Fans of the Disney universe will soon be able to enjoy a brand new, immersive experience, as The Walt Disney Company unveils an ambitious new project.

California will soon host a unique place, Cotino, the residential district project imagined by the Disney group. No less than 1,900 homes will be built in the heart of the Coachella Valley, more precisely at Rancho Mirage, a site greatly appreciated by Walt Disney himself.

Walt Disney Imagineering, the team in charge of the production of all the group's theme parks, designed the entire project. Quiet neighbourhoods, vast green spaces, an artificial lagoon, an entertainment centre, hotels, restaurants and shops are all part of this brand new concept. It will also be accessible to non-residents, sometimes with a day ticket.

The group promises to immerse residents in the Disney world on a daily basis without using the characters or techniques used in the theme parks. The programme includes sports and wellness activities as well as leisure activities, particularly around the future Cotino artificial lagoon.

This project is not so new as it was originally an idea of Walt Disney himself. Indeed, he dreamed of building an ideal city where transport, services and leisure activities would promote the well-being of its inhabitants. The initial project, called Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow (EPCOT), proved to be too ambitious for its time and eventually became the Disney theme park in Orlando.

In 1994, the group began a new venture with the private city of Celebration in Florida. Located not far from the theme park, this city takes up the founding principles of the EPCOT project, but this time scaled down to a smaller city. About ten years later, Disney finally withdrew from the project. In France, the group is also developing the town of Val d'Europe, next to Disneyland Paris.

With "Storyliving by Disney", the group brought back to life the initial project imagined by Walt Disney. This urban planning project will undoubtedly have a very high cost but this has not yet been specified by the group. For the moment, no opening date has been communicated, so we'll have to wait and see.