Disneyland, an amusement park in Anaheim, California, features characters, rides, and shows based on the creations of Walt Disney and the Disney Company. The park's central building, the Sleeping Beauty Castle, is modeled on Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, yet it stands as an unmistakable icon of American popular culture.
Disneyland, located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, is the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under Walt Disney's direct supervision, debuting on July 17, 1955. Initially planned as a tourist attraction next to Disney's Burbank studios, the project outgrew the site, leading Disney to purchase a 160-acre plot near Anaheim in 1953. With a creative team from WED Enterprises, the precursor to Walt Disney Imagineering, Disneyland was constructed in 1954 and opened during a special ABC Television Network broadcast. The park has expanded significantly since, adding New Orleans Square, Bear Country, Mickey's Toontown, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and opening Disney California Adventure Park in 2001. As of December 2021, Disneyland holds the record for the highest cumulative attendance of any theme park globally, with 757 million visits, and in 2022, it was the world's second most visited amusement park with 16.9 million visits. The Disneyland Resort supports approximately 65,700 jobs, including 20,000 Disney employees. In 2019, Disney initiated "Project Stardust," a major renovation to accommodate increased attendance.