50 Things Disney World Fans Say That Other People Don’t Understand

If you’re planning a trip to Walt Disney World, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the things you need to understand. You have to familiarize yourself with the parks, current policies, the booking process, and tons of other basic information. 

Things can get even more confusing when Disney planning and fan sites are packed with acronyms and Disney-speak that takes a Disney University degree to understand. 😉

Disney World fanatics use different phrases and acronyms for just about everything in the World, and today we’re sharing the list of the top 50.

If you’re a big fan, you can see how many of these you know, and if you’re not, then this list will get you on the way to becoming an expert!

• ADR: Disney code for Advanced Dining Reservation. You’ll want to book some of these if you plan to eat a Table Service meal at Disney World!
• ROTR: This stands for Rise of the Resistance, Disney World’s most popular ride located in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

  

• Genie/Genie+: Genie is a free service offered through the My Disney Experience app that helps users plan their day. Genie+ is a paid service that allows guests choose return times for attractions and avoid standby lines.
• Lightning Lane Entrance: The physical entrance guests use to bypass the standby line at attractions.
• Individual Lightning Lane (Fancy Rides): A purchase for expedited entry into select attractions not offered with the purchase of Genie+.
• Rope Drop: What Disney fans call arriving at the parks in the morning before they open in order to beat the crowds. (Disney used to literally walk guests into the parks behind a long rope to maintain order at park opening!)
• Imagineer/Imagineering: The name that Disney calls the engineers and designers who create their theme parks and experiences.
• Cast Member: The official title for any Disney employee; also shortened to CM.

• TTC: The Transportation and Ticket Center, where guests are required to park to visit Magic Kingdom. From here, you’ll have to take a bus, monorail, or ferry to get into the park.
• AP: Abbreviation for an annual pass. (AP Holders are Annual Passholders.)
• Disney Park Pass/DPP: Disney World’s park reservation system. Since the parks reopened, guests are required to schedule a Disney Park Pass online for each park ahead of their visit. 
• DDP: Disney Dining Plan. Before the closures, this was a way to pre-pay for your meals at Disney World. This system hasn’t returned since then.
• Resort Hopping: When guests visit the various Disney resorts and hotels. This is a great activity for a day during your trip when you don’t have a park ticket.

• Nighttime Spectacular: Fancy Disney-speak for the fireworks shows.
• Magic Kingdom Mountains: Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. These tend to have some of the highest wait times in Magic Kingdom, and many guests attempt to “conquer” all of the mountains in one day.
• Attractions: What Disney calls their rides, shows, and other activities available for guests in the parks. 
• Backstage: Any area of the park that is not visible or off-limits to regular guests. Sometimes, you can view these areas if you pay for special backstage tours of the parks.

• DAS: Disability Access Service, designed to allow guests with disabilities to enjoy all the attractions at WDW. The service is free and available to guests at Guest Services or through Genie enhancements in the MDE app.
• MDE/MDX/My Disney Experience: The Disney World app. This is especially useful during your planning and your actual trip, with Mobile Order, wait times, park maps, and many other features.
• FOLK/FOTLK: Festival of the Lion King, a very popular Broadway-style show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
• Skyliner: Disney World’s newest form of transportation featuring over 300 enclosed gondolas.

• Cavalcade/Promenade/Flotilla/Motorcade: One of the ways that guests can currently see their favorite characters in the parks. During these, characters ride, walk, or boat through the parks, waving at guests. 
• Hard-ticketed Event: Any event or party where guests must purchase a separate ticket to attend.
• MVMCP: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a hard-ticketed event during the holiday season at Magic Kingdom.
• MNSSHP: Mickey’s Not-so-Scary Halloween Party, the hard-ticketed event at Magic Kingdom for fall and Halloween.

• F&G: The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, usually happens during the springtime and into the summer.
• F&W: The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, usually happens in the late summer and into the fall.
• FOTA: The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, usually happens right after the new year and through the rest of winter.
• FOTH: The EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, usually happens after Thanksgiving until the new year.

• PhotoPass/Memory Maker: How Disney guests can pay to purchase all of their on-ride photos and the pictures taken by Disney photographers around the parks.
• Quick Service/Table Service: The words that Disney uses to denote whether a restaurant serves fast-food style or sit-down dining.
• Hidden Mickey: When three circles are next to each other in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. There are several of these hidden around the parks and resorts.
• MK/HS/DAK/AK/EP: The abbreviations you’ll see used for Disney World’s four theme parks, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom (or Disney’s Animal Kingdom), and EPCOT.

• DVC: Stands for Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s timeshare program.
• Bright Suns: You may hear Cast Members use this phrase at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios. It’s how the locals on the planet “Batuu” say hello.
• MagicBands: Wristbands that guests can purchase to have easy access to their park tickets, unlock their hotel rooms, and charge purchases to their rooms.

• BOG: Be Our Guest Restaurant, a popular spot in Magic Kingdom that’s themed to match the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast. 
• CRT: Cinderella’s Royal Table, the restaurant that is located inside Cinderella Castle.
• Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser: A new hotel/experience that’s themed to Star Wars.

• Park Hopping/Park Hopper/PH: The way to visit multiple Disney World theme parks in one day. It’s a special kind of ticket that you must purchase if you wish to do so.
• TOT: Tower of Terror, the drop tower-style ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
• RNR: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, located in Hollywood Studios and the only Disney World coaster currently that goes upside-down.
• SDD: Slinky Dog Dash, the family-friendly coaster in Toy Story Land.

• MMRR: Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the trackless ride in Hollywood Studios that stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
• BTMRR/BTMR: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, one of the three Magic Kingdom Mountains.
• 7DMT/SDMT: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the coaster that’s themed to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, located in Magic Kingdom.
• Magic Shots: Photos that Disney’s PhotoPass photographers make where they add in special effects, like an image of Tinkerbell. These are included with Memory Maker.

• Refurbishment: When a Disney ride or attraction is closed temporarily for touch-ups and general maintenance. Most often, this does not mean that the ride will get any noticeable changes. May be shortened to refurb.
• Dark Ride: A ride that is typically dark inside, often using black light effects but that also propels guests through a storyline with theming and a narrative.
• Character Meal: A dining experience where guests are visited by their various Disney characters during their meal. Multiple options around the property feature a variety of different characters.

There you go! This is the Disney jargon that fans know, but other folks probably won’t understand! For more tips and information on the Disney World parks (and to make sure that you’re up-to-date on the Disney speak), make sure to stay tuned to AllEars.

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How many of these have you used before? Tell us in the comments!

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