Disneyland may be done with these terms, but real Disneylanders still use them daily!
For over 70 years, the Disneyland Resort has been home to plenty of wonderful attractions, beloved characters, good eats, and so much nostalgia and magic that make every visit feel special. Over the years, the resort has changed tremendously, but that hasn’t stopped Disneyland enthusiasts from using some defunct terms!
FastPass
Disneyland’s FastPass system was a free front-of-the-line ticket that was available in limited quantities at select rides throughout the parks. You’d walk up to a kiosk, scan your park ticket, and then redeem a physical FastPass, which would give you a time to return to the attraction without having to wait in the standby line.
Eventually, FastPass became the paid FastPass+, which ultimately turned into Lightning Lanes — also a paid service. While Lightning Lanes are fairly accessible, FastPass is still widely missed — especially on account of it being free to all guests.
Lightning Lanes and the Genie+ system have been around at Disneyland since 2021 — still pretty fresh for a lot of Disneylanders. Don’t be surprised if you hear people — myself included — refer to Lightning Lanes as FastPass simply as a way to describe the faster lanes.
Tom Sawyer Island
Magic Kingdom purists may feel a bit salty about this, but Tom Sawyer Island still exists at Disneyland Park — albeit now known as Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. The island was rethemed after 50 years of being a park staple.
Though it now has pirates theming, most people still just call it Tom Sawyer Island — and many folks are unaware that the change ever happened!
Critter Country
To blend the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure better into its surrounding lands, Disney renamed Critter Country to Bayou Country. The change works, as the other ride in the land is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh — which is packed with critters, and New Orleans Square is adjacent and home to plenty of Louisiana and Bayou theming in its attractions, restaurants, and shops. In my opinion, the stretch from Adventureland all the way into the start of Galaxy’s Edge may be the most fluid theming in all of Disneyland.
There may be a sign in front of the land, but accepting change takes time, so don’t be shocked to hear Bayou Country still being referred to as Critter Country from time to time!
Innoventions
Perhaps the biggest waste of space at Disneyland, Star Wars Launch Bay, and the Tomorrowland Expo Center building is kind of just there in Tomorrowland. It’s served many purposes over its long history, but most millennials and Disney Adults will recognize it as the Innoventions building.
The building has been home to Star Wars and Marvel exhibits since closing Innoventions in 2015. Innoventions featured a rotating platform and showcased the homes of the future. It even featured an updated version of “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”, and I miss the attraction dearly.
Do you use these terms? Which defunct Disneyland offerings do you miss the most? Let us know and continue to follow us here at AllEars for all the latest Disneyland tips and updates!
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Do you still use these Disneyland terms? Let us know in the comments!
I think they need to get Meet The Robinsons in on Tomorrowland! There are soooo many things they could use from that movie to really “re-futurize” Tomorrowland! It was so fun as a kid because it was so futuristic, but now it’s like they gave up on ideas for it, and threw that project in the back of the desk drawer…
I think they need to get Meet The Robinson’s in on Tomorrowland! There are soooo many things they could use from that movie to really “re-futurize” Tomorrowland! It was so fun as a kid because it was so futuristic, but now it’s like they gave up on ideas for it, and threw that project in the back of the desk drawer…
I am shocked! Shocked I say! That people refuse to adapt to the times…
He said as he continued to call the third Disney World Park “MGM” while planning next year’s trip.