Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge Lands Created 15,500 Jobs
I love a good Forbes story. Add “Star Wars” to the mix and we’re really talking.
Earlier this week, Christian Sylt of Forbes.com, wrote:
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks)
Disney Feels The Force As New Star Wars Lands Create 15,500 Jobs
Disney has revealed that the new Star Wars lands at its theme parks in California and Florida have had a magic touch on the labor market as 15,500 new permanent and temporary jobs have been created by them since construction began in 2016.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened at Disneyland in California in May then at Walt Disney World in Florida three months later. At 14 acres apiece, the expansions are the biggest single-themed lands in the history of the resorts and are a whole new world for Disney.
Theme park rides are famous for their whimsical design and bold colors but Galaxy’s Edge looks more like a movie set. It was deliberately built this way to make the land itself as much of an attraction as the rides inside it.
Galaxy’s Edge: By The Numbers
And, as Sylt surmised, it takes a whole lot more than pixie dust to pull it all together.
The famous main hold lounge is one of several areas Disney guests will discover inside Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. (Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks)
According to data from Disney, 6,700 temporary construction workers and artisans were employed in the development of the land in California which reportedly cost around $1 billion. Its east coast counterpart had a similar price tag and was built by 5,500 temporary workers as well as 51 prime contractors and consultants, 84% of which are Florida-based. Then come the cadets who work there permanently… Disney’s data shows that Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland directly created 1,600 new operation jobs ranging from restaurant and ride operations to supervisors and managers. The land in Florida is almost a carbon copy of the one in California so its tally of new operations jobs comes to around the same at 1,700. They cast a powerful spell. Forbes
Going to Light Speed
And, despite worries to the contrary, both versions of Galaxy’s Edge could be hitting their stride at the right time:
(Richard Harbaugh/Disney Parks)
It is still growing and in January Disney’s latest Star Wars attraction Rise of the Resistance will premiere in California one month after it makes its debut in Florida. The ride is set to be the star attraction of Galaxy’s Edge as it is being billed as one of the most cutting-edge creations in Disney’s history.
It comes at just the right time as The Rise of Skywalker, the latest instalment in the Star Wars saga, will hit cinemas in December. The new theme park ride will drive guests to the movie and in turn that fuels the sale of high-margin merchandise.
It explains why theme parks are at the heart of Disney’s business model and in the year-ending September 29 2018, parks and resorts generated more revenue and profit than any of the Mouse’s divisions except for media networks. Parks and resorts revenue rose 10.2% to $20.3 billion whilst their profit grew even more. It surged 18.4% to $4.5 billion and, for stockholders, that really is a happy ending.
And that my friends is good news for all of us Disney/Star Wars fans.
