Gawrsh! Walt Disney Estate Sold For $74 Million Smackaroos

Walt Disney’s estate was sold to an unnamed international buyer this week for $74 million. While the original house that Walt Disney built on the property back in 1949 is no longer standing, the property itself still holds many original characteristics.

When Walt Disney and his wife, Lillian, purchased the land on Carolwood Drive in Los Angeles, they built a 5,500 square foot home that had seventeen rooms. Walt lived in this house until he died in 1966, and Lillian also remained in the house until her death many years later in 1997.

One year later, the Disney Estate was purchased by Gabriel Brener. His intentions were for him and his wife to raise their children in the former home of Walt Disney. But due to building safety issues, such as asbestos and other various things, Brener had to unfortunately demolish the home and start a new one from the ground up.

While Brener’s home was much larger than that of Walt Disney’s at 35,000 square feet, eight bedrooms, seventeen bathrooms, along with great amenities such as tennis courts, swimming pool, a putting green, Brener still left some Disney history on the property.

In 1950, Walt Disney decided he wanted to encircle the home with a miniature railroad. So, Walt had what was eventually named the “Carolwood Pacific Railroad” constructed, which was 90-feet long, had an S-shaped tunnel (so passengers couldn’t see the end of the tunnel as they were riding through), and it also had a trestle that stood nine feet in the air.

The locomotive as actually hand-built by Walt Disney himself in his own private workshop. This railroad became the inspiration for the railroad at Disneyland and other Disney parks. The actual train and the tracks have since been removed from the property, and can be seen at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. However, the stone archway is still on the property today.

See the video below to view the current property as it is today.

Photo Credit: Yahoo Homes/The Agency