Dis-tionary

From time to time I’d like to give you some words that are uniquely Disney, or that Disney has made unique. Usually it will be two or three words, some of these words Disney enthusiasts will know by heart, while those of you new the to Disney scene will hopefully find these resourceful. We’ll call it Dis-tionary.

Tonight we’ll start with some basics, things you will see and hear used in a majority of Disney conversations.

Cast Member (CMs) – Disney does not have employees in its theme parks. Everyone who works there is onstage, so, by that rationale they are part of the show, or Cast Members.
Imagineers/Imagineering – Imagineering, or Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI for short), started out life as WED Enterprises, WED stands for Walter Elias Disney, on December 16, 1952. Imagineers are the heart and soul of Imagineering which designs and builds everything from park layouts, attractions, propping, costuming, shows, and down to signage and the cracks in the sidewalks (no, the really design the text of the sidewalks). In fact, they have even helped design and build ABC’s Time Square Studio and the town of Celebration, FL.
Audio-Animatronic (AAs) – Audio-Animatronics are the lifelike mechanical figures that inhabit many of the Walt Disney World and Disneyland attractions.

For more information on Imagineering in the parks, I suggest The Imagineering Field Guides (The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom, The Imagineering Field Guide to the Epcot, and The Imagineering Field Guide to the Disney’s Animal Kingdom).