Disney has reaped hundreds of millions of dollars of benefit out of Pixar, but theme parks were the one area the Mouse House had yet to fully exploit.

But the Pixar-ization of Disney's parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong is under way, with the Mouse set to spend hundreds of millions to turn the company's characters into new rides, shows and other attractions.

It's about time.

One of Hollywood's most bankable partnerships, Disney distribbed Pixar's seven consecutive blockbusters, which earned on average $528 million worldwide, before buying the toon shop outright for $7.4 billion in 2006.

Despite the repeat successes at the multiplex, Pixar's properties haven't received the high-profile treatment at Disney's theme parks one might expect; even licensed merchandise is hard to find in the many retail outlets that dot the parks, except for the random Buzz Lightyear doll or "Finding Nemo" and "Cars" plush toys.

"Toy Story" and its sequel, and "Nemo" have proven the most park-friendly titles, with multiple attractions set up at various parks. ("The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille" have none yet.)

• This week, Toy Story Mania! opened at California Adventure in Anaheim, in which guests, wearing 3-D glasses, are whisked through various midway games where they shoot virtual projectiles to rack up points. The $80 million ride's already up and running at the Disney Hollywood Studios park in Orlando.

• Disneyland recently revamped its long-running submarine ride, giving it a "Finding Nemo" makeover. The undersea pic, Pixar's biggest hit to date, also has a musical performing daily inside a new permanent venue at Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. There are also Turtle Talk With Crush in Anaheim and Orlando, and the Seas With Nemo & Friends aquarium ride at Disney World's Epcot in 2006, in addition to Crush's Coaster that opened last summer in Paris.

• A "Toy Story" musical just bowed on the Disney Cruise Line.

• Disney World's Magic Kingdom raised the curtain on "Monsters, Inc." Laugh Floor comedy showcased last year, featuring the pic's Mike and Sulley.

• The California Adventure park, next to Disneyland in Anaheim, is getting a massive Pixar-themed overhaul, with hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to build a 12-acre "Cars Land" alone, set to open by 2012, which will consist of three separate attractions. Overall, Disney is pumping $1 billion to revamp the park, which has been struggling since opening in 2001.

Disney parks have been slowly adding Pixar-based attractions in the last decade.

The first was Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which opened in 1998 at Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and has since been added to other parks over the years.

It's Tough to Be a Bug! bowed with the opening of Animal Kingdom, also in 1998, seven months before "A Bug's Life" even crawled into theaters. The "Monsters, Inc." Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! ride took off at California Adventure in 2006.

Pixar's involvement with the earlier rides had been limited, however, execs say. It didn't even create the animation for It's Tough to Be a Bug — Rhythm & Hues did.

After the buyout, Pixar's staffers became fully involved with the design of each new attraction. Most of the newer attractions have opened only in the past year or are just being constructed.

And Pixar's presence is expected to increase across the parks, as the company plans to release six new Pixar toons through 2012. These include a second installment of "Cars" and a third "Toy Story," as well as originals "Wall-E," "Up," "Newt" and "The Bear and the Bow."

The Mouse will release 3-D versions of the first two "Toy Story" pics next year.

"We love bringing their stories to life," says says Tom Fitzgerald, senior creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, the unit that creates Disney's theme park attractions. "They have wonderful characters, worlds, humor and great adventures you want to live."

While Imagineering says there's creative goodwill with Pixar, corporate-wise, the toon shop and the Mouse weren't always a happy family — which partly explains the relative dearth of Pixar fare at the parks.

Few attractions were created while Disney merely distribbed Pixar's pics. And none were going to be created during the 2004-2006 period when Pixar topper Steve Jobs was considering ankling to another studio.

After Michael Eisner left the studio, Robert Iger aggressively wooed Pixar, with eventual success.

Disney declined to comment on such discussions.

Both companies have since given the greenlight to numerous new attractions, which should enable Disney's nearly $11 billion-a-year parks and resorts biz to keep things humming along.

Disney stresses that Pixar isn't taking over Disney's parks.

"Disneyland was inspired by the types of shows that Walt was creating at the time," Fitzgerald says. "And today we get to draw on Walt Disney Studios and the Disney Channel and Pixar Animation Studios, and we create our own stories as well, like Soarin' and Expedition Everest. It's a blend in the parks of timeless stories and stories we invent."

Still, spending millions on new rides, and millions more to promote those attractions, can attract guests to a park.

With Pixar's pics already crowdpleasers at the B.O., it's likely that a related attraction will get moviegoers to buy a theme park ticket, as well.

At least that's what Disney hopes will happen.

The new attractions couldn't come at a better time, as Disney will be competing with Universal and other rivals for business during a recessionary period, with high gas prices that may force tourists to stay home.

Disney's theme parks generated a surprising 33% boost in profits in the first quarter despite the depressed economy.

The concepts for new attractions — which typically take three to four years to develop — are first created by Imagineering, then travel up the exec ranks before ultimately being given the greenlight by Walt Disney Co. prexy and CEO Bob Iger.

Says Fitzgerald: "We're always looking at what's next. What are we missing? What part of our audience are we trying to reach?"

To be fair, not every Disney toon has gotten the high-profile theme park treatment.

There's very little to be seen, if anything at all, for "The Emperor's New Groove" or "Hercules," not massive hits, but still well-performing pics.

But which attractions are built isn't based on box office, Imagineering execs say.

"We tend to watch the movies and ask, 'What elements of this film or story would translate best to our world?' Sometimes a story like a 'Toy Story' gives you a lot of different ideas. We don't do book reports of the story. We look for the moment that would be most fun to do in our world."