Just as promised, this is the 2nd installment of Learning the Disney Lingo. If you missed Wednesday’s post, we focused on Walt Disney World (you can find the link to that page at the end of this post).
But, in an attempt to not confuse 1st time Disney Guests and to keep the posts as manageable as possible, we split the post up into 2 different editions.
Don’t think there’s a difference between Walt Disney World and Disneyland? Make sure you check out the post Walt Disney World vs Disneyland.
So, I’m going back to the basics today and giving you the “Cliff-notes” version of Learning Disney Lingo (the Disneyland edition).
Abbreviations
This is where I would get the most confused. I knew what WDW (Walt Disney World) and DLR (Disneyland Resort) meant, but there seemed to be a whole other language of abbreviations that everyone, but me, seemed to understand.
Most Commonly Used
- FP
- Fastpass – These are those passes that everyone talks about getting in order to shorten your time spent waiting in line for certain attractions. (Can not be booked in advance, like you can with WDW)
- EMH / Magic Morning
- Extra Magic Hours – A perk given to Guests staying at one of Disneyland’s Resorts and its Good Neighbor Hotels. It allows you to enter one Park before its scheduled opening.
- MHP
- Mickey’s Halloween Party – Separate ticket available for select nights between August and Halloween Night
Theme Parks
- DLR – Disneyland Resort
- DCA – Disney’s California Adventure
- DD – Downtown Disney
Common Words and Phrases
- Cast Members – Disney employees. This includes everyone from the bus drivers, to performers, to cashiers.
- MaxPass – A additional cost that gives Guests the ability to book Fastpasses on their phones, instead of running to different Attractions to scan your Park Ticket. This also includes PhotoPass.
- Child Swap / Rider Switch – When you have multiple adults that want to ride an attraction, but you have little ones that can’t ride because they’re too little, you can use Child Swap. The first group rides the attraction while the second group waits with the little ones. Once the first group is done, they take over watching the little ones and the second group gets to ride.
- You must show a Cast Member that you have little ones with you in order to be granted to use this.
- This is especially great for other kids in the family who do ride the attraction. They will be allowed to ride with both groups.
- Good Neighbor Hotel – Disneyland only has 3 Hotels on property. But, there are many privately-owned Hotels surrounding Disneyland that affiliate themselves with Disney.
- Some of the perks to staying at these Hotels include: lower cost, the ability to book a Disney package, Magic Morning, and still being walking distance to the Parks.
- ParkHopping / ParkHopper – Visiting or “hopping” to both Disney Parks in one day. If this appeals to you, then you can upgrade your Park Ticket to a Parkhopper ticket. This enables you to “Hop” back and forth to either Park as much as you’d like in one day.
- PhotoPass – A photo package that can be purchased to capture unlimited photos. This includes on-ride photos, character- dining, and every other photo that is taken by a Disney PhotoPass photographer.
- Magic Shot – A PhotoPass photographer may ask you to pose a certain way. These poses will add a magical addition to your photos, such as a character or other fun props.
- Rope Drop – The opening of the Park. Historically, Cast Members used to hold a physical rope that was dropped to signify the start of a new day in the parks.
- Stand-by Line/Queue – This is the line that Guests who do not hold a Fastpass stand in.
- Single Rider Line – A few rides give lone riders the chance to enter a different line, serving as fillers for empty seats left by groups of Guests with odd numbers. Oftentimes, this also results in shorter waits than the Standby line.
Want to learn Walt Disney World Lingo? Check out our other post dedicated to Walt Disney World!
