Walt Disney’s Estate – Stepping into a Fairytale Home

Disclosure: I was provided an all expense paid trip to cover these events for Disney and Disney In Home. Regardless all opinions are my own. 

Last week, I had the pleasure of experiencing all things Disney. It was a whirlwind adventure that I am still trying to recover from. Myself and 24 other bloggers were invited out to LA to cover some exciting Disney events. Throughout the next couple months, I will be sharing a lot from my trip. Stay tuned and follow along.

The first night we arrived, we were taken to the very home of the one and only Walt Disney. I felt like I was stepping into a Fairytale Home when I walked into Walt Disney’s Estate.

This home was built in the Summer of 1932 and was where Walt and his wife raised their family. Walt pulled from a few different architectural designs and built this incredible fairytale home. I can not even begin to describe what it felt like being in Walt’s home. One that he designed, built and lived in with his family. This home is where some of our favorite movies were ‘hatched.’

The home is set in a beautiful neighbor hood with an amazing view.

Public tours are not offered in this home so being able to do this tour was simply amazing! There was one point while our tour group was nestled in one of Walt’s daughter’s rooms, that I was actually standing in the very spot where Walt used to read to his girls. It was surreal.

Walt and his family lived in this beautiful home until May of 1950. The home was then purchased by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, best known in the United States for the films Night Watch (2004), its sequel Day Watch (2006), Wanted (2008), starring Maleficent’s Angelina Jolie, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012).

Bekmambetov is committed to preserving the memory of Walt and his family by limiting remodeling work and filling it with assorted memorabilia celebrating Disney’s life and work.

This tour was in honor of the upcoming release of SLEEPING BEAUTY on October 7th. Did you know that some of the design choices in Walt’s home are similar to Sleeping Beauty’s castle? Some of these design choices include a Tudor influenced exterior, formal double-storied living room, wrought iron spandrels, original stained glass windows and a Juliet balcony.

We also were able to sit down and chat with Maleficent Producer Don Hahn as well as Sarah Hyland who is in a special bonus feature, Once Upon a Parade. Stay tuned for more on both of the above…coming soon!

Sleeping Beauty Diamond Edition releases October 7, 2014 and Maleficent on Blu-ray releases November 4, 2014!

There were some amazing pictures taken of the home. I couldn’t fit all of them in this one post but you can take a further look on the Walt Disney’s estate website.