Building and Operating Costs
To construct a small waterpark in the United States, the cost will be roughly $500,000 to $1,000,000. The cost can increase to $50 million for bigger waterparks. For indoor parks, an approximate investment will be around $10 million to $20 million.
Generally, the larger the theme park budget, the lower the probability that the attraction will be project-level profitable. As per the latest report, the total revenue generated from amusement and theme parks is expected to be over $22 billion in 2019. Industry experts predict higher growth in the coming years.
Land and building costs may be the biggest expense, ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Ride and attraction costs range from $50,000 to $1 million per unit. Insurance is also essential to protect the park and patrons, which could cost between $2,000 to $20,000.
Outsourcing entertainment and staffing can reduce costs, but there can be reliability issues and extra strain on management. Hiring your own employees has higher ongoing salary expenses. Wages, free park entry for family, free parking, and merchandise discounts should be factored into the budget.
It takes approximately 2-3 years to build paths, stores and decorations for a park. Heavily themed roller coasters can take almost 3 years due to research, planning and construction. The key steps needed are:
- Finding a location
- Deciding the park type
- Hiring an architect and experienced managers
- Placing advertisements
- Hiring staff
Six Flags and Disneyland Examples
According to Six Flags management, it costs at least $300 million to build out a new park. That includes winning zoning approval from regulators and finding large enough pieces of land to situate a park. Six Flags estimates it takes at least 2 years to build the theme park once that’s all done.
How Much Does the General Admission Ticket Cost?
The cost of a general admission ticket to a Six Flags park varies depending on the park but generally ranges from $45 to $90.
Renting out a whole Six Flags park typically starts at around $1 million for a full day event. Half-day rentals may be possible for $500,000 to $750,000.
Goliath is a steel roller coaster located at the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park in Cobb County, Georgia. The ride cost $20 million to build.
Small waterparks can cost less than $1 million to build, but parks of this size are considered more as water playgrounds. Generally, waterparks cost between $10 million and $40 million to build. Indoor theme parks require $10 million to $30 million to build.
Six Flags owns more than 800 rides and 120 roller coasters, including Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest coaster.
In 1984, Six Flags acquired the rights to Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes animated characters for use in Six Flags properties.
How much does it cost to build Disneyland?
It cost $17 million to build Disneyland in 1955, which is equal to $163 million today. Hiring professionals is recommended for accurate cost estimates. Factors like location, size, infrastructure, and customization impact construction costs.
The original Disneyland sits on about 500 acres. Here’s a breakdown of the original costs for different lands:
| Land | Cost |
|---|---|
| Main Street | $3 million |
| Frontierland | $4.5 million |
| Adventureland | $2 million |
| Fantasyland | $2 million |
| Tomorrowland | $5.5 million |
In 2019, Disneyland Resort made about $3.8 billion. That’s around $10.4 million daily. Operating the park costs over $10 billion yearly. The electric bill is over $100 million.
The company bought 27,000 acres near Orlando for Walt Disney World. The $5.2 million purchase was the largest Florida land sale at the time.
Disneyland Paris had €1.75 billion in debt, which was about 15 times its earnings. Until 2017, Disney only partially owned it. From 2011-2021, it made €3.4 billion from five hotels and a 44,000 square meter complex.
The first Disneyland ticket in 1955 was $3.50. Accounting for inflation, building Disneyland today would be $267 million, excluding the land value. Including land, it would be $1 billion.