Disney dollar
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| Disney dollar | |
| User(s) | Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Castaway Cay, Disney Stores |
|---|---|
| Pegged by | US Dollar |
| Symbol | $ or Disney $ |
| Nickname | Disney Money, Mickey Dollars |
| Banknotes | |
| Freq. used | 1, 5, 10 |
| Rarely used | 50 |
| Central bank | Walt Disney Company |
| Website | www.disney.com |
| Printer | Walt Disney Company |
Disney dollars are a form of corporate scrip or tokens sold by Walt Disney and accepted at the company's theme parks, the Disney cruise ships, The Disney Store and at certain parts of Castaway Cay, the Disney cruise-line's private island. Disney Dollars are somewhat similar in size, shape, and design to the currency of the United States. Most of them bear the image of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto or a drawing of one of the landmarks of Disneyland or Walt Disney World Resort. Two small monochrome reproductions of Tinkerbell float to the sides. There is sometimes the signature of the Treasurer, Scrooge McDuck.
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[edit] History of the Currency
On May 5, 1987 Disney Dollars were released to the public.[1] The bills came in one and five dollar denominations from 1987 to 1989 and in 1990 they added the ten dollar bill to the list. The bills are redeemable for goods or services at the Disney theme parks, the Disney cruise ships, Disney's Castaway Cay port of call and the Disney stores, unless indications to the contrary are printed on the individual bills. Also, they can simply be exchanged back to U.S. currency.[citation needed] They were first issued in 1987 and are collected by Disney memorabilia fans. Special editions are sometimes sold to Disney Cast Members as a form of incentive.
In 2005 only, Disneyland (A) and Walt Disney World (D) released a $50 bill that were designed by Disney artist Charles Boyer (Mr. Boyer personally signed a select amount of these bills) for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration.[2]
[edit] Parity with the US Dollar
Disney dollars are exchanged on a one for one basis with US currency - one Disney dollar for each U.S. dollar tendered. Disney dollars can be 'purchased' using non-currency methods such as credit and debit cards. The Disney dollar program is a source of revenue for the Walt Disney Company. The company assumes that a certain number of Disney dollars will never be redeemed. The assumption is that a substantial percentage of the Disney dollars will be thrown away, kept as souvenirs or forgotten.[citation needed]
[edit] Series
Disney dollars come in A dollars and D dollars. The former created for Disneyland in Anaheim, California (hence the A), and the latter D for Walt Disney World in Florida. Since 2005 they also have T dollars (for The Disney stores).
[edit] Printing History
New Disney dollars have been produced every year since 1987 except 1992, 2004 and 2006.
[edit] Recent News
Because of the recent negative performance of the US Dollar, to which the Disney Dollar is pegged, reports have surfaced that the Walt Disney Company will soon be printing currency that would be pegged to the Euro and called Disney Euros[citation needed], to be used at the Disneyland Paris Resort and Disney Stores that are within the European Economic Community. The same reports do not disclose if the company will print Disney Yens and Disney Hong Kong Dollars, to be used at parks and stores in Japan and Hong Kong, respectively.
[edit] Security Features
Disney Dollars are created with anti-counterfeiting features[3] such as microprinting, and hard to scan/copy reflective ink and imprinting on the front and back of the bill. In addition the bills are printed with serial numbers and letters which are unique to each bill.[4]
[edit] Parodies
The concept behind the Disney dollar was mocked on The Simpsons episode "Itchy & Scratchy Land". At the episode's titular park, Homer converts $1,100 to "Itchy & Scratchy Money", advertised by the ticket-taker as similar to regular money, but "fun". When the family heads to the merchants within the park, they discover that none of them take Itchy & Scratchy Money.
