Is Disney building a town?

Disney is working to build a residential community in Rancho Mirage so fans can come home to Disney magic every day. In an interview for "LA Times Today," reporter Jaimie Ding told host Lisa McRee what's in store in the new Storyliving community.



Yes, Disney is currently building several residential communities under its "Storyliving by Disney" brand. The first, named Cotino, is located in Rancho Mirage, California, and welcomed its first residents in early 2025. In 2026, the community is rapidly expanding, with the town center—known as Cotino Bay Beach, Dining and Shops—scheduled to open in fall 2026. This "Disney Town" features a 24-acre "Grand Oasis" lagoon, wellness centers, and the "Artisan Club" for resident social activities. A second community, Asteria, is currently under development in Pittsboro, North Carolina. While Disney does not build the houses themselves (they partner with third-party builders like Shea Homes), they provide the "Imagineering" design for the community and staff the facilities with Disney cast members, effectively creating a real-world neighborhood that operates with the same attention to detail as their theme parks.

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The Town of Celebration, Florida is a community founded by the Walt Disney Company in 1996. Today, however, all properties in the community are privately owned. It is in Osceola County west of the City of Kissimmee and about 20 miles southwest of downtown Orlando.

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Disney Launches New Business to Develop Residential Communities. As more and more fans look for new ways to make Disney a bigger part of their lives, The Walt Disney Company today announced plans to introduce Storyliving by Disney, vibrant new neighborhoods that are infused with the Company's special brand of magic.

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Rancho Mirage, California, a city in the Coachella Valley not far from Palm Springs, will be the site of Disney's first “Storyliving” community, the company said in a press release.

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(Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Orlando.) Golden Oak is the only residential space actually on Disney property. It even has its own designation on mailing addresses: Golden Oak, FL. Also in the neighborhood is Orlando's five-star hotel, the Four Seasons.

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Very roughly, it would take at the very least $12.3 billion in today's dollars to build out the Walt Disney World property to its current state. And note that this answer is roughly six years old. So even if they did decide to leave Florida, it would take them decades and billions to rebuild.

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Walt Disney World paid $780.3 million in state and local taxes in 2021. Dissolving the district would mean the company could no longer finance improvements through municipal bonds, which carry tax advantages.

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Tokyo Disneyland and its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks in the world not owned or operated by The Walt Disney Company in any capacity.

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Disney intended EPCOT to be a real city, and it was planned to feature commercial, residential, industrial and recreational centers, connected by a mass multimodal transportation system, that would, he said, Never cease to be a living blueprint of the future.

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Disney theme parks are basically cities. In fact, Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, is about the same size (in acres) as San Francisco.

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Orlando and the surrounding area can't survive if Disney permanently close period. Most of Disney World is in Orange County which Orlando is in. The major facilities that operate Disney World are in Orlando or Orange County. Why are Walt Disney World and Disneyland considered expensive compared to other theme parks?

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Most people who go to the Walt Disney World Resort are not rich. On average, a family of four will spend $5,240 for their Disney World vacation. This includes their meals, a 4-night hotel stay, and 4 days' worth of theme park tickets.

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With costs so high, it's no wonder why many families find it difficult to afford a Disney vacation. A recent LendingTree survey found that 18% of Disney visitors have gone into debt for one or more of their trips to the destination. And among those with Disney debt, 8% say it will take more than a year to pay it off.

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Disney initially filed its lawsuit against DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, in April, after DeSantis appointed a board made up of his political allies to oversee the special taxing district that contains Walt Disney World Resort.

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So with all of the entertainment, leisure, fun, and relaxation Walt Disney World property has to offer guests and even residents, you truly don't ever have to leave the Disney bubble if you purchase a home in one of the seven Golden Oak neighborhoods.

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The housing community is located right on the Walt Disney World resort property in Orlando, Florida. It won't be a cheap buy though. There are 15 homes available ranging from $2.1 million and $5 million. That is the price of living in the happiest place on Earth!

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