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Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a waterfront
    • ex. The hotel by the waterfront has a great view of the ocean.
  2. iconic
    • ex. Mount Fuji is an iconic symbol of Japan.
  3. tap
    • ex. The managers decided to tap her to lead the new project.
  4. a royalty
    • ex. The writer gets a royalty for every book she sells.
  5. capital
    • ex. He saved enough capital to open a small shop in town.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Disney announced in May that it will build a new theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The park will be at the waterfront, close to famous places like the Formula One race, Ferrari World, and Warner Bros. This will be Disney’s seventh theme park and is part of its plan to bring its magical experiences to more people around the world.

The UAE is home to 9 million people. Its capital city is Abu Dhabi. And Dubai is a favorite destination for a lot of tourists visiting the country. While the mood in Abu Dhabi is more serious compared to Dubai, the city is also home to some iconic tourist spots, like the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Disney tapped Miral, an Abu Dhabi company, to build and manage the theme park. Disney and Miral hope to attract some of the 120 million tourists in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to visit the park. Disney will earn royalties and service fees from the resort but will not invest capital in the project. An opening date has not yet been announced.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.
Photo Credits: The Associated Press

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Disney’s New Theme Park

  • Disney will build its seventh theme park in Abu Dhabi. What do you think of its location (ex. the location is perfect for tourists)? Discuss.
  • Disney plans to bring its magical experiences to more people around the world. Do you think its business plan is good? Why do you say so? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you are designing your own theme park. What would it be like? Discuss.

Business Decisions

  • The theme park in Abu Dhabi is going to be Disney's 7th park. Do you think it's a good decision for Disney to build more theme parks? Why do you say so? Discuss.
  • Disney tapped Miral, an Abu Dhabi company, to build and manage the theme park. If you were a director at Disney, would you think it's okay for a different company to build and manage your business? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you are a director at Disney deciding whether to build a new theme park or not. What things would you consider before making a decision (ex. how much the profit will be, how much the cost of building it will be)? Discuss.