Disneyland has always been 90%+ branded from its inception.
That's historically untrue. From Disneyland's opening day through its first 30 years, non-branded attractions were 'way more than 50% of all attractions. (Seriously. Count 'em.) Branded attractions were largely confined to Fantasyland. And even then they stood as their own entities, adapted from Disney movies to the new entertainment form of Disneyland -- not paint-by-number promotions of whatever was currently hot at the box office.
Walt-era Disneyland certainly used brand synergy, but not at the expense of the main show, which was Disneyland itself. Examples abound, from the inclusion of an Alice in Wonderland ride (even though the movie didn't do well) and exclusion of a Cinderella ride (even though the movie was a huge hit), to a Frontierland with very little presence of Davy Crockett (a mega-hit at the time). And
all of the most famous, iconic attractions of that era were non-IP (Mark Twain, Jungle Cruise, Rocket to the Moon, Monorail, Submarines, Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Space Mountain, the list goes on).
It wasn't until the advent of Eisner and his "Disneyland is all about turning movies into rides" business model that the IP saturation bombing began. His successors continue it to this day, with the jamming of Star Wars Land like an oversize suppository into Disneyland's west side.
