There are many different ways that one can interpret diversification when it comes to companies. The diversification of a company can be judged based off of how they have expanded their different expertise and projects, or it can be based off of the amount of different brands of entertainment or productions that a company has under its belt. The second possible definition can relate to convergence, the merging of another company into the primary one or of two different ideas into one. However, instead of focusing their efforts on one particular meaning of diversification, Disney is very well rounded in both of these definitions, as they have extended their reach through various different outlets, as well as having expanded the properties that they own and produce through convergence.
For starters, Disney has reached out far beyond the production of animated cartoons and feature-films. One of their most expansive developments was of their various theme parks across the world. The first of these was Disneyland, which first opened its gates in 1955 to the popular appeal of many. This was a primary focus of Walt Disney during the time leading up to its release, arguably to the detriment of Disney's films that were being released at the time, as the response to films such as Cinderella (1950) and Peter Pan (1953) were more lukewarm than the company's previously released films. Regardless, the park succeeded and allowed for the creation of more, both inside the country of the United States of America and outside of it. Subsequent theme parks were opened up in Orlando, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, Tokyo, Japan, Paris, France, and Hong Kong, China. The EPCOT Center was also later added to the resort in Orlando, further diversifying Disney's theme park operations. These theme parks help to promote Disney's IPs and popular franchises and characters, as well as provide fun adventures for children and their parents that help rake them in some more revenue then they would if they only stuck to making films.
Outside of theme parks, Disney has also dipped their feet into other areas for further diversification. Disney has entered the musical genre of productions, as plays for both Beauty and the Beast (1994) and The Lion King (1997) have been performed to the popular appeal of audiences. Disney's investment in musical performances did not stop their, as they purchased the New Amsterdam Broadway Theatre in 1997, where Disney still uses it for their continued stage performances. The Disney Channel is another way that Disney expanded their horizons, as this paid network that launched in 1983 allowed for kids to watch cartoons and other shows on the television. The purchases of both ABC and ESPN allowed Disney access to distribute news, further diversifying what they controlled. Disney's introduction to streaming, Disney+, is another way that Disney diversified their resume, but that was already covered extensively under distribution practices.
Disney has also diversified the brands and properties that they own through convergence, the process of merger other companies into The Walt Disney Company. An iconic merger came from Disney's purchase of Pixar Animation Studios, a studio Disney had already co-create popular animated films with, such as Toy Story (1995). The transaction happened in 2006 for around $7.4 billion, allowing Disney the chance to produce even more animated films than before, a lot of which being based on unique concepts, such as Ratatouille (2007), a movie about a rat learning how to cook, and Inside Out (2015), a film that explores how emotions can control and drive people, though in a more literal sense. Pixar's long running partnership even before the merger can often lead people to believe that the two companies animated films always came from one, which shows how well associated Pixar is with Disney.
However, convergence happens in a much larger scale when going beyond just animation. Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion. While Marvel was primarily a company that makes comic books, Marvel Studios, a subsection of Marvel, had released Iron Man (2008) to the surprise success of many, and also set up the launch for a bigger inter-connected universe that spanned several film franchises, something that had never been previously done in the film industry. This purchase allowed Disney to enter into the superhero market, increasing both the different brands and genres it had up its sleeve, and the success of the company, as Avengers Endgame (2019) has become the most profitable movie in the world, as of 2020.
Disney also absorbed Lucasfilm Ltd. into their bigger company in 2012 for around $4 billion, granting them access to the popular Star Wars franchise, bringing in a science-fiction genre to Disney that they were kind of lacking in. Because of how popular Star Wars was, the creation of new Star Wars films led to many more profits for Disney.
Perhaps one of the largest acquisitions that Disney has underwent in recent times was the purchase of 21st. Century Fox for around $71 billion, which finalized in 2019 and brought in a myriad of new content and audiences for Disney. They now had access to popular films and television series, such as Avatar (2009) and The Simpsons (1989-). A lot of this content was more mature, such as the adult humor of The Simpsons, which further expanded Disney's market. This also provided Disney with enough content to go through with the creation of Disney+, which is yet another way that Disney diversified through convergence.