merchandise

Adding popular intellectual property such as “The Princess and the Frog” to a ride fits with Disney’s virtuous cycle strategy of using its film and TV characters to drive attendance to the parks, merchandise sales and vice versa, said Gavin Doyle, founder of MickeyVisit.com, an independent trip-planning website focused on Disney and Universal theme parks.

The company’s so-called experiences division, which consists of its theme parks, cruise line, luxury travel experiences and merchandise, contributed nearly 60% of Disney’s operating income this fiscal year.

Disney’s so-called experiences business, which includes the theme parks and merchandise, saw more muted growth in the fourth quarter due to inflation, cruise line expansion costs and softer results at international parks.

That message soon became a meme and became emblazoned on merchandise.

The merchandise was to coincide with the highly anticipated Universal film.