Official website: https://goldenoakranch.com/map/
2012 Development
(from the former studiosattheranch.com website)
Disney | ABC Studios at The Ranch will be constructed on a 58-acre portion of the property, which accounts for approximately less than 7% of the entire 890-acre Golden Oak Ranch property. The site for the project was carefully selected to preserve the natural settings of Golden Oak Ranch and is located directly adjacent to State Route 14 on two large, mostly barren parcels created by Caltrans during construction of the freeway.
Disney | ABC Studios at The Ranch will be a state-of-the-art working studio and will consist of many of the elements associated with major and established studios.
Disney | ABC Studios at The Ranch includes:
- 6 Pairs of Soundstages
- Production Offices
- Talent Bungalows
- Commissary and other Amenities
- Administration Offices
- Production Shops
- Production Storage (Sets, Props, Drapery, Costumes and more)
- Support Facilities
Depending on market conditions and need, the project could be reduced to 4 pairs of soundstages and up to 100,000 square feet of studio office space.
Smart Planning & Responsible Growth:
Disney | ABC Studios at The Ranch will be a world-class environmentally sensitive project that enhances and enriches the history and beauty of Golden Oak Ranch and Placerita Canyon.
Design Features:
- Limit development to approximately less than 7% of the Ranch
- Complement the rural and agricultural setting
- Create extensive and native landscaping along streets, entries and throughout the new studio
- Respect and enhance Placerita Creek
- Maintain vistas of Placerita Canyon
- Minimize visibility of project from adjacent properties
- Protect the 195-acre outdoor filming operations at the Ranch
- Retain 639-acre natural backdrop areas of the Ranch
- Locate projects with direct access to State Route 14
History of the Ranch
The following is from the Golden Oak Ranch official website:
Walt Disney first leased the Golden Oak Ranch in the late 1950s for the Spin and Marty segments of The Mickey Mouse Club. Because of the variety of natural settings available there, the Studio purchased the property in 1959 and, over the years, acquired additional land which has brought the total to just under 900 acres.
Disney productions that have shot at the Ranch include: Old Yeller, Toby Tyler, The Parent Trap, The Shaggy Dog, Follow Me Boys and more recently, The Santa Clause, Pearl Harbor, Princess Diaries II and Pirates of the Caribbean II & III.
Over the years, other motion picture and television production groups began filming at the Ranch and added to the variety of sets already there. A western street was created for the 1978 renowned television miniseries Roots II which remained active until its removal in 2008. Other sets and locations include a rural covered bridge on a lake, wood bridges, the Golden Oak Hall from the movie The Country Bears, farm houses, barns, fields, country roads, tree groves, a forest area, a creek bed, and our newest addition, Pine Lake, which includes a waterfall and was designed to give the feeling of a High Sierra setting.
The Golden Oak Ranch is used by the entire film industry and has been seen in Lassie, Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed, Red Dragon, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Bonanza, Independence Day, The X-Files.
Contemporary productions include: CSI, My Name is Earl, Entourage, Boston Legal, Bones, Sons of Anarchy, Ghost Whisperer, American Idol and so many more.
Backlot Sets
- Western Town – built for Roots in 1978, removed in 2008
- Business District – opened in 2011. Used for WandaVision (2020) and WestWorld (HBO) series finale. Built on the location of the Western Town.
- New York Street sets – adjacent to the Business District. Includes a movie theatre facade.
- Residential Street – 500m west of the Business District
- Pee Wees Farmhouse & Barn [link]
TV Shows
Dukes of Hazzard [the farm and Boars Nest were permanent sets here for many years]
More Information
Official website: https://goldenoakranch.com/
