What Senior Living Can Learn From Disney's Storyliving

When Caroline Boone joined us at the Senior Living Innovation Forum, she came with a clear mission: explain what Storyliving by Disney is actually about.

As Executive Creative Director for Storyliving at Walt Disney Imagineering, Caroline sat down with SLIF Executive Producer Michael P. Owens to discuss Disney's move into master-planned communities, including 55+ neighborhoods that have the senior living industry curious.

The conversation offered a straightforward look at how Disney approaches placemaking and storytelling in communities where people actually live, not just visit. For senior living leaders, there were some useful lessons about designing spaces that feel less institutional and more purposeful.

It’s Not Mickey Serving Coffee

Let's address the elephant, or mouse, in the room. When people hear "Disney community," they imagine character breakfasts and parades down Main Street. Caroline was quick to set the record straight.

"They think it's going to be Mickey Mouse serving you your coffee every single morning," she said. "They think it's gonna be that razzle dazzle experience that you have in the parks. That's amazing when you're there for a day, but not necessarily how you wanna live everyday life."

Instead, Storyliving brings Disney's magic through what the company does best: placemaking, storytelling, and attention to detail. The Disney touches are there; pages from books that became Disney films line the walls of Plot Twist beach bar, architectural drawings from mid-century Disney rides decorate Architect's Fork restaurant. But they're "if you know, you know" details. Elevated. Tasteful. Not in your face.

For senior living leaders constantly battling the perception that their communities are "warehouses" or "the last stop," this approach offers an important lesson: the power isn't in the branding itself, but in how you translate that brand promise into lived experience.

Story Before Everything

Before a single line is drawn, before an architect touches paper, Disney starts with a story. And not just any story—the story of place, the story of purpose, the story residents want to tell in their next chapter.

At Cotino, Disney's first Storyliving community in Rancho Mirage, California, that story is rooted in Walt Disney's own connection to the Coachella Valley. It was where he escaped studio chaos to find creative inspiration. That spark became the foundation: What if this community helped residents find their own creative inspiration, just like Walt?

"Every single resident has a role in this story," Caroline explained. "We are really asking, who do you wanna be in this next chapter? What do you wanna learn? What do you wanna explore?"

For an industry often focused on care levels and amenity counts, this represents a fundamental shift: designing not just for what residents need, but for who they want to become.

Participation Over Spectating

Caroline's 13 years at Airbnb, where she launched Airbnb Experiences, deeply influenced her approach to community programming. The difference between a good program and a transformational one? Getting residents' hands dirty.

"I think when I see programming out in the world, a lot of it is very passive," she noted. "A lot of watching someone do a cooking demo. Well, what if that was let me get involved in this cooking demo? Let me learn to do this. Let me plate the dish myself."

At Storyliving, that might mean hiking to Joshua Tree with a National Geographic Explorer or working with a Disney resort chef during a pop-up. But it could just as easily mean residents teaching one another, sharing their own expertise and talents in hands-on ways.

For senior living communities, this challenges the traditional activities calendar model. Are you creating experiences or just filling time? Are residents participants or spectators in their own lives?

Design for Longevity

When asked what advice she'd offer senior living leaders, Caroline landed on: "I think there's this idea of longevity and how do you design for longevity as an outcome."

This goes beyond universal design principles, though Storyliving incorporates those thoughtfully. (At Architect's Fork, everyone sits at the same bar height with bartenders standing one level down, ensuring wheelchair users and ambulatory guests interact at eye level.)

Designing for longevity means creating spaces that encourage wellness through walking, that spark connection through serendipitous encounters, that challenge residents to step slightly outside their comfort zones. It's about designing communities where learning, growth, and curiosity remain central to daily life, regardless of age.

"How are you bringing people together to continue to learn and grow, no matter what that age is?" Caroline asked. It's a question every senior living leader should be asking.

Affinity Over Age

Storyliving communities are multi-generational, but each includes a 55+ enclave called Long Table—named after Walt's tradition of hosting breakfasts at a long table where strangers would sit together and spark unexpected conversations.

Caroline sees real power in affinity-based communities, particularly in an age of loneliness and isolation.

"You know that you have something in common with every single person there," she said. "For us, it's that shared love of Disney storytelling and the experience of Disney, but you know, you have something in common. I think that that is so special, particularly beyond like I'm the same age as everyone else."

Connection based on shared passion, not just shared age or care level.

Wellness that’s Actually Fun

Storyliving partnered with Optum for comprehensive wellness programming: fitness classes, nutrition counseling, every modality of wellness support. But then they added that Disney twist: Encanto Latin dance cardio classes. Moana breathwork on the beach of the lagoon.

"It has to be fun," Caroline said simply.

It's a reminder that wellness programming doesn't have to be clinical to be effective. Joy and health aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, they might be inseparable.

The Takeaway

Cotino already has residents moving in. Homes are going up daily. The Artisan Club opened last month. A second community, Asteria, launches in North Carolina's Research Triangle in 2027, centered on lifelong learning and craftsmanship.

Disney isn't just testing an idea. They're building a new category of living that happens to include seniors, rather than segregating them.

For senior living leaders, Storyliving offers both inspiration and challenge:

• Story matters more than stuff. Stop leading with amenities. Lead with purpose.
• Residents are protagonists, not patients. Design for who they want to become, not just what they need.
• Passive programming is dead. Create experiences that demand participation.
• Details tell the story. Your design choices communicate volumes about how you value residents.
• Connection transcends demographics. Shared interests may matter more than shared age.
• Design for longevity. Make wellness, learning, and growth inevitable outcomes of your built environment.

Disney's entering your territory with 75 years of experience creating magical places where stories come to life. The question isn't whether you can compete with their budget or brand.

The question is: what story are you telling? And are you designing spaces where that story becomes irresistibly livable?

Because at the end of the day, people don't want to move to a place. They want to move toward a life worth living.

Disney just happens to be really good at imagining what that looks like.