The Disney theme park empire officially started in California. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955. It was the only theme park designed and built to completion under the direct supervision of Walt Disney himself. The "Florida Project," which eventually became Walt Disney World, did not open until October 1, 1971, nearly five years after Walt Disney's death. Walt sought out the Florida location in the mid-1960s because he wanted a much larger tract of land to avoid the "urban sprawl" that had surrounded Disneyland in California, allowing him to control the entire guest environment. While the Walt Disney Company was founded in Los Angeles in 1923, the physical birth of the "Disney Park" concept is firmly rooted in Southern California. Today, in 2026, both locations are massive global hubs, but California remains the historical "Original" where the concept of the modern themed environment was first brought to life.