Disney Vocabulary

If you’re trying to plan a Disney vacation, the Disney Vocabulary, Disney Lingo, and Disney Abbreviations can be very confusing. Today, I am going to break down the common Disney abbreviations and Disney vocabulary to make planning your Disney vacation a little easier!

Remember that you don’t need to memorize all Disney vocabulary or abbreviations! Some Disney lingo is only known by the most hardcore Disney fans. Still, it can be useful to learn the common abbreviations and vocabulary that you’ll see both online and used in Disney World itself.

Plan your vacation with a Disney Travel Agent!

Before we start, let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Amy, and I’m a Florida resident, theme park fan, mom of the Florida Travel with Kids-kids, and a Disney College of Knowledge graduate. I keep up with the latest Disney news; it’s my job! If you’re interested in saving money and time by booking with a Certified Disney Travel Agent, make sure to contact me!

Disney Vocabulary

Here are some of the most common “Disney vocabulary” or “Disney Lingo” phrases you’ll hear or see and what they mean.

Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR)
This means booking a reservation at a restaurant in advance. If you’ll be visiting Walt Disney World, your advanced dining reservation booking window will open 60 days before your trip at 6 AM EST.

Attraction
An “attraction” generally refers to a ride or show in the Disney Parks.

Backstage
The behind-the-scenes area of the Disney Parks. Most of what goes on at Disney is behind the scenes to keep it magical!

Cast Member
This is a common Disney vocabulary term and one you need to know! Cast Member is what Disney calls their employees. Universal uses “Team Member.”

Character Dining
A dining experience at Disney is one in which characters, such as princesses, are present. The characters usually visit your table during your meal, allowing you to say hi, take pictures, and get their autographs.

Disney Dining Plan (DDP)
A pre-paid dining package. You can choose from different plans to best meet your family’s needs. You can only purchase a Disney Dining Plan if you purchase a vacation package (resort + park tickets).

Disney Genie
The My Disney Experience app offers a free service to help you organize your day based on your interests and favorite attractions at Walt Disney World. Don’t confuse this with Genie +, which is a paid service.

Disney Genie+
A paid service that allows you to skip the line at an attraction by booking a Lightning Lane reservation on the My Disney Experience app. This is what replaced “Fast Passes.”

Disney Vacation Club
A timeshare, but Disney’s version of it.

Enchanting Extras
This basically means something you pay more for. For example, you could get a Disney makeover at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or build a lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop in Galaxy’s Edge.

Extra Magic Hours
Disney offers Extra Magic Hours as a perk to on-property guests. These are extra hours, either before park opening or after park closing, that only Disney resort guests can enjoy.

Hidden Mickey
Mickey designs are hidden throughout the Disney parks and resorts. The first “hidden” Mickey you spot might be the power line on I-4.

Imagineer
Essentially a Disney engineer. Imagineers are responsible for creating the magic of the rides and attractions.

Individual Lightning Lane
An “a la carte” Lightning Lane you can purchase for select attractions. These are typically the most popular rides.

Lightning Lane
The queue at an attraction that bypasses the standby line. To book a Lightning Lane, you will need to purchase Genie+.

MagicBand/MagicBand+
An RFID bracelet that’s linked to your plans from My Disney Experience, allowing you to scan into the park or Lightning Lane, enter your room, or even charge your credit card (if you have it set up to do so).

Memory Maker
A photo package that includes all photos taken throughout your vacation by Disney’s photographers. This is an important Disney vocabulary term to remember, and you can book your Memory Maker package ahead of time when reserving your hotel/tickets!

Minnie Van
A ride service provided by Lyft and driven by Disney Cast Members at the Walt Disney World Resort. You can book a Minnie Van through the My Disney Experience app. Minnie Vans can seat up to 6 guests and include up to 2 car seats.

Mobile Ordering
A service offered through My Disney Experience, in which you can order and pay for your food in advance at select quick service and table service restaurants.

Monorail
Disney’s transportation system consists of a railway, wherehere the track is just a single rail/beam. At Walt Disney World, the Monorail services the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Transportation and Ticket Center, Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Resort, and Grand Floridian Resort.

Mousekeeping
This adorable name is for housekeeping services at Disney’s resort hotels.

My Disney Experience
An online portal and app full of Disney World planning tools, including—but not limited to—resort and dining reservations, park tickets, Genie+, park hours, attraction wait times, and where to find character meet-and-greets.

Park Hopping
Visiting more than one Disney theme park in one day. In order to park hop, you will need to add the park hopper option to your theme park ticket. Check out if the park hopper option is worth it or not here.

PhotoPass
A service of Disney photographers located around Disney Parks and Resorts to capture fun photos of your family on your Disney vacation.

Pixie Dust
An unexpected and extra magical moment or perk that you receive at Disney. Getting “pixie dusted” at Disney may come as a room upgrade, a free Lightning Lane, a special character interaction, and more. Don’t ask for Pixie Dust; you won’t get it!

Quick Service
Restaurants at Disney in which you do not need reservations. At these restaurants, you will receive your meal quickly, seat yourself, and be responsible for disposing of your trash.

Rider Switch
A service that allows everyone that can (or wants to) ride an attraction to do so…even if there are some people in your party that can’t (or don’t want to) but also can’t wait by themselves. If you want to use Rider Switch, speak with the Cast Member at the entrance to the ride.

The first group using Rider Switch will wait in the standby line while the others check out other fun things around the park. Then the second group using Rider Switch will go through the Lightning Lane so you avoid two long wait times.

Rope Drop
You “rope drop” when you arrive to the park before it opens.

Skyliner
Disney’s gondola transportation system. At Walt Disney World, the Skyliner has stops at Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Riviera Resort, Caribbean Beach Resort, Art of Animation, and Pop Century. Don’t miss our post with 7 things to know about the Disney Skyliner.

Standby Line
The normal queue for an attraction at the Disney Parks.

Table Service
These restaurants offer sit-down meals, whether family-style, table service, or buffets. All character dining is included in this category.

Transportation and Ticket Center
The central transportation hub for the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.

The Transportation and Ticket Center includes parking for the Magic Kingdom and Monorail and Ferry services to get from the parking lot to the Magic Kingdom or the Magic Kingdom resort area. There is also a Monorail connection that goes from the Transportation and Ticket Center to Epcot.

Virtual Queue
A service offered for select attractions at Disney in which you enter the queue via your app and wait for your “boarding group” to be called before returning to the attraction. You will have one hour to return to the attraction once your boarding group gets called.

Disney Abbreviations

Now that we’ve gone over Disney vocabulary and Disney lingo, let’s talk about abbreviations! Do the Disney abbreviations confuse you? You aren’t alone! Please remember that you don’t need to know all of these. Things like resort and ride abbreviations aren’t important to remember, but some others can be very helpful (like ADR!) Here are some of the most common Disney abbreviations.

ADR:

Advanced Dining Reservation

AH:

After Hours

AK:

Animal Kingdom

AP:

Annual Pass

BB:

Blizzard Beach

BBB:

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

BC:

Beach Club

BCV:

Beach Club Villas

BG:

Boarding Group

BLT:

Bay Lake Tower

BOG:

Be Our Guest

BRV:

Boulder Ridge Villas

BTMR:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

BWI:

Boardwalk Inn

BWV:

Boardwalk Villas

CBR:

Caribbean Beach Resort

CM:

Cast Member

CR:

Contemporary Resort

CRT:

Cinderella’s Royal Table

CSR:

Coronado Springs Resort

DAS:

Disability Acess Service

DCA:

Disney California Adventure

DCL:

Disney Cruise Line

DDP:

Disney Dining Plan

DL:

Disneyland

DLR:

Disneyland Resort

DS:

Disney Springs

DVC:

Disney Vacation Club

EEH:

Extended Evening Hours

EMH:

Extra Magic Hours

FOP:

Flight of Passage

EP:

Epcot

FW:

Fort Wilderness

G+:

Genie+

GF:

Grand Floridian

GFV:

Grand Floridian Villas

GoTG: Guardians of the Galaxy

HEA:

Happily Ever After

HS:

Hollywood Studios

ILL:

Individual Lightning Lane

LL:

Lightning Lane

M&G:

Meet and greet

MCO:

Orlando International Airport

MDE:

My Disney Experience App

MK:

Magic Kingdom

MMRR:

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

MNSSHP:

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

MVMCP:

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

OKW:

Old Key West Resort

PH:

Park Hopping/Park Hopper

POFQ:

Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter

Poly:

Polynesian Resort

POP:

Pop Century Resort

POR:

Port Orleans Resort Riverside

PP:

PhotoPass

QS:

Quick Service

RotR:

Rise of the Resistance

RR:

Riviera Resort

RS:

Rider Switch

SDD:

Slinky Dog Dash

SR:

Single Rider

SSR:

Saratoga Springs Resort

TL:

Typhoon Lagoon

ToT:

Tower of Terror

TS:

Table Service

TT:

Test Track

TTC:

Transportation and Ticket Center

VQ:

Virtual Queue

WDW:

Walt Disney World

WL:

Wilderness Lodge

7DMT/SDMT:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Disney Vocabulary and Disney Lingo

I hope these Disney vocabulary explanations and common Disney abbreviations help you. Just know that you don’t need to remember ALL of these! Still, now you’ll know the most common Disney lingo and look like a pro!

Do you want more Disney vacation ideas?

• 25 Free Things at Disney World
• 7 things to know about the Disney Skyliner
• 15 Disney Secrets that may surprise you!
• Where to find Dole Whip at Disney World
• The best Minnie Ears for Disney outfit ideas
• Star Wars Land vs. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Making a custom Tiara at Disney World
• Disney Tips and Tricks
• 5 smart reasons to work with a Disney Travel Agent

Booking your Disney Vacation

If you want to work with a Disney Travel Agent, contact me today, and I’d love to help you!

I highly recommend buying your tickets through Undercover Tourist if you choose not to use a Travel Agent. There are a lot of really scammy sites out there, so make sure you’re booking through an approved partner (like Undercover Tourist) or an approved Travel Agent!

About Florida Travel With Kids

Florida Travel with Kids was started by a family who loves to travel the state of Florida with kids! This site will help you explore the fun state of Florida and all of the kid-friendly activities you’ll find here.

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