Disney is developing planned communities for fans who never want to leave its clutches

Image: Disney

Disney has launched a new business for fans who can't leave the family-friendly world of its theme parks and media ventures.

Storyliving by Disney will operate as part of the company's theme parks division and will develop a series of master-planned communities for residential living.

In a promotional video, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products exec Helen pak said that Disney Parks, Experiences and Products would like to see an energetic community with the warmth and charm of a small town and the beauty of a resort.

One location has been announced so far, and it is a community of 1,900 housing units named Cotino that will be built in the city of Rancho Mirage in California.

The concept art shows villas, condos, and housing complexes clustered around a 24 acres of clear turquoise waters. Shopping, dining, and entertainment will be included, as well as a beachfront hotel and club.

A section of the development will be set aside for residents 55 and up, while the public will be able to visit Cotino by purchasing day passes. When construction will begin or when residents might be able to move in have not been announced.

Disney won't own, build, or sell the homes in these communities, as reported by USA Today. Instead, it will be working with third-party developers.

DMB Development is a company that has built a number of luxury communities in the US and abroad. Silverleaf, Arizona, is a private haven of rare grace and refinement, and Kukui, Hawaii, is a place for families who seek to balance luxury with a laid-back lifestyle.

Disney has explored residential developments before. In 1996, it opened the gates of Celebration, Florida, a master-planned community near Walt Disney World Resort, and in 2011. Disney wanted to create a utopian city of the future called Epcot.

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Not all of these communities have been successful. The original plans for Epcot were never fulfilled, though the concept lives on in various ways in Disney's resorts and parks.

Disney wants to revisit its residential dreams while focusing on the vague and eternally sunny concept of storytelling.

It's not clear what that means in practice. If you pay us a lot of money, we will have a nice life. USA Today has a report that hints at something more.

“Every single element of these communities will be steeped in a story,” D’Amaro notes. The residents, he says, will be active participants in the stories.

Maybe, instead of being drawn into skits with hosts dressed up, residents will be able to take part in more grounded adventures, as staff who never break character help them navigate. If you can turn your life into theater, why pay for therapy? A happy ending is possible.