Magic Kingdom

Disneyesque real estate

By Leah Etling on Oct 5, 2015 in News

The Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference is being held in Anaheim, Calif. this week, just down the street from the Happiest Place on Earth. Yes, we’re talking about Disneyland. If you grew up in Southern California or are raising a family here, chances are you may have had occasion to visit the flagship Disney theme park a time or two.

Now that I’m older and more interested in mergers and acquisitions than Minnie Mouse, Disneyland doesn’t hold the same thrall over me that it once did. But as I thought about the many memories there, the unique sense of place fostered by the park’s attractions was on my mind. Could you find a Sleeping Beauty Castle on the real estate market? How about a Tom Sawyer Island? Even a Haunted Mansion?

I went looking for the comparable properties to some of my favorite Disneyland spots. Here’s what I found.

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Fit for a princess, Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle is like a life size Barbie dream house. When I was growing up, it wasn’t open to go inside – apparently it’s now open to visitors for walking tours, though some reviewers complain that there’s not much to do in there. Well, Sleeping Beauty was asleep, after all..

I found a castle for sale in Burgundy, France that might fit the bill of a modern princess (Kim Kardashian?). Two hours from Paris, the 9-bedroom, 7-bathroom home comes with its own lake, two guesthouses, a barn and a stables. But it wasn’t owned by a fairy tale character – French biologist Louis Pasteur, who made milk safe to store with his pasteurization technique, was the original proprietor.  Price is available from international real estate firm Moulin upon request.

 

 

Tom Sawyer Island

You don’t have to be Larry Ellison or spend $300 million to own your own island. $4.5 million will buy a 2,900 acre island in the San Juans off of Washington. Waldron Island has a post office, school, ferry service to the mainland and 120 residents. And the log cabin that comes with it looks like it would be right at home on Tom Sawyer’s hideout. The swaying rope and plank bridge might have to be a quickly implemented improvement project. Apparently there aren’t many serious customers in island-buying market. Waldron Island has been for sale for more than two years.

Haunted Mansion

The replica of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion for sale outside Atlanta in Duluth, Ga. sold for more than $200,000 below asking price last year.  So I went looking for equally spooky haunted houses that are still on the market. From The Dakota in New York City (John Lennon’s apartment building, where a Crying Lady purportedly walks the halls) to aging gabled Victorians around the country, it isn’t hard to find homes where “haunted” is presented as a coveted amenity. This time of the year, it’s hard to find a city that doesn’t offer a Ghost Tour or two. Right here in Orange County, you can check out the Ghost Walk in Old Town Orange.

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

The last time I went to Disneyland, something terrible had happened. The Swiss Family Treehouse was now “Tarzan’s Treehouse.” It was not the same. Apparently one must now travel to a Disney park in Florida, Tokyo or Paris to find the tree house intact, with its artful touches like the water wheel and bamboo cup distribution system, vintage furnishings and multi-level platforms that looked exactly like the tree house the Robinsons built after they were shipwrecked in the 1960 Disney movie. Or, you could travel to Australia and stay in this tree house, which looks amazing. This testimonial from someone who has stayed there pretty much says it all: “Thanks for ruining all future holidays for us, because nothing is going to compare to this place!” The tree house rents for $670 per night.

 

Space Mountain

This isn’t really real estate, but the fact that you can now sign up online to pay $250,000 for a trip into space on Virgin Galactic sure wasn’t around when Space Mountain opened up at Disneyland in 1977. It was the park’s second roller coaster and remains one of its most beloved attractions. Seems like Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson and Walt Disney would have had much to talk about, had they ever met. Both men possess out-sized imaginations that have changed the world.

Pirates of the Caribbean

The sailing ship Columbia did a 21-year stint at Disneyland as Captain Hook’s Pirate ship, the Jolly Roger. Then it was returned to its original incarnation as a replica of the Columbia Rediviva, the first ship built in America to circle the globe. You can take the Columbia or the steamboat Mark Twain around Tom Sawyer Island. When it comes to Pirates of the Caribbean, though, it seems like the acquisition of a suitable sailing vessel would be the best way to truly demonstrate your Pirate pride. You can find pirate ships near and far, with prices from low to high. This Turkish Pirate Ship, pictured at left, is on the market for $2.5 million. Might take a bit of plundering to pull up that kind of treasure!

We hope you’ve enjoyed our Disneyland real estate analysis. Hope to see you in Anaheim this week for #YASCSC!