Whether living full-time in the world of Disney is your dream or looms as a nightmare, it will soon come true for the first residents of what Disney plans to be a chain of planned communities, Disney-branded and sold as ‘Storyliving.’
Disney announced the plan last week, along with concepts and art for the first one, Cotino, to be built near Rancho Mirage, California, with about 1900 units, a private lagoon and a themed focus on local culture, history and food, which does not necessarily mean Disney, according to Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney Parks, the division that is now getting into the subdivision business.
But you can expect characters. D’Amaro also told press that “There is incredible demand for all things Disney. Our fans continue to look for new ways to engage with us, to keep Disney as part of their lives,” he said, adding that if you live there, “you can be part of Disney all of the time.”
Details and prices aren’t known yet, but there will apparently be houses and condos, but no rental units. Some of the new neighborhoods will be focused at one of Disney’s current prime demographics: the 55-and-up crowd who are seen as having both Disney loyalty and money.
For those with long memories, by the way: No, this isn’t Disney’s first time around with city planning. The original plan for Disney World, as seen by Walt Disney, was for Epcot to be, as its acronymous name hints, an Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow. After he died, the company kept the name and created another theme park.
