Marketing Muscle

Walt Disney Co.'s spending on Disneyland's 50th anniversary is believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and even included a float in the Rose Parade.

The event has been trumpeted in the Burbank-based company's first global ad campaign, which featured Disney characters returning

Disney also teamed with Alaska Airlines to add a Tinkerbelle-themed design on one plane. The Disney Cruise Line sold out its inaugural 12 West Coast cruises within days of announcing the Disney Magic ship would come West for the first time.

At Disneyland Resort, fans everywhere were asked to submit their favorite photo from a trip to Disneyland that would be turned into mosaics called "Faces of Disney."

Disneyland Resort President Matt Ouimet said it started as a marketing idea to let fans share their memories.

"We got hundreds of thousands of submissions," he said.

"It was beyond our expectations."

The murals-50 in all-are placed throughout the resort. The one at It's a Small World is made up of people from Anaheim.

Meanwhile, Walt Disney Travel, which books Disney vacation packages, has seen record-breaking call volume, according to Bob Deuel, manager of travel industry publicity for Disney. In July, the travel agency fielded its highest call volume of all time, he said.

"Now we have to work to sustain the momentum," Deuel said.

-Sandi Cain