What Is the Disney Flywheel, and Who Invented It?
Whenever Disney theme park expansion becomes a topic, an executive inevitably mentions one odd term.
Whether current CEO Bob Iger or former CEO Bob Chapek was talking, each has shown a tendency to say that word.


NBC News
Few people outside Disney understand it, making management’s obsession with the term more confusing.
So, what is the Disney flywheel, and who invented it?
Who Invented the Disney Flywheel


Image: Disney
Here, take a look at this picture. It’s quite possibly the most famous drawing that few outside the company recognize.
Studying the convoluted map for just a moment will quickly reveal how outdated some aspects are.
This image references comic strips, a dying art in a post-newspaper world.


Photo: Marvel
You’ll also notice a reference to comic books, which makes sense given that Disney owns Marvel.
However, the comic books mentioned on this map have nothing to do with Marvel, which didn’t even exist yet.


Disneyland
Similarly, this business map only references Disneyland, not Walt Disney World or the international Disney theme parks.
So, if you haven’t guessed by now, this drawing of Disney’s entire business model dates back to the 1950s.


Sleeping Beauty Castle
You should also have a good idea of who designed this strategy. It was the Disney brothers, Walt and Roy, along with their staff.
Folks, the Disney flywheel is far from some recent business school idea popular on Wall Street right now.


Photo: History.com
No, this isn’t “headwinds” or “synergy” or “AI” or any of those other useless buzzwords. It’s a very real strategy.
Hilariously, this map reveals how Walt Disney understood synergy long before it became a word used by posers trying to sound smart.


Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Uncle Walt built an entire business around the idea of one popular story monetizing itself repeatedly throughout a well-diversified company.
So, that’s why you’ll never hear me speak of headwinds or other business jargon drivel, but I WILL say flywheel.


Photo: Disney
When I do that, I’m paying respect to Walt and Roy Disney, who created a business that has stood the test of time for a century.
Even more remarkably, many of those ideas drive Disney’s C-suite today!
What Is the Disney Flywheel?


Walt Disney in 1932
I suspect that if you study that drawing long enough, you’ll deduce the basics of the Disney flywheel.
The idea centers on Disney telling a story via its film studio and/or television divisions.
Then, the popularity of those stories leads to Disney mining the emerging brands across its media empire.
If this were a business class, I’d describe the process using terms like scaling and frameworks, but it’s really much easier than that.


Walt Disney Company
Disney’s flywheel represents an infinite loop of branding. In short, a good idea can be monetized repeatedly, as the flywheel never stops spinning.
Disney storytellers create unforgettable characters whom you can identify by their names.


Photo: Disney
We have Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Anna & Elsa, Simba & Scar, Woody & Buzz, and Beauty & Beast.
Each character comes from a single story, yet Disney utilizes new and emerging ideas to monetize the characters anew.


Credit: Disney
For example, Mickey Mouse recently became public domain, yet EPCOT’s CommuniCore Hall & Plaza will feature a special character spot just for our hero.
Similarly, Frozen came out in theaters in 2013, but we’ve just started witnessing the implementation of Arendelle-themed lands worldwide.


Photo: Disney
When Disney purchased Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar, it did so with the goal of adding those brands to its vaunted flywheel.
The system was already in place. Disney added the new intellectual properties (IPs) to maximize the profit, something it has done.


Photo: Lucasfilm
With the flywheel, Disney can turn any Star Wars character into a Disney+ series, an RSVLTS® T-shirt, and a set of paper plates.
I realize some of that sounds ridiculous, but there’s money in each of Disney’s endeavors.


Photo: Washington Post
Those paper plates are so inexpensive to make that they border on pure profit.
But What is the Disney Flywheel?


Photo: Playbuzz.com
According to Disney lore, the illustration at the top of this article represents a cleaned-up version of a napkin doodle.
Walt Disney himself drew this picture in 1957 to explain his business vision to associates who struggled with the concept.


Photo: Wikipedia
In their defense, the idea of such corporate synergy bordered on unprecedented at the time, especially for a media company.
I hate to keep using the term I mocked earlier, but Disney workers call this drawing the Disney Synergy Map.


The Walt Disney Company
There’s legitimately a Harvard business class taught on this subject, as it is the foundation of “corporate theory.”
According to the professor teaching this class, the Synergy Map portrays “a dense web of synergistic connections, primarily between the core and other assets.


The Walt Disney Company
Thus, as precisely labeled, comic strips promote films; films “feed material to” comic strips.
The theme park, Disneyland, plugs movies, and movies plug the park.


Photo: The New York Post
TV publicizes products of the music division, and the film division feeds “tunes and talent” to the music division.”
Obviously, that’s an outdated description in that Disney has evolved so much over the years.


The Walt Disney Company
Disney’s flywheel focuses on a few specific businesses in the modern era. Those include:
- Direct-to-Consumer Streaming
- Licensing
- Linear Networks
- Live Sports
- Merchandising
- Movies
- Music
- Theme Parks


Photo: EPIC Games
Disney is also making in-roads into video games, but those earnings still fall into the licensing bucket.
Still, you should be able to tell from this information how many different ways Disney can monetize a single story.
The Essential Components of the Disney Flywheel
The Disney flywheel emphasizes four core tenets for success. They are:
- Quality
- Reinvestment
- Scale
- Synergy
Since its inception, Disney has exemplified the quality aspect of this discussion.
Disney theme parks are the gold standard, far and away superior to all other competitors in the industry.
Similarly, when someone purchases a Disney product, they know it’s of the highest quality.
While some criticize Disney’s quality, consumers vote with their wallets, and the Disney Store remains popular for a reason.


Walt Disney World Tee
Reinvestment is a business model best demonstrated by the examples I listed earlier.
Smart companies use some of their revenue to buy brands and businesses, ensuring they will continue to grow.


Bob Iger – 2024 Annual Shareholder Meeting
Iger’s Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars purchases demonstrate some of the smartest business acquisitions ever.
Along these lines, Disney purchased Fox five years ago to swallow a former competitor and maximize its assets.


Photo: D23
The growth of Avatar as a brand reflects this decision, as do several Fox animated series, such as Family Guy, Futurama, and The Simpsons.
Scale simply means reaching new customers by entering new markets.


Shanghai Disney
A good example is Disney adding theme parks in Europe and Asia, all of which have proven popular.
Disney’s attempts at making in-roads in India haven’t gone well thus far, but that’s another example of attempted scaling.


(Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)
Without the ability to find new customers, a business stops growing.
When Disney executives mention that there is eight times the demand for theme parks than the supply allows, that demonstrates where scaling needs to occur.
Fine, Let’s Talk about Synergy


Photo: Disney
Finally, we have synergy, that word I’ve tried to avoid. It’s also the most vital aspect of the Disney flywheel.
Synergy reflects how various Disney entities build off one another’s successes.


Photo: Disney
Over the past decade, Frozen is absolutely the best example of this concept.
The movie soars in popularity, which benefits Disney’s films division and also helps with streaming and Linear Networks.


Photo: Also Disney
Frozen and Frozen II have proven wildly popular on Disney+, and they perform well when they air on the Disney Channel, Freeform, and ABC.
In fact, ABC has aired a Frozen short, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, in 2017.


Photo: Disney
Then, we have all the revenue earned by Let It Go and the two Frozen soundtracks.
Also, I don’t need to tell you how well Anna & Elsa costumes have sold over the years.


Photo: Disney
Frozen merchandising revenue is comically strong, already making it one of Disney’s most successful brands.
Moana has shown the same signs, best demonstrated by its being the most-streamed film of 2023.


Photo: Dwayne Johnson on Instagram
Thanks to the benefits of synergy, Moana has sold plenty of soundtracks and merchandise.
Recently, Disney added a modest Moana presence at one theme park, and there are persistent rumors of more coming soon.


Photo: Also Disney
Also, Moana 2 will debut in theaters in November, with a Moana live-action remake coming in 2026.
All these examples of synergy underscore how much Disney can benefit from a single great story.


Photo: Disney
That’s the Disney flywheel in action, my friends! It still works the same way today as Walt Disney envisioned in 1957!
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