Walt Disney has acquired Tapulous, the Palo Alto maker of popular iPhone play-along games.

The acquisition, announced late Thursday, is part of the Burbank entertainment giant’s effort to develop games on popular mobile device platforms such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad.

The company has created several mobile games based on Disney themes, including “Alice in Wonderland Lite”, “Fairies Fly Lite” and “JellyCar 2,” which Disney said its most successful premium game.

Tapulous Inc. staff, including founders Bart Decrem and Andrew Lacy, will remain in Palo Alto. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“In a short time, Bart and Andrew have built Tapulous into a successful and accomplished mobile games developer that’s emerged as one of the most successful companies in the industry,” Steve Wadsworth, president of the Disney Interactive Media Group, said in a statement. “Mobile gaming is seeing unprecedented growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our position in the mobile business.”