Pronunciation ChallengeWhy is Walt Disney World So Expensive?

Intro:

Hi guys, welcome back to this week’s pronunciation challenge. Have you ever been to any of the 12 Disney theme parks around the world? Our video today talks about the price hikes of Walt Disney World in the US and why it has become so expensive. The short explanation is that after the company had a switchover of new leaders, they believed that the Disney experience was worth a lot more value than how much they were realizing, and in the end they were right!

Since Disney’s tagline is actually “The Happiest Place On Earth”, and is considered a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people, people don’t mind paying a lot of money to go and even stay at Disney resorts.

Let’s pause here for a moment and have a listen to our pronunciation challenge first -

Sentence:
So ultimately Disney World is so expensive because historically the price hikes were crucial to elevating the company as a whole and closing a nearly 15-year gap of stagnation.

Pronunciation Tips:

ultimate / ultimately

historical / historically

elevate / elevating

closing

stagnation

Vocab:
1. ultimately KK[ˋʌltəmɪtlɪ] IPA/ˈʌl.tə.mət.li/
adv. finally, after a series of things have happened
adv. used to emphasize the most important fact in a situation

Example:
There are many good universities but ultimately it comes down to your test results.


2. elevate KK[ˋɛlə͵vet] IPA/ˈel.ə.veɪt/
v. to make someone or something more important or to improve something
v. to raise something or lift something up

Example:
Seeing her crush enter the classroom made her heartbeat elevate immediately.


3. stagnation KK[stægˋneʃən] IPA/stæɡˈneɪ.ʃən/
n. a situation in which something stays the same and does not grow and develop

Example:
The pandemic brought about a long period of economic stagnation.


Outro:
Disney’s ticket prices are increasing faster than the rate of inflation, but a trip to either Disneyland or Walt Disney World, the two main Disney theme parks in the US, is still a dream come true for many young people or the young-at-heart!
Disneyland is located in California and Walt Disney World is located in Florida. Which one is better you might ask? Well, I can’t tell you from my personal experience because I haven’t gone to either of these theme parks, but I can tell you that Walt Disney World is MUCH bigger than Disneyland. Disneyland is around 500 acres and Disney World covers an astonishing 25,000 acres of land. This means you can fit approximately 51 Disneylands inside of Disney World. Woah, isn’t that just mind-blowing?!

Have you ever been to any of the Disney theme parks? Let us know in the comments!

Thank you for joining me today and don’t forget to record your sentence of the day. See you later and hope you all have a great week!