Disneyland Resort

The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks (Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure), three hotels, and a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex known as Downtown Disney.

The resort was developed by Walt Disney in the 1950s. When it opened to guests on July 17, 1955, the property consisted of Disneyland, its 100-acre (40 ha) parking lot (which had 15,167 spaces), and the Disneyland Hotel, owned and operated by Disney's business partner Jack Wrather. After succeeding with the multi-park, multi-hotel business model at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Disney acquired large parcels of land adjacent to Disneyland to apply the same business model in Anaheim.

During the expansion, the property was named the Disneyland Resort to encompass the entire complex, while the original theme park was named Disneyland Park. The company purchased the Disneyland Hotel from the Wrather Company and the Pan Pacific Hotel from its Japanese owners. The latter became Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. The property saw the addition of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, a second theme park, named Disney California Adventure, and the Downtown Disney shopping, dining, and entertainment area.

Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney (officially the Downtown Disney District) is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment area located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It was constructed during the late 1990s Disneyland Resort expansion which also included the construction of Disney California Adventure, and opened on January 12, 2001.

Location and history

Downtown Disney District lies between the Disneyland Resort's two theme parks and its hotels. The district was built on space previously occupied by the original Disneyland parking lot and Disneyland Hotel, and includes a bridge over Disneyland Drive (formerly West Street) which was regraded to accommodate the bridge. It is considerably smaller than its Walt Disney World counterpart. No admission ticket is required for Downtown Disney District.

California's Downtown Disney District was designed to attract local residents and to encourage extended stays in the resort district.

One side of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, and one side of the Disneyland Hotel's Adventure Tower face Downtown Disney, providing a view of the area.

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversifiedmultinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the world's second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue, after Comcast. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. The company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio, then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing, and online media.

In addition, Disney has since created corporate divisions in order to market more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, The Walt Disney Studios, which is today one of the largest and best-known studios in American cinema. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, music, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6, 1991. An early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, Mickey Mouse, is a primary symbol of The Walt Disney Company.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., also known informally as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts or Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's four major business segments and a subsidiary. Originally known as Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division then Walt Disney Attractions, it is responsible for the conception, building, and managing of the company's theme parks and vacation resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises. It was founded in 1971, after the opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, joining the original Disneyland in California, which opened in 1955. In 2014, the company's theme parks hosted approximately 134 million guests, making Disney Parks the world's most visited theme park company, ahead of the second-most visited rival Merlin Entertainments. It is by far the largest Disney business segment by employee headcount, with about 130,000 of Disney's total number of 180,000 employees as of 2015.

Disneyland

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; its name was changed to Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s.

Walt Disney came up with the concept of Disneyland after visiting various amusement parks with his daughters in the 1930s and 1940s. He initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small. After hiring a consultant to help him determine an appropriate site for his project, Disney bought a 160-acre (65 ha) site near Anaheim in 1953. Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled during a special televised press event on the ABC Television Network on July 17, 1955.