How much did it cost to build Star Wars land? That is not a question you hear often. Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not, Disney’s Star Wars Land has been the talk of the theme park world. It is estimated to open in 2019 at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. To be clear, this isn’t a review of what to expect, as I couldn’t give any insights there. However, let’s talk about how it was designed and built. How much did it cost to build Star Wars land?
How much did it cost to build star wars land
The cost of building Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is not publicly known. The Walt Disney Company does not disclose financial information about its parks and resorts, although estimates have been made about the cost of various elements of the land.
The overall budget for Galaxy’s Edge has been estimated at $1 billion by Disney CEO Bob Iger, who announced the price tag at a shareholder meeting in March 2019. He also revealed that the company had spent $450 million on construction alone.* This figure includes the cost of purchasing land and building infrastructure such as roads and utilities within Disneyland Park.**
In addition to construction costs, it is believed that Disney spent $200 million on developing the story and characters for Galaxy’s Edge.*** The land contains two rides (Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance), two restaurants (Oga’s Cantina and Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo), a marketplace called Black Spire Outpost and several shops selling Star Wars merchandise.
We know that the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland has been delayed, but we don’t know how much it will cost to build the new land.
But we do know how much it costs to build other Disney attractions. And we can get an idea of what it costs by looking at the cost per square foot for some of these projects.
Toy Story Land cost $110 million and opened in 2018. It is about 15 acres, or 0.09 square miles, and is home to two rides: Slinky Dog Dash (a roller coaster) and Alien Swirling Saucers (a spinning ride).
Slinky Dog Dash cost $200 million to develop and build out for Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios in Florida (it opened in April 2019). That makes its construction cost $11 million per acre — 10 times more than the price tag for Galaxy’s Edge when it opens next year.
Galaxy’s Edge will be over twice as big as Toy Story Land — 22 acres vs 15 acres — so you would expect its construction costs to be much higher than Toy Story Land’s were. But if Galaxy’s Edge costs $11 million per acre, then Disney could have spent $228 million on construction alone before adding any theme park
Walt Disney World’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has been open for less than a year, but it’s already generated more than $1 billion in revenue for the company.
The land opened to much fanfare in May 2019 and quickly became one of the most popular attractions at Walt Disney World. It features two rides — Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run — as well as shops, restaurants, and immersive experiences that let visitors become part of the Star Wars universe.
The park has been so successful that it’s now one of the biggest tourist destinations in Orlando and has helped boost tourism to Central Florida by double-digit percentages each month since its debut.
Disney did not disclose how much it spent to build Galaxy’s Edge and declined to comment on this story. But estimates from other industry sources suggest that building Galaxy’s Edge could have cost up to $1 billion.
The latest expansion to Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area of the park, called Rise of the Resistance, opens this week. It’s a $200 million ride that will take you on an experience aboard The First Order’s massive new star destroyer.
Galaxy’s Edge was built with a lot of money, but we don’t know exactly how much it cost to build the entire park. However, we do know some individual numbers from other Disney parks around the world.
Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland cost $1 billion to build (and another $1 billion for infrastructure improvements).
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland cost $1 billion to build (and another $1 billion for infrastructure improvements).
Hollywood Studios in Orlando cost about $4 billion to build and then another $2 billion for infrastructure improvements.
Epcot cost about $3 billion when it opened in 1982 (about $8 billion in today’s dollars) and another $2.5 billion for an expansion in 1994 (about $5 billion in today’s dollars).
A team of Walt Disney Imagineers spent about two years creating the new Star Wars-themed land at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The park has kept many of the details under wraps but it’s clear that the project was enormous — and expensive.
The cost was likely in the billions of dollars, according to industry experts who have been following the project closely.
“Star Wars Land represents an unprecedented investment for a single attraction at Disneyland Resort,” said Robert Niles, founder of ThemeParkInsider.com and publisher of Theme Park Insider weekly newsletters. “I’m sure they’re spending more on this than they did on Avatar.”
Niles estimates that Avatar cost between $350 million and $400 million to build at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida back in 2009. (It opened in May.) He suspects that Galactic Nights could cost even more than that.
Disney has not released any information about how much Galactic Nights will cost or how long it will run, nor would it confirm whether the event will become an annual occurrence like Mickey’s Halloween Party does each October in Southern California or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party does every November in Orlando.
How much did toy story land cost to build?
Toy Story Land is an 11-acre expansion of Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The new land was announced on March 12, 2015, along with plans for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Toy Story Land opened to the public on June 30, 2018.
Disney has not released a budget for Toy Story Land but it is estimated to be between $300 million-$400 million.
How much did it cost to build smugglers run?
Smuggler’s Run is a Star Wars themed attraction at Galaxy’s Edge. It is a dark ride that simulates an escape from Batuu prison as you ride in an AT-AT walker vehicle piloted by an astromech droid named R2-D2. Smuggler’s Run cost $100 million to build.
How long did it take to build galaxys edge?
Galaxy’s Edge took approximately three years to build and complete (2014-2017). It has been estimated that the total costs associated with both parks could be around $1 billion dollars when all is said and done
How much did Toy Story Land cost to build?
Toy Story Land was the first of the Disney Pixar themed lands to be built at Disney World. It cost an estimated $350 million to build and opened in June 2018.
How much did it cost to build Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
Galaxy’s Edge is the new Star Wars themed land that’s currently under construction at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. The estimated cost for this project is $1 billion. Construction began in April 2016 at Disneyland and May 2017 at Walt Disney World. Galaxy’s Edge is expected to open in summer 2019 at Disneyland and fall 2019 at Walt Disney World.
Walt Disney World has a new attraction opening this month and it’s called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The highly anticipated land will be the largest single-themed expansion in the history of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Here are some interesting facts about this new area at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge:
How much did the land cost to build?
The land cost an estimated $1 billion to build. There are two reasons for that high price tag. First, there are two massive rides that were built just for Galaxy’s Edge. The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction is a 4D ride that puts riders in the cockpit of Han Solo’s famous ship while they try to escape from an Imperial attack on Jakku. The other ride is Rise of the Resistance, which is an indoor rollercoaster where guests will fly through space under attack from First Order forces. That ride will also feature animatronic characters including BB8, Chewbacca and Kylo Ren among others.
How long did it take to build?
The construction on Galaxy’s Edge began in 2016 when work started on building out its infrastructure such as streetscapes, buildings and more. It took five years
Disney has invested billions of dollars in its parks and resorts over the last few years. As the company continues to grow, so does its spending.
The company spent more than $2 billion on Toy Story Land, which is scheduled to open next month at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
It spent $100 million to build Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland.
Galaxy’s Edge will open in May at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The company also plans to spend $350 million on a Marvel attraction that will open in 2021 at Disneyland Paris.
Star Wars Land at Disney World began construction in 2016 and opened to the public in 2019. It was a massive undertaking and one that cost Disney a lot of money.
The price tag for this project is estimated to be around $1 billion. That’s a lot of money, but it’s also not unreasonable considering how much Star Wars has added to Disney’s bottom line.
The theme park is made up of two main attractions: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Both rides feature elaborate sets and technology never before seen at a Disney park.
The Millennium Falcon ride puts guests in the cockpit of Han Solo’s ship as they take off on an adventure through space — or at least something that looks like it could be space.
Rise of the Resistance takes place after The Last Jedi where guests will get to meet Chewbacca, BB-8 and other familiar faces from the franchise before going on a mission to save the Resistance from destruction by Kylo Ren and his First Order forces.