"The further you go in competitions, the games become bigger and bigger. There's no bigger than this one," he said.
"If you're looking at cup competitions it is the biggest in the world, I would say.
"You need your players to rise to the occasion. That doesn't just mean the match-winners - that means everybody.
"On the day whoever's got the shirt is a match-winner in their own right anyway, depending on what they do - whether it be a goalkeeper making a save or someone putting the ball in the back of the net - so I hope that they will all rise to the occasion.
"People say 'go and enjoy it', but you will only enjoy it if you win.
"I know which is the best feeling, and it's certainly winning things and not losing."
"If the players need to be told that they are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup then they are not on the same planet, to be fair. I think they release what the game is all about," he said.
"It's the biggest game in the history of the club for many, many years - and we want to do ourselves proud and the supporters proud."
The game will provide Cardiff, who will begin as favourites, with a rare opportunity to play in front of a global audience - a chance which Jones is keen for them to simultaneously savour and seize.
"Forget what it means to the football club. As a person, as a player, it is a chance to go and perform on the biggest stage in this country," he said.
"The audience that they are going to be playing in front of is massive, because it will be all around the world as well.
"There are a lot of players used to this, so it's not going to be new to them. For the youngsters it will be, but what a great experience for them."
Simon Davey
''I'm going to enjoy it. We are going to forget the league,'' said the Barnsley boss.
''For the last four weeks I've been asked questions about the FA Cup when we had the league to concentrate on and, now we're in the FA Cup, I'm being asked about the league.
''So we are forgetting about the league and having a week to concentrate on the FA Cup - and we are going to enjoy it,'
''It'll be a different game to what we've been used to in the FA Cup so far this season,'' said Davey.
''It'll be more like a Championship game and they'll be favourites.
''It's not going to be an easy game, but the big factor for me is that we are still underdogs.
''We go to Wembley as underdogs and hopefully my players will relish that challenge.
''But we are not going down to make up the numbers. We want to win and we've got the added incentive of being 90 minutes away from an FA Cup final.
''For our players to play at Wembley in this type of game is a fantastic achievement and as I've said before we have no fear in the dressing room.
''This is a massive game for everyone concerned with the club and we want to make it a day to remember.''