The Economics of Disneyland

      Disneyland is self-proclaimed to be the happiest place on earth.  It is estimated that 18 million people visit the park per year, which means that Disneyland itself is making a LOT of money.  I think the genius part of the Disneyland revenue model is that it tricks you into spending a lot of money, but not in a way where you immediately regret it because none of the things that you're buying seem unreasonable or impulse buys.
      Park tickets can cost between 110 and 124 dollars for a single-person day pass to either park.  However, you really feel like you are getting a lot of bang for your buck.  There is an infinite amount of things to do at the parks, and each person is sure to find something that they really enjoy.  There are themed restaurants, rides, and experiences, like the ferry boat or meeting a Disney princess.  While being so happy after riding the Cars ride or meeting Minnie Mouse, you naturally feel okay with buying 40 to 50 dollar Mickey ears to commemorate your time.  Not to mention it's easy to do this because they're sold at basically every vendor in the parks. 
     Basically, if you want to buy something Disney themed at Disneyland, you can.  There are Disney themed EVERYTHING's for sale.  And even though you consciously realize how expensive things are, you don't care as much because they're filled with an element of cuteness or nostalgia or the "if we're going to Disneyland, we HAVE to get one of these" factor, from everything from Mickey pretzels to a literal diamond ring.  There is a Pandora jewelry store on the park grounds.
     Overall, I feel like whenever I go to Disneyland I'm constantly being tricked into buying things, but I don't feel nearly as bad about it because at least this impulse buy is in the form of a baby groot stuffed animal.