally known as Reedy Creek Utilities Company, Incorporated was merged into the Walt Disney World Company on September 30, 1999. On October 2, 2000, MDMP Corporation, which had been deeded many improvements in the Walt Disney World Resort on December 20, 1996, was merged into the Walt Disney World Company.