Disney in a Minute: What is an Attraction?

Disney sometimes uses words that don’t mean exactly what we think they might mean. Case in point: Disney doesn’t call the things you’ll find in the parks “rides,” “roller coasters,” “shows,” “trains,” or “movies.” All those things are called – in the Disney lexicon – “attractions.”

Sometimes, Disney nomenclature can seem like a jumble of circumlocutious neo-verbalisms that leave you wishing they would eschew obfuscation. But sometimes, there is a method behind their madness. Understanding why Disney calls everything an attraction is important. It’s a key to something very important about what makes Disney World a great place to visit.

It would be easy to think that most of what there is to do at Disney World is rides. But hold your horses, partner.

Some attractions ARE rides, of course, like Rise of the Resistance. But not all. Attractions can be in motion like Space Mountain or Dumbo the Flying Elephant. They can be stationary like the Country Bear Jamboree. They can be things you walk past like the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. Or things that walk past you like the Green Army Drum Corps. Even Epcot’s Kidcot Fun Stops, where kids sit and color, are classified as attractions. And there are a few odd outliers like the Aerophile Balloon and the Vintage Amphicars Tour at Disney Springs, both of which Disney calls attractions even though they’re not in a theme park.

Almost everywhere you look at Disney World, there is an attraction. And they’re not all things you wait in line for, or that have a long line. They’re not even all things that take a lot of time! You can stop for a few minutes to watch the Dapper Dans – an attraction – before moving on to some other part of the park.

The Walt Disney World website lists over 250 things on “Rides and Entertainment” page. If you asked someone about which rides you should check out, you could miss a lot of the other fun things to do at Disney. You might skip the stage shows or some of the films in the World Showcase. You could rush by the streetmosphere in your hurry to get to the next line. So, Disney uses the word “attractions” to cover everything – which seems like a pretty attractive idea when you think about it.

Disney in a Minute is a series of short posts designed to help you better understand a Disney term or planning topic. Do you have a Disney term that you think needs a bit more explanation? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks to Erin Foster for an earlier version of this post.