planDisney Panelists Can Now Use Casual Disney Names

Disney is no longer requiring planDisney panelists to use official resort and attraction names when responding to guests. Previously, panelists were expected to use the full, formal names in their responses, such as “The Walt Disney World Resort” instead of the more casual “Disney World.” The 2025 planDisney class learned about the change during their training session last December.

I can appreciate Disney wanting to protect its brand, but those lengthy names made for stilted answers. And they caused a lot of anxiety for planDisney applicants. I applied a few times. While Disney didn’t instruct us to use official names, plenty of past panelists let us know it was in our best interests to do so. Trying to wedge full names into 100-word answers was a futile exercise for me. So I opted for the more common vernacular — and never made the panel. I’m sure that’s not the only reason. I also repeatedly played trombone in my application videos.

Read more: 2025 planDisney Class Announced