How Much Did Rise of the Resistance Cost To Build?

When Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened at both Disney World and Disneyland in 2019, the land’s marquee attraction — Rise of the Resistance — was not yet complete.

In fact, following the land’s announcement and during its 3+ years of construction, much of the speculation and attention was focused on the OTHER ride in Galaxy’s Edge — Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. Media and Disney fans following the building expected it to be the big, “e-ticket” Star Wars attraction.

Enter Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

The attraction opened on December 5th, 2019, in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and on January 17th, 2020, in Disneyland. It is one of the most complex theme park rides ever built and combines a trackless dark ride, walk-through attraction, motion simulator, and even a version of the Tower of Terror’s drop-ride system.

The 20-minute ride puts you into the middle of a battle between the first order of the resistance. The ride building is 165,000 square feet, according to Blooloop, and it reportedly required the largest concrete pour in the history of Disney Parks.

And all of the technology in the ride requires a whopping 5 million lines of code, the Orange County Register reported.

So, how much did it cost to build Rise of the Resistance?

Disney has not released the exact cost for the ride, but estimates have ranged from  $200 million to $450 million — and that’s for each version of the ride, not a total for both.

Permits filed during the construction of the ride in California put the cost at $78 million, according to Blooloop — but that would have been for the construction only, not for staff time, computer systems, nor the furnishings inside — which would have included ride vehicles, animatronics, and more. Audio-animatronics can cost $1 million or more each, and Rise of the Resistance has 65 audio-animatronics.

The upper estimate of $450 million comes from a former Disney employee who worked on the project, which was initially reported in the Wall Street Journal.

So, what is the real answer? We won’t know unless Disney releases this number, but the most likely estimate would be that Rise of the Resistance cost close to $450 million to build. 

Why would Disney spend so much on ONE ride?

Disney relies on new rides to drive repeat visitors to its parks. Having something “new” makes you want to return to see it and visit old favorites, right?

A former Disney Imagineer, Jim Shull, told the Wall Street Journal that Rise of the Resistance was an “intent to visit” attraction. Meaning its existence alone could motivate people to make a trip to a Disney Park.

Has one ride ever motivated you to make a repeat trip to a theme park? Tell us in the comments!

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