You may have stayed at one of Disney’s world-class resorts, or even a couple of them. Some of the most dedicated Mouseketeers have probably bought into the Disney Vacation Club and can spend their points to stay whenever they like with Mickey. But what if I told you there is a way to live with Mickey year-round?
Sure, you can buy endless amounts of vacation points with the Vacation Club and technically live on property, but you would have to move resorts every month, and let’s face it, who wants to do that?
Introducing Golden Oak at Walt Disney World, one of the most luxurious ways to spend time at Disney World. This community boasts a private clubhouse, concierge-style resident services, and many private activities and events for the whole family. And you’ll probably never set foot in it!
You must join this club. No really, you have no choice.
Image: zannaland, Flickr (license)
Houses in the Golden Oak Neighborhoods start at $2 million USD, even on the resale market. Unfortunately, even listed houses are very rare and you can usually count the number of listings on one hand. If you do happen to find a home in Golden Oak at Walt Disney World, it will be located in one of six premier neighborhoods: Marceline, Kingswell, Carolwood, Silverbrook, Kimball Trace, and the Four Seasons Private Residences.
In addition to paying for a multi-million house within the community, you are also required to pay for yearly membership in the Golden Oak Club. The Golden Oak Club bills itself as a “private social and recreational club for the enjoyment of its members and quests.” And each homeowner of Golden Oak is required to be a member of the Club. And while this may sound a little bit draconian, membership within the Golden Oak Community actually comes with a lot of exclusive perks.
Privately-crafted theme park adventures, signature culinary offerings at Markham’s restaurant, holiday-themed events and meals (for example a Golden Oak resident holiday party around a winter wonderland with Anna, Elsa and Olaf), safari excursions with the family, beverage and cuisine seminars and tastings, happy hours and social mixers and more are all offered within the Golden Oak Club.
Image: zannaland, Flickr (license)
Want to get in shape? Golden Oak can help with that. They offer group fitness classes with options that include yoga, pilates, spin classes, walking leagues, fitness lessons clinics and many other activities. There is an awful lot of family recreation activities at the Summerhouse, Golden Oak’s private clubhouse, too, with family game nights, movie nights, sing-alongs and book signings.
Theme park benefits
Image: Disney
However, arguably the most important perk of them all is in regards to your new next-door neighbor: Walt Disney World. In addition to concierge transportation service that brings Golden Oak residents to all four Walt Disney World theme parks so that they can shop, dine, ride Big Thunder Mountain or spin through Toy Story Mania until they can’t see straight, Golden Oak residents can also enjoy admission to exclusive events, VIP access to special events, and even the ability to make priority reservations at any of Walt Disney World’s many restaurants.
And of course, admission is never a problem, as special resident annual passes are included with your Golden Oak Club membership that not only include unlimited park visits for your immediate family, but also a number of complimentary park-hopper passes to give out to friends as well. Oh, and since you’re technically always an on-property guest, all Golden Oak residents are able to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours, so you can go when crowds are light.
Living in Walt’s shadow
Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)
You might ask, where does Walt Disney World’s Golden Oak get its name? Well, the story of Golden Oak starts with a young Walt Disney sitting beneath a large tree from his youth in Missouri.
He would daydream under the tree and let his imagination shape some of the characters you know today. You can even see his life mirrored in the neighborhoods of Golden Oak, as each progressive neighborhood represents Walt’s life, from childhood well into his golden years. After some of Walt’s later successes, a beautiful ranch in California’s Placerita Canyon inspired him to film segments for the Mickey Mouse Club.
Walt Disney Productions bought portions of the Golden Oak property in 1959 and over the decades decided to buy nearly a thousand more acres for TV and movie production use. Walt and his family spent much of their free time playing at Golden Oak, which was named after a tree. Legend has it that Golden Oak was named so due to old a vein of gold discovered under it by miners back in the 1840s.
Image: zannaland, Flickr (license)
Although most of us have accepted that we’ll never own property at Golden Oak at Walt Disney World, what you might not realize is that you’ll probably never be able to visit this exclusive enclave either, as you either have to have an appointment or an official invitation from a resident to be allowed on to the property. And while this may sound a little crazy at first, considering this neighborhood is smack-dab in the middle of one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, it’s understandable why residents would value their privacy (and uncrowded streets). How would you feel if a bunch of tourists drove through your neighborhood every time there was a traffic jam on Buena Vista Drive?
In the end, while living with Mickey can be pricey, life is still pretty magical at Golden Oak.
