Business Lessons from Mickey Mouse

I recently returned from a few days at Disneyland. My wife and I agreed to be chaperones for Grad Nite. On Grad Nite, Disneyland is open until 2 a.m. with just high school graduates and their chaperones. (It sounded like a good idea at the time.) I’m sure this goes on at locations all around the country, but being from Southern California, Disneyland is the place to be.

We were able to get a Disneyland Resort Hotel group rate of $165, which amazingly is a great deal since the actual rate is $300 to $400 a night. How can Disney sell this decent, but hardly exceptional hotel room at these prices? It speaks to the power of the Disney brand and the location. Disneyland is “The Happiest Place on Earth,” isn’t it?

It also surprised me how much Disney can get for toys and its very popular mouse ears. I noticed that the "Made in China" headband with ears went for $22.95. It was amazing how many people were wearing these! When I would see a family with a couple of kids, or parents wearing the mouse ears, I realized that was $50 in mouse ears! People connect with Mickey Mouse and want to do business with him.

Since I’m always looking for business stories in real life, there is much that can be related from our business world to the Disney experience. Here are a few thoughts with my take on how this relates to our industry.

People: Disneyland is crowded! There are all types of people at Disneyland from folks who are friendly, to those who are just inconsiderate. They aren’t aware of what’s happening around them and think nothing of the consequences of their actions. You can get mowed over if you aren’t watching what’s going on.