03/02/2014
Disneyland Park, originally Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. It was originally the only attraction on the property, though it was slightly renamed to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s.
Disneyland has a larger cumulative attendance than any other theme park in the world, with over 650 million guests since it opened. In 2011, the park hosted approximately 16.14 million guests, making it the second most visited park in the world that calendar year. According to a March 2005 report from the Disney Company, there are 65,700 jobs supported by the Disneyland Resort.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a business division of the Walt Disney Company, conceives, builds, manages and operates Disney theme parks all over the world. Currently, there are five different Disney theme parks in operation. Asia and North America each host two Disney theme parks, while Europe hosts the Disneyland Paris resort. In 2009, the Chinese government and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts reached agreement to build a sixth Disney theme park in Shanghai.
