Those looking to spend their lives in the wonderful world of Disney may soon see their high hopes fulfilled after the 99-year-old entertainment giant announced a slate of new master-planned communities that will begin to take shape in its namesake’s one-time Southern California home.
Each community association will be operated by a selection of Disney cast members brought in from its Phillip Johnson-designed Celebration, Florida training grounds. The company’s press announcement also mentioned a club membership program that offers residents “curated experiences” including wellness programs and cooking demonstrations.
On the surface, the structures that make up the planned communities don’t appear to be in the style of European-inspired architecture that was synonymous with the Disney brand. Instead, renderings appear to show more mid-century modern elements influenced by the local topography and material culture of the Palm Springs area, bringing it in line with the company’s own self-stated design mandate to create communities with site-specific distinctive personalities while imbuing each with its own signature “core Disney DNA.”
The first Storyliving by Disney village will be located in Rancho Mirage, California. Dubbed ‘Cotino,’ it is designed with a designated place for seniors aged 55 and over. The master plan also includes an on-site hotel and central lagoon feature, in addition to a shopping-rich town center and clubhouse that doubles as an art gallery space for residents and company commissions. Residences will be offered as either single-family homes, estates, or condominiums. Disney’s parks chairman Josh D’Amaro notes it is part of a company-wide branching out from “storytelling to storyliving.”
Disney says it is working with “highly-respected real estate developers and home builders at each site.” Further communities will follow and are being developed with the help of Arizona-based DMB Development, which specializes in town planning. Other U.S. sites have yet to be determined. Archinect will follow the developments as they progress.
9 Comments
They should call it "Barf Kingdom"
that video is cringe beyond belief... this has to be satire. right?!
They're trying to bring back the company town
what I love about this is that when I’m at Disney and after about 8 hours I can’t wait to leave…in this place I can’t leave. No one leaves Disney. That would be cool huh…NO
One step towards a new level of faux reality - where props come to life and uncanny streetscapes become actual neighborhoods.
Beautiful side attraction to the region. Coachella can use a family friendly addition. Additional safe space in the Palm Springs region!
Why do you need a safe space in Palm Springs?
I don't; children do.
Hadley's Date Shake Pavilion and Disney: I'll bring my children from all over the world.
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