Car Accident in Bay Lake

The City of Bay Lake is indeed a small world after all. That’s because Bay Lake is one of two incorporated Florida cities – the other being Lake Buena Vista – that are home to Mickey Mouse. More specifically, it’s where Walt Disney World is located.

Bay Lake has only a few dozen legal residents, who are hand-picked by the Disney corporation to live in two tiny, gated mobile home parks on leased resort land. These individuals allow the company to control its own services, such as planning, building codes and firefighting. Located in Orange County, Bay Lake is in charge of the land where the four theme parks are located, while Lake Buena Vista is where you’ll find Downtown Disney and all the nearby hotels.

Bay Lake car accident attorneys know that with most of the attractions associated with the Walt Disney World Resort actually located in the City of Bay Lake – including all four theme parks - crashes in this area are almost always tied to Disney traffic. Further, the only land owners in the entire city are fully-owned subsidiaries of Disney, though there are some rights-way for county and state roads.

Disney World is the most-visited vacation spot in the world, with an estimated 52 million people enjoying the parks every year. That’s more than its California counterpart, Disneyland. This means not only more cars, but more trips on buses, bicycles, trains, golf carts, taxis, trolleys and ride-sharing services. There are also a substantial number of pedestrians making their way around not only inside the parks, but also around resorts, in parking lots and through nearby accommodations.

As you can imagine, the traffic woes in Bay Lake are numerous.

Prior to the founding of Walt Disney World in the 1970s, Orlando on the whole was something of a sleepy town, with markets primarily fueled by cattle and citrus. It was largely rural and there weren’t many residents.

Today, the entire Orlando-Kissimmee metro area is a major, thriving tourist and entertainment hub – with Disney World being at the center of it all. While downtown Orlando is a vibrant urban metropolis, there are retirees, working professionals and families who flock to Maitland, Winter Park and other nearby suburbs.

Because of all the growth in the last 40 to 50 years, traffic in Bay Lake and surrounding areas can be something of a nightmare. Pick the “wrong time” to visit one of the parks – or just try to run errands near one of the parks – and you’re likely to find yourself sitting in traffic for hours.

A number of blogs are devoted to helping tourists best navigate the areas around the major theme parks, and many note that holidays in particular can result in heavy traffic patterns that result in jams, delays, road rage and accidents.

Such incidents are more common during certain seasons and times. The park’s highest attendance rates go from February through mid-November, peaking in the spring and summer. Similarly, the morning rush is known to be something of a stampede in the morning, with everyone racing to get to the parks when they first open (hoping to beat some of the hours-long lines for the most popular attractions). That means the traffic between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. is particularly horrendous.

Visitors and commuters are advised to be mindful of the Disney traffic report. In the event of delays or construction, it’s usually best to plan an alternate route.

One of the many advantages of planning a Disney trip at one of the company’s own hotels or resorts is that guests are afforded shuttle trips from hotels and resorts directly to the theme parks. Even those who drive to the parks can catch a shuttle to the park of their choice. There is also a Disney World monorail system that ferries passengers from park-to-park, as well as several boats and ferries.

While these trips are certainly convenient, travel around the park isn’t guaranteed to be safe.

For example, in May 2016 a bus accident in Bay Lake was reported when a sport utility vehicle traveling the wrong direction slammed into a charter bus at Walt Disney World, near Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, injuring a dozen passengers on that bus, which was owned by a private charter bus company.

In 2013, a woman was killed when a Disney bus – part of Disney’s Magical Express - rear-ended a passenger vehicle that was stopped in the left lane due to mechanical problems. Thirty-six people were on the bus at the time. Decedent was an employee at a nearby resort. Two others, a teen and an infant, were transported to the on-site Celebration Hospital for injuries suffered as a result of the crash.

Car accidents in Bay Lake – which are all accidents on Disney property – can be challenging because almost everything about the response – the firefighters, the medical workers, the vehicles involved, the cameras that captured the incident – are either employed by, belongs to or partners with Disney. The company is interested in reducing its own liability in every circumstance. You need someone who will ensure your rights are protected.