Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts started construction on 40 private residences inside Walt Disney World's Golden Oak community, marking the hospitality group's first branded-residence project inside a theme park perimeter. The development sits within the 980-acre Golden Oak enclave, where Disney has sold single-family homes to families seeking permanent addresses inside the resort's security cordon since 2011.
The project includes 31 standalone villas and nine estate homes. Four Seasons declined to release price points, but existing Golden Oak inventory trades between $2.1 million and $7.9 million according to Orange County property records. The Four Seasons units will carry construction premiums and branded-service packages, suggesting entry prices north of $3 million. Closings begin in late 2026. Disney retains land ownership under long-term ground leases, a structure the company uses across Golden Oak to maintain operational control.
The partnership matters because it formalizes Disney's decade-long effort to convert its Florida resort from a vacation destination into a residential product for allocators treating real estate as both a family amenity and a hedge against urban density. Golden Oak already includes 300 completed homes, a private clubhouse, and direct theme park access. Adding Four Seasons elevates the offering into the same category as Ritz-Carlton Residences and Aman enclaves—places where service infrastructure justifies premium pricing and where owners expect concierge desks, curated experiences, and property management that mirrors hospitality operations.
Four Seasons operates 53 branded-residence projects globally, with another 29 in development. The company's residential portfolio generated $1.2 billion in closings in 2024, according to its parent company, Cascade Investment. Disney's decision to bring in a third-party hospitality brand represents a shift from its earlier strategy of selling Golden Oak homes directly. The Four Seasons arrangement allows Disney to outsource service delivery while capturing ground-lease revenue and maintaining gating control.
Watch for pricing announcements in Q2 2025, which will clarify whether Four Seasons positions these units as primary residences with theme park adjacency or as high-service second homes competing with Montage and Rosewood projects in Naples and Miami. Disney has not disclosed Golden Oak's total unit cap, but Orange County zoning permits another 120 homes within the community's boundaries. If Four Seasons sells through inventory ahead of schedule, expect Disney to announce a second phase by early 2027.
The first 12 units transfer in December 2026, according to the construction timeline filed with Orange County.