Bay Lake... how was it named?

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

I was talking with our neighbor, and her 7-year-old daughter asked a question that made me go, "Hmmm?" How was Bay Lake... as in Bay Lake Tower... named? As tiny Rebecca put it, "Is it a bay or a lake?!" Out of the mouths of babes!

Thoughts?

 

[CarolMN]

The lake itself is named Bay Lake. No idea how the lake got its name, though.

 

[disneydreamer98]

I know that early in the developing of WDW that Walt formed a special district Reedy Creek Improvement District. This was comprised of the City of Reedy Creek and the City of Bay Lake. These Cities were formed prior to any canals, lakes or roads being made at WDW so I'm guessing that Bay Lake was named because of Bay Lake City.

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

It appears that Bay Lake was there before the world in its natural form, found this on "It all started with a mouse"

"When Walt Disney and his staff were searching for land in Florida, the site they selected included a large lake with an island in the middle of it. The lake was Bay Lake, and they felt that the natural lake was an attractive feature of the property. But because of the poor water quality, the lake was drained and the muck at the bottom was cleaned out. Underneath, they found lots of white sand, which was used to create the beaches at the different hotels which were under construction. The lake was then refilled."

 

[drusba]

As to actually naming the tower after the lake, it was a matter of reconsideration of an initial questionable decision. The tower when announced was orginally named "Kingdom Tower" and that got a lot of complaints because of the religious overtone and the name was changed before sales began.

As to lake itself not sure how it actually got its name but a large part of it was actally a natural lake that was there before Disney arrived in the 1960s and was called Bay Lake.