Walt Disney did something remarkable during the 1950s, he began to capitalize almost every market in Hollywood. He had film (animation and live-action), television and the family vacation. With all these industries worked to together to keep people and audiences coming back; eventually making him one of the most successful and influential men in Hollywood.

Durng the 1950s Disney Studios returned to feature-length 'story' animations its production of the charming, fairy-tale “Cinderella” (1950), one of their best examples of the genre. It also was the most successful film for the studio since the initial success of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The rags-to-riches story told of evil and jealous sibling step-sisters, a Fairy Godmother, a glass slipper, a cat named Lucifer, and a pumpkin that turned into a riding carriage. The next year, Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" (1951) was a nightmarish interpretation of Lewis Carroll's storybook. Another popular animated feature, "Peter Pan" (1953), was based on Sir J. M. Barrie's fantasy book, with trademark pixie fairie Tinkerbell (legendarily based on Marilyn Monroe's figure) and villainous Captain Hook. This film drew upon the immergance of the teen culture and the difficulties with growing up. In 1954, Disney began to distribute its films through its own new company, Buena Vista Film Distributing, thus controlling profits and allowing him to begin to corner the market. The Lady and the Tramp (1955) was the studio's first animated feature in CinemaScope, and featured a spaniel and mongrel who romantically shared a spaghetti strand in an alleyway. To conclude the decade, Disney released another animated feature "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), with music by Tchaikovsky. This theme of using music to enhance audience experience would be duplicated a lot in the 1950s because music was becoming increasingly linked to the film industry and television.

Disney decided to start a series of all-live action feature films during the 1950s that could also be played on television year after year. First, Disney released “Treasure Island” in 1950, an adventure tale of gold and pirates based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel. The live-action, family film hit, "Old Yeller" (1957) was a popular, sentimental boy-and-dog tale with Tommy Kirk. There were many other live action films created by Disney that were then shown during his television spot on ABC, thus Disney had adapted to television synonymously.

Overall, Disney’s biggest achievement during the 1950s was opening Disneyland in 1955; a theme park where families could go to vacation and spend time together. They could even spend time with Walt Disney himself! They could meet their favorite Disney characters in-person and ride on attractions that were reminiscent of the films they loved to watch, making it seem like they were in a Disney movie. In addition, Disney began to create merchandise and a brand, which has made the company billions over the years. Disney’s deal with ABC allowed him to have a weekly television spot where he would essentially advertise Disneyland and take people on a “personal” tour of the theme park, showing them the latest attractions and guiding them through their viewing experience throughout the evening. It had never been done before, and has never been done to the same extent or with the same fineness since.