The amusement area and part of one of the food courts of the Mall of America. The Mall of America is the largest among some 50,000 shopping malls in the United States. In addition to a huge amusement park, it houses over 500 stores, 26 fast-food outlets, 37 specialty food stores, and 19 sit-down restaurants, and employs more than 11,000 year-round employees. In excess of 40 million people visit the mall annually, and more than half a billion have visited since it opened in 1992.