With a new range of residential communities, Walt Disney Co. says it is moving beyond “storytelling” and into “storyliving.” The Burbank-based theme-park and entertainment company announced Wednesday that it plans to develop a string of such real estate projects around the country, beginning in Rancho Mirage.

       The new residential development business will be called “Storyliving by Disney,” the company said in a news release. Plans are underway for the first project in the Riverside County desert community, which is near where company founder Walt Disney once owned a home. Additional locations in the U.S. are also being explored, the company said.

       The Rancho Mirage project, dubbed Cotino, is being built in collaboration with Arizona-based DMB Development, which specializes in planned communities. The 24-acre project will include at least one section for residents 55 years or older, and home buyers will have the option to choose from estates, single-family homes and condominiums. Disney said its communities will be geared for all ages, but all will include neighborhoods for those who are older than 55.

       Disney employees “trained in the company’s legendary guest service” will operate the community association, the company said. Disney will also provide access to “curated experiences,” including wellness programming, entertainment, philanthropic endeavors and seminars. Disney Imagineers — its term for theme-park designers — will help develop the communities, although it’s not clear how much of Disney’s branding will be present.

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       “As we prepare to enter our second century, we are developing new and exciting ways to bring the magic of Disney to people wherever they are, expanding storytelling to storyliving,” Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney’s parks division, said.

       Residential properties are not an entirely new business for Disney. The company developed the town of Celebration, Fla., (population 9,900) in the 1990s, bringing in noted architects such as Philip Johnson and Michael Graves to design structures. The company sold high-end homes near Walt Disney World for years as part of a resort-style community. The Epcot theme park was originally conceived by Walt Disney to be a place where fans could live, work and play.