Disney to Build Luxury Homes

[Barefootsies]

GFY Millionaires with kids. Step right up....

ORLANDO (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. is launching an ambitious effort to woo some of the nation's most affluent travelers, building multimillion dollar homes in a new gated community it's creating at its famous Florida resort.

About 30 properties - listing for $1.5 million to $8 million - will be available for purchase this year in the 980-acre Golden Oak resort community at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. The company aims to ultimately build 450 homes there, each between a quarter acre and three-quarters of an acre in size.

The development will include an onsite Four Seasons hotel that offers spa services and golf course access to residents. The community will also have a clubhouse, a concierge and access to Disney's facilities. About half the acreage will be a "conservation area."

Disney's effort comes at a difficult time. Even though the nation's economy is regaining lost ground, Florida's real estate market continues to founder.

In May, the state had the nation's third-highest foreclosure rate, according to data from RealtyTrac.

Meanwhile, figures from the National Association of Realtors show Orlando's property values keep falling. The media sale price of a single-family home fell 15 percent in the first quarter property values sank 15 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Between 2007 and 2009, the average home price for the central Florida city sank more than 43 percent to $147,400.

Additionally, the Commerce Department on Wednesday said sales of new homes fell 33 percent in May to the lowest level on record.

Disney said it hopes to have the first homes constructed by next year.

Disney shares added 20 cents to $34.55 in afternoon trading Wednesday.

The party now can last forever. Like Studio54 for kids.

[datatank]

horrible investment

[BestXXXPorn]

Actually not a horrible investment, they've been building residential areas successfully for at LEAST 14 years...

I did a website for them back in 1996/97 promoting their new gated community designed for upper class. They apparently sold pretty well.

While the housing market is certainly different today I think building homes aimed at the top 1% - 5% of earners is probably safer than any other target demographic. The top earners are still top earners and pay cash for their homes ;) The Disney allure will always be around I think :P

[Amputate Your Head]

For the people that want to fully complete the fantasy world they live in.

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Amputate Your Head

For the people that want to fully complete the fantasy world they live in.

[pornguy]

they have had a community out side of the grounds for some time called Celebration. Its an amazing place. Small town with a single screen movie place. Malt Shoppe. all that sort of thing. Back in the mid 90's the homes were going for 250k or more.

[datatank]

Originally Posted by BestXXXPorn

Actually not a horrible investment, they've been building residential areas successfully for at LEAST 14 years...

I did a website for them back in 1996/97 promoting their new gated community designed for upper class. They apparently sold pretty well.

While the housing market is certainly different today I think building homes aimed at the top 1% - 5% of earners is probably safer than any other target demographic. The top earners are still top earners and pay cash for their homes ;) The Disney allure will always be around I think :P

I dont have any facts to back up my theory and I still think its a horrible investment.

Jumbo loads are hard to come by.
Home sales $1MM+ are very slow
Not as many people as you think are paying cash for homes.
Money if you can get it is still very cheap to borrow

[datatank]

Originally Posted by datatank

I dont have any facts to back up my theory and I still think its a horrible investment.

Jumbo loads are hard to come by.
Home sales $1MM+ are very slow
Not as many people as you think are paying cash for homes.
Money if you can get it is still very cheap to borrow

People are paying cash for rental properties but not at those prices. IMO

[JFK]

Originally Posted by pornguy

they have had a community out side of the grounds for some time called Celebration. Its an amazing place. Small town with a single screen movie place. Malt Shoppe. all that sort of thing. Back in the mid 90's the homes were going for 250k or more.

yeah, the 50's according to Disney

[IllTestYourGirls]

They must have had this in the works for awhile and are going ahead with it. Or they think we are at the bottom and the economy is going to turns soon. Right now is the best time to be building and buying.

Originally Posted by datatank

People are paying cash for rental properties but not at those prices. IMO

Without a doubt.

[Paul Markham]

If I had that sort of money the last place I would want to live is Orlando. It's a theme park capital and most places in the area cater for the tourists. Just my opinion after visiting there.

[The Dawg]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

If I had that sort of money the last place I would want to live is Orlando. It's a theme park capital and most places in the area cater for the tourists. Just my opinion after visiting there.

Orlando is a lot larger than the circus part of town.

[Joshua G]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

If I had that sort of money the last place I would want to live is Orlando. It's a theme park capital and most places in the area cater for the tourists. Just my opinion after visiting there.

its doubtful the owners will live in the homes year-round. More likely they will be used as vacation homes or time shares.

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by datatank

horrible investment

Your on crack.

Disney has been doing this forever. They build a community near one of their parks and bill it as a tropical resort, and then gets the word out to their best customers. These houses sell the day they hit the market.

A friend of mine bought one of these houses from Disney years ago. He tells me the first day they spent at the house they were offered twice what they paid for it. In fact, he just sold the house a few months ago.

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by pornguy

they have had a community out side of the grounds for some time called Celebration. Its an amazing place. Small town with a single screen movie place. Malt Shoppe. all that sort of thing. Back in the mid 90's the homes were going for 250k or more.

A good friend of mine who lived there was pranking Celebration's strict HOA rules by putting plastic pink flamingos in people's yards sometime in the 90's. No one knew who it was for MONTHS until he confessed. He made the national news

[pornguy]

Originally Posted by Peaches

A good friend of mine who lived there was pranking Celebration's strict HOA rules by putting plastic pink flamingos in people's yards sometime in the 90's. No one knew who it was for MONTHS until he confessed. He made the national news

Heheh.. thats awesome..

Either way one HELL of a place to live and or Raise a family. I remember the Homes were freaking HUGE and for the price being expensive at the time they were worth the money to someone who could afford them.

Disney has done FEW things that did not make a killing.

[John-ACWM]

Why not, I think every millionaire has the right to live their dreams.

[datatank]

Originally Posted by Rochard

Your on crack.


A friend of mine bought one of these houses from Disney years ago. He tells me the first day they spent at the house they were offered twice what they paid for it.

Sure he did

[alias]

Originally Posted by Peaches

A good friend of mine who lived there was pranking Celebration's strict HOA rules by putting plastic pink flamingos in people's yards sometime in the 90's. No one knew who it was for MONTHS until he confessed. He made the national news

Brilliant!

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by datatank

Sure he did

Talk about super sizing your sale foo.

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by Peaches

A good friend of mine who lived there was pranking Celebration's strict HOA rules by putting plastic pink flamingos in people's yards sometime in the 90's. No one knew who it was for MONTHS until he confessed. He made the national news

LOL, it was apparently even more well known than I thought:

A famous serial ?flocking? took place in Celebration, Florida, in 1997. Although unapproved lawn art is forbidden by the town's covenants, a renegade flock moved from lawn to lawn among members of Community Presbyterian Church as a prayer reminder. They gained fame on the coattails of Celebration's ?Disney Town? infamy and were featured on ?48 Hours? and parodied on an episode of ?The X Files

He was the minister of the church.

http://www.expressionsofflorida.com/.../flamingo.html

[Highest Def]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

If I had that sort of money the last place I would want to live is Orlando. It's a theme park capital and most places in the area cater for the tourists. Just my opinion after visiting there.

Not with Disney on the job. This will not be a typical cookie cutter housing track? It's going to practically be a self-contained town.

[Ace_luffy]

someday disney will be built a console also ..... because of they own marvel

[ShellyCrash]

Originally Posted by pornguy

they have had a community out side of the grounds for some time called Celebration. Its an amazing place. Small town with a single screen movie place. Malt Shoppe. all that sort of thing. Back in the mid 90's the homes were going for 250k or more.

Celebration is a creepy place. It feels like Stepford Wives. They have an obscenely strict HOA and they do really weird shit- like in autumn they put out autumn leaves. It's all so fake and plastic, very Disney. The way they brainwash some of their staff into the Disney way of life is worse than Scientology.

[angeleyes]

I think it would be incredible to live in a 50's themed town for a few years, but I don't think I could do it for life. What would be even more amazing is if it was FULLY self contained, meaning there isn't one thing you would have to venture outside of 'fantasy land' for if you didn't want to.