Formally, the district is governed by a five member board of supervisors who are elected by the landowners within the district on the basis of one acre, one vote. Since the Disney company owns almost all of the land in the district, the district effectively serves as an instrument of Disney. Within the district, there are two incorporated cities, the cities of Bay Lake, Florida and Lake Buena Vista, Florida. These two are instruments of the Disney company as all the residents of the cities are Disney employees. Curiously the city of Celebration, Florida which is an experimental community sponsored by Disney and which has actual residents is on land which was de-annexed from the district.
In his book, Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando, Richard Foglesong argues that the Florida legislature created the RCID under the belief that Disney would create an actual community in the area as part of its EPCOT project. However, once the Disney Company was granted governmental powers, it did not follow through on its promise of permanent residents in order to maintain control over the RCID.
