As Oscar Wilde wrote in 1891, “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.”

Disney, no stranger to imitating art, announced its “Storyliving” brand in 2022. It includes “Disney branded master-planned residential communities designed to be the perfect setting for Disney fans to write the next exciting chapter in their lives,” says the chair of Disney Experiences in a video about Storyliving.

The venture will allow the company to “bring the magic of Disney to places you may never have expected.” 

The first of those places was in the Coachella Valley of California, where Storyliving home sales are expected to begin in 2024. The second unexpected place to be hit with an overdose of Disney magic will be Pittsboro, where 4,000 Storyliving units are expected to come onto the market by 2027, according to a Disney press release this week.

“The community will come to life on 1,500 acres in the heart of North Carolina’s picturesque Chatham County…including single-family and multi-family homes, with some home sites specifically designated for 55+ adults. The Asteria community will be part of the larger, award-winning Chatham Park master-planned community by Preston Development Company, co-founded by Julian ‘Bubba’ Rawl and Tim Smith,” says Disney. 

Credit: Rendering courtesy of Disney

The venture into real estate isn’t new for Disney. EPCOT, a theme park of Disney World, was originally conceived as a planned “community of tomorrow,” and the company has launched various other projects in Florida. 

This kind of bold venture has also been imagined by screenwriters—in HBO’s Succession, the fictional world’s media megacorporation announces a product called “Living+”, a luxury assisted-living real estate development.

“What this new product offers is community…enriched with the integrated interactions with the cherished family of movie and TV characters. I’m convinced that the real estate brand can bring the cruise ship experience to dry land,” says Logan Roy, Succession’s fictional CEO.

Disney has not yet released many solid details about the Pittsboro development. But if the images on the Storyliving website are anything to go by, the plan is heavily reliant on intergenerational groups of racially diverse individuals with great skin constantly celebrating nondescript occasions by getting boozy in between yoga classes. 

Planned amenities “include a wellness and recreation center, restaurant, sport courts, swimming pools, community garden and plenty of outdoor space for lawn games, events and fire pits. Some of the experiences under consideration include storytelling dinners inspired by Disney tales, lessons with Disney artists and family fun days with Disney-themed activities,” says the release. 

It’s not clear how much your dream home may cost in the Pittsboro development. But the website for Disney’s development in Coachella Valley, where real estate is notoriously pricey, lists several tiers of homes that will be available soon on the west coast. 

The lowest tier, the “cottage” collection, has “prices anticipated to start from the upper $1 millions.” The “grand” collection starts at “low $2 millions.” The “estate” collection does not yet have prices listed.

Don’t worry, each home, no matter how few millions it costs, will “meet Disney standards of excellence.”

The California development also has plans to include “an equestrian themed dog park,” a bay full of “the clearest turquoise waters with Crystal Lagoons® technology,” and the option to pay as little as $11,000 annually (plus a one-time $20,000 initiation fee and a $1,000 annual food and drink minimum) to be a member of the “Artisan Club,” anchored by a real-life version of the animated home in The Incredibles 2.

The company hasn’t announced how much a similar membership may cost in Pittsboro’s development, but the website promises there will be a club to “feature enrichment programming only Disney can deliver.” 

“Why are you doing this bullshit?” asks a Succession character, challenging the fictional Living+ concept. “It’s land cruises—hey, you know how shitty and heartbreaking it is being locked up on a cruise? How about that, but you also get to stay in the same fucking place the whole time?”

Updates to follow. 

Reach Reporter Chase Pellegrini de Paur at  [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].

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Chase Pellegrini de Paur is a reporter for INDY, covering politics, education, and the delightful characters who make the Triangle special. He joined the staff in 2023 and previously wrote for The Ninth Street Journal.