On the Parks front, Disney parks are designed to isolate you from the outside world. Their buildings (ie, the castles, Tower of Terror, etc) are built to be exactly 1 foot below the height requirement for an airplane light, not that it's a huge issue because Disney World is a no-fly zone. To add to that, a lot of psychology has gone into the parks. Queues are designed to have a turn every 5-10 feet or so, making the wait time seem shorter. Trash cans are placed just about everywhere (themed to each area of the park, of course) so people won't be able to walk a certain distance without finding one, curbing littering. If you want gum, by the way, you'll have to bring your own--it isn't sold on property in an attempt to prevent people sticking gum everywhere.
Entering a Disney park immerses you in Disney. Everything is there to keep you thinking about Disney, talking about Disney, hearing about Disney, or watching something Disney-related. In a way, the Disney Channel mimics this by featuring only Disney-sponsored commercials (which gets INCREDIBLY annoying, but now I know what an appropriate serving of trail mix is thanks to Michelle Obama and Nick Jonas).
WITH ALL THAT SAID.
To tie this in with what we're talking about in class (I feel like I'm straying off-topic), when Disneyland opened in 1955, the popular story is that Walt had a deal with Pepsi to be the official soft drink sponsor at the park. Well, they ran out of soda (obviously a big deal at a theme park) and Walt asked them to come by and restock. Pepsi was like, "Dude, it's a weekend and we don't do that." So Walt severed ties and Coke saved the day. To this day, you can't get Pepsi on Disney property. That story has questionable veracity, but it's one of the more prevalent stories of behind-the-scenes Disney.
So today we have Coke, America's soft drink of choice, and Disney, the source of fond memories for a large deal of people, partnered in a wholesome, isolated environment. This creates a cycle (a bit like the culture of cool): Kids love Disney movies, go to Disney parks. Kids get thirsty at Disney park, end up with Coke. Kids tie Coke with Disney and perhaps tie Coke to memories of Disney parks or the emotions associated with the films. This pairing perhaps leads those kids to grow up buying Coke and continuing the cycle.
In short: I totally love Disney while acknowledging that Disney both creates and reinforces self-made norms, effectively brainwashing people to love Disney. But I can acknowledge it so I'm definitely unbiased, right? Totally.
(My opinions may will probably not change by this time next week after I interview with them for a post-grad internship.)
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