You've spotted a TV trend that AdWeek magazine called a "rite of passage" for sitcoms. And it's not just restricted to the '90s -- AdWeek's quote was in reference to the modern sitcom "Black-ish" going to Disney World in 2016.

There are a couple of things all of these shows have had in common: they're all family shows, and they all air on ABC.

And ABC, of course, is owned by Disney.

This trend seems to have begun with "Blossom" in 1993. That show aired on NBC, but it was produced by Disney-owned Touchstone Television.

But it's not just about corporate synergy. As AVclub.com writer Myles McNutt pointed out in his history of "the Disney episode," Disney didn't yet own ABC when "Full House" went to Disney World in 1993. Instead, he pointed out, the episode was just a "mutually beneficial arrangement" between a park trying to promote itself to families and a family show trying to borrow some of Mickey Mouse's wholesome cachet for itself. 

It is, however, undeniable that the vast majority of shows that have done a Disney episode have been owned by Disney.

That's not to say that the shows' writers were just following orders by sending their characters to Orlando, though. They got something out of it, too -- at the very least a change of scenery, and to some pretty great scenery.

"For the most part, we don't remember Disney episodes because they were particularly good," McNutt said. "We remember them because, in shows with long runs and lots of episodes that tell variations on the same story, they have an undeniable novelty."

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