Disney could very well launch its own dictionary with words and terms created by the Big Mouse in the past few years. In fact, new terms appear almost every month, with the most recent examples being the Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass, which replaced the old Disney Genie+. I know, these words can feel strange sometimes, especially if you're visiting the Happiest Place on Earth for the first time.
No worries though; we’ve highlighted some of the most important phrases you should know when visiting Disney World in Florida. There’s a 110% chance you’ll hear one of them (or all of them) during your next vacation alongside Mickey, Pluto, Elsa, and Jack Sparrow. It’s also a great idea to check out this special Famvia dictionary so you can become a Disneyxpert before everyone else!
Here are the phrases we are going to be covering on this guide:
- Disney After Hours
- Character Dining
- Dark Ride
- Disney Dining Plan
- Early Entry
- Lightning Lane Multi Pass & Single Pass
- MagicBand
- Mobile Ordering
- My Disney Experience
- Park Hopper and Park-to-Park
- Rope Drop
- Single Rider
- Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC)
- Disney Vacation Club
- Virtual Queue
Disney After Hours
Disney After Hours events are not common, and Disney World always announces the dates months in advance. Disney After Hours means you can enter specific theme parks for three hours after they close, usually from 10:00pm to 1:00am. This event requires a special ticket and lets guests enjoy rides with shorter wait times than usual. Free beverages and popcorn are also provided!
Here’s a tip: even if the official website says the hours are from 10:00pm to 1:00am, you can often arrive at 7 pm and start experiencing Disney After Hours earlier than expected!
Character Dining
This option is perfect for guests visiting Disney World with little ones… which is basically 90% of you reading this guide! Character Dining means you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner in a restaurant that Disney characters also visit. The specific characters depend on the location you choose, but they range from Mickey Mouse and Goofy to Belle, the Beast, Chip 'n' Dale, Cinderella, and more.
Restaurants that offer Character Dining are usually a set price around $70 per guest. They offer good food and the choice for you to take pictures with a diverse range of characters without caring about long lines.
Dark Ride
No, this doesn’t mean the ride is scary or has a storyline as dark as the Saw movies. A "dark ride" is any attraction that takes you into an enclosed space, typically with a vehicle for multiple guests, to tell a story. Many rides fall into this category, and some are even hybrids that combine dark ride elements with other types of experiences.
Some of Disney World's most classic attractions are dark rides, like Peter Pan’s Flight, It’s a Small World and Spaceship Earth. Test Track is a mix of a dark ride and a thrill ride, and some roller coasters even feature dark ride elements, like Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios.
Disney Dining Plan
Disney Dining Plan adds convenience to your stay at Disney World and offers two options: the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan and the Disney Dining Plan.
With a prepaid, set price, you get a specific number of meals and snacks based on the number of nights of your Disney Resort stay. Is the Dining Plan worth it? It depends. If you plan to eat exclusively at Disney World, it might be worth it; otherwise, you might just want to skip it.
Early Entry
Early Entry is a perk offered to guests staying at Disney hotels at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. It allows you to enter the theme parks 30 minutes before the official opening time. This may not seem like much, but those thirty minutes provide plenty of time to experience some of the busiest attractions with minimal lines, such as Peter Pan’s Flight, Tower of Terror, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass & Single Pass
The Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass replaced the old Disney Genie+ this year at Disney World. This is Disney’s FastPass option, allowing you to use express lines and save valuable time during your vacation. Pricing varies depending on the theme park and the date of your visit. The Multi Pass lets you access several different rides for a single price, while the Single Pass is for one specific ride, typically one of the most popular attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom.
MagicBand
The MagicBand is a multi-purpose wristband sold by Disney for around $40. You can use it to store your theme park ticket and enter Disney World simply by scanning the band. It also saves photos taken by official Disney photographers, serves as a key to your Disney Resort hotel room, allows for purchases throughout Disney World, and doubles as a stylish accessory that syncs with different shows, lighting up in time with the events around you. Is a MagicBand necessary? No. Is it cool and does it make getting around easier? Definitely.
Mobile Ordering
Do you want to spend more time riding amazing roller coasters and taking pictures with Minnie instead of waiting in long lines for your pizza? Then Mobile Ordering is for you. Simply use the My Disney Experience app to order food at select restaurants, and when your meal is ready, you can head over and pick it up.
My Disney Experience
My Disney Experience is Disney’s official app for Walt Disney World. Be sure to download it before your vacation and explore all its features! Through this app, you can purchase Lightning Lane passes, join a Virtual Queue, check wait times for rides, order food via Mobile Ordering, and much more. Yes, this app is essential to your next Disney vacation, so make sure to put it right next to Instagram and Minecraft.
Park Hopper and Park-to-Park
These terms refer to tickets that allow you to visit more than one park in a single day. For example, with a 2-day Park Hopper ticket, you can visit Magic Kingdom in the morning and then head to Epcot in the afternoon. A standard ticket only allows access to one theme park per day. "Park-to-Park" is the equivalent of "Park Hopper" but is the term used at Universal Orlando.
Rope Drop
Rope Drop refers to entering a Disney World theme park as soon as it opens. This can mean arriving during the Early Entry period - 30 minutes before the official opening for Disney Resort guests - or during the regular opening time, when staff "drop the rope" that separates guests from the rides and attractions. If you’re visiting Disney World, there’s a good chance you’ll experience Rope Drop at least once to enjoy the most popular attractions with shorter wait times.
Single Rider
Many rides at Disney World offer a Single Rider lane. As the name suggests, these lanes are for guests who don’t mind riding alone or being separated from their family or group of friends. Single Rider lanes are usually faster than regular lines, and sometimes you might even get lucky and ride with a member of your group. Some rides, like Test Track, have excellent Single Rider services, while others, like Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, may take longer and move more slowly.
Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC)
The Ticket and Transportation Center is a key area in Disney World that you’ll need to visit if you plan on going to Magic Kingdom… and, well, you definitely should. If you’re not staying at a Disney Hotel with direct monorail access to Disney World and prefer not to take the bus, the only way to reach Magic Kingdom is by going to the Ticket and Transportation Center. From there, you can board either a ferryboat or a monorail to get to the park.
Disney Vacation Club
The Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is Disney’s timeshare program. By purchasing a real estate interest directly from Disney Vacation Club, you receive Vacation Points that you can use to book accommodations at Disney Resorts. Memberships start at 100 Vacation Points, which typically costs around $21,500.
Virtual Queue
The Virtual Queue is typically used for very popular rides or attractions that have recently launched at Disney World. As the name suggests, there isn’t a standard line for these rides, and you must use the My Disney Experience app to join the Virtual Queue if you want to experience them.
Rides that use the Virtual Queue change regularly. At the time of writing, for example, only two attractions are using it: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT.
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