In the Disney Parks Universe, there is a lot of strange words and abbreviations you should know, to make reading this blog, and other planning materials, easier to understand. There are many, many of these words out there, but these are some of the most important ones to know.
DLR: Disneyland Resort
DCA: Disney’s California Adventure
Cast Member: Disney Employee
DAS Pass: The Disability Access Service. This post goes in-depth about it here.
Attraction: A ride. Or in a few cases a show. For example, The Enchanted Tiki Room is considered an attraction.
Queue: The line for an attraction.
Guest Relations: The main Guest Relations are City Hall in Disneyland and Chamber of Commerce in California Adventure.
Genie+ : A paid service used to book Lightning Lane reservations
Lightning Lane: Formerly known as Fastpass, this is a shortened queue available for select attractions.
PhotoPass: Disney’s photographers that will take your photo in certain locations around both parks, as well as with certain characters. You must have a PhotoPass package or Genie+ to access and keep these pictures.
Animatronic: A moving and usually talking or singing robot machine made to look like some kind of character. For example, the characters of Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. Throughout the attraction there are moving Ariel Animatronics that dance or wave.
Park Bag: The bag you bring into the parks to carry your belongings. There is a whole post about them here.
ECV: Electronic Conveyance Vehicle. Also referred to as a Scooter.
Transferring: The act or process of getting onto an attraction from a wheelchair or ECV. Some attractions require guests who cannot walk to transfer into a wheelchair provided by the attraction.
Character: Your favorite characters from Disney movies that you can meet.
Face Character: A human character that will talk. For example, the Princesses.
Fur Character: A character that cannot talk. For example, Mickey Mouse.
Quick Service: A dining location where you order at a kiosk or window, receive your food and sit wherever you like.
Table Service: A sit down restaurant where you have a server and order off a menu like a regular restaurant you would have where you live.
Cafeteria Style Dining: A dining location where you grab or order what you would like from a counter and pay at a kiosk when you have everything you would like to eat. For example, The Plaza Inn.
Snack Cart: A cart found throughout both parks that sell one kind of food. For example, a popcorn cart or churro cart. Most also sell bottled soft drinks and bottled water.
Mobile Ordering: A free service on the official Disneyland App that allows you to order your meal from your smartphone and pick it up from a designated window.
Easter Egg: A nickname for a “cameo” or appearance of something special from something not related to the attraction. For example, the mounted heads leftover from the old Country Bear Jamboree, can be found today inside The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Hidden Mickey: A term for little Mickey Mouse heads scattered all throughout both parks, for you to find. It can be a fun little game to see how many you can spot. There is even a guide book sold in the parks that shows you where to find them.