Which movie-inspired theme park rides cost more than the original film’s budget?
Theme parks around the world depend on attractions based on popular movie franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, and Harry Potter to attract guests through the gates.
The latest Best Value Theme Parks Report compiled by the personal finance experts at Money.co.uk (a free U.K.-based online financial products comparison service) looked at 34 movie-inspired theme park rides.
The report concluded that 1989’s Splash Mountain had a construction cost of £162,502,875, but the 1946 film “Song of the South” that inspired the attraction had a budget of just £1,535,514,resulting in a -99% cost difference.
In second place is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Walt Disney World Resort, which cost £18,038,625 to construct, while the budget for the original 1937 film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” — Disney’s first animated feature-length film — was only £1,082,420.
On the opposite end of the list is The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios parks in Florida and California. That attraction cost £54,200,625 , while “The Simpsons Movie” cost approximately the same amount at £50,527,050 for a difference of only +7%.