Disneyland Parking Structure Math Project

Objective

Students will estimate the number of parking spots in Disneyland's parking structure and then calculate how much money the structure brings in each year.

Some Useful Links

• The original cost of the structure: $90 million.
• The contractor's site, showing 10,242 parking spaces.
• The parking structure shown on Google Maps

Steps

1. Students create three guesses: too high, too low, and a reasonable guess. This is a low-anxiety starting point that anyone can attempt.
2. Using a high-contrast version of the photo, students generate a few strategies for estimating the number of spots. They will note the potential inaccuracies with each strategy.
3. Upon learning that the structure has six levels, students will revise their best estimate.
4. Students learn the real answer and then attempt to calculate how much money the parking structure brings in per year.
5. After learning the real answer, students are left with a final question: how many people park in the lot. And how much money do they generate in ticket sales?

Resources

• The zoomed in photo
• A high contrast version of the photo
• Half photo / half high-contrast