Deciphering Disney Lingo
Welcome to your guide to understanding Disney terms and acronyms! Join any Disney group on Facebook or ask advice from friends, and you’ll immediately start hearing terms like “rope drop” and acronyms like “FOP.” What does it all mean? No worries, I put together a list of the most commonly used Disney planning terms to have you sounding like an expert in no time.
AK: Animal Kingdom, one of the four main Disney World parks
AKL: Animal Kingdom Lodge
AoA: Art of Animation Resort
AP: Annual Pass
Attraction: A ride or show
BOG: Be Our Guest restaurant, Magic Kingdom
Cast member: This is what Disney employees are called.
CRT: Cinderella’s Royal Table restaurant, Magic Kingdom
Dark ride: An indoor ride that incorporates some sort of black lights; doesn’t mean it’s necessarily scary
DAS or DAS Pass: This stands for Disability Access Service; it’s a sort of fast pass available for those with disabilities who have trouble waiting in long lines.
Disney Genie: This is a free service that is offered in the Disney app that plans your day for you. I don’t really recommend it, personally.
Disney Genie+: Disney Genie PLUS is the fast pass service that you can pay per day for, and will allow you to book rides throughout the day that allow you to wait in a shorter line.
Disney Springs: Formerly called “Downtown Disney,” this is an area of Disney World with shops and restaurants that do not charge for admission.
DL: Disneyland (the park in California)
DVC: Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s timeshare program
ECV: Electronic Convenience Vehicle, basically a scooter used for mobility purposes.
FOP: Flight of Passage, a popular ride in Animal Kingdom.
Hidden Mickey: Cleverly hidden Mickey ear shapes can be found in the art and architecture throughout Disney Property. Super fun to search for!
HS: Hollywood Studios, one of the four main Disney World parks
Lightening Lane or LL: This is what they call the fast pass line.
Lightening Lane+ or LL+ or ILL: An individually ticketed fast pass that isn’t included in Genie+ subscriptions.
Magic Band: A band that can be worn around your wrist that has a transponder that’s connected to your Disney account. You can use it to charge purchases to your room (if you’re staying on-site), scan for entry at the gate, enter lightning lane queues, and more. It’s basically a way to access your Disney accounts and reservations, all on your wrist. You can choose from a lot of different styles.
Magic Band+: A new Magic Band that has all the capabilities of a Magic Band but is even more interactive, lighting up during certain fireworks shows, and allows you to play various games in the Play Disney app.
MDE: My Disney Experience it refers to the official Disney app where you can access your passes, reservations, photos, and much more. It can also refer to your log in to their website.
Memory Maker: This is what Disney calls their photo pass. You can buy it for different time periods (one day, three days, a year, etc.). If are wearing a Magic Band, it will automatically detect ride photos and share them to your account. You can also scan it with Disney photographers and get professional photos loaded into your account, which you can download later.
Minnie Van: A minivan painted like Minnie Mouse; great transportation option offered through the Lyft app if you decide you’d like a quick, direct ride to anywhere around Disney World and don’t want to drive. Does charge a fee, the same way an Uber or Lyft ride would.
MK: Magic Kingdom, one of the four main Disney World parks
MNSSHP: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, a separately ticketed Disney event around Halloween
Mobile Order: A service within the Disney app that allows you to order your food from a restaurant and pay ahead of time, then walk to a pickup window and get it.
Monorail: A unique-to-Disney form of transportation between parks and resorts, kind of like a really cool train.
MVMCP: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a separately ticketed Disney event around Christmas.
Park hop: This is when you start the day in one Disney park and then “hop” over to a different park later in the day. In order to utilize this service, you must have a park hopper ticket.
QS: Quick service, the kind of restaurant where you can walk up an order; doesn’t require reservations.
Rope Drop: This is a technique people use to lessen their wait times on popular rides. You get to the park slightly before opening, so you’re there when they “drop the rope” and let visitors into the park. A lot of times, Disney parks will let you into the gate early. Magic Kingdom actually lets you all the way down Main Street and into the castle area but has the lands where the rides are roped off. When the park officially opens and the rope drops, you can walk to a popular ride and possibly be the first to ride it for the day.
ROTR: Rise of the Resistance, the most popular Star Wars ride, located in Hollywood Studios.
Skyliner: A unique-to-Disney form of transportation between parks and resorts; looks like a gondola that is suspended in the air by cables.
TS: Table service, the kind of restaurant where you have a server, usually requires reservations.
TTC: Transportation and Ticketing Center. This is the hub closest to the Magic Kingdom parking lot that allows you to take a ferry into Magic Kingdom or a monorail from the lot to various deluxe resorts around the lake or into Magic Kingdom.
WDW: Walt Disney World (the one in Orlando)