Osborne Lights, Walt Disney World
Happy Hanukkah!
Showing posts with label Osborne Lights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Osborne Lights. Show all posts
Monday, December 3, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Walt Disney World for the Holidays
I thought I would provide a complete listing of all my posts about Christmas at Walt Disney World. I wrote these last summer as a planning tool and thought I would provide a quick reference guide as you get ready to leave for your Christmas trips.
Epcot's Holiday Storytellers
A Christmas Carol at Epcot's UK Pavilion
Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at the Hollywood Studios
Candlelight Processional at Epcot
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom
Happy Holidays!
Epcot's Holiday Storytellers
A Christmas Carol at Epcot's UK Pavilion
Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at the Hollywood Studios
Candlelight Processional at Epcot
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
Terye and I visited the Osborne Lights twice during our visit. Once during regular park hours and once as part of WDW Today podcast's Reunion after park closing.
The short story of how the spectacle came to be. Many, many years ago Arkansas resident Mr. Osborne has an extensive Christmas light display. So extensive that the local government made him stop putting it up. Disney World acquired the display and now you can see the Osborne Lights daily during the holidays, it is one of the best light shows out there.
The first night we went it was PACKED, tough for me to get around with my camera on the tripod, but most of my pictures are from that night. We did not attend the turning on of the lights, which I know can be extra busy. But these were the coolest lights I had ever seen. And they danced to the music, AWESOME!
The second time we went it was a private event, about 200 guests. I didn't have my good camera, just my iphone, it was freeing I was dancing in the streets, literally. I had so much fun, I was sad when they turned off the lights and escorted us out.
There are a few special things within the Osborne Lights: find the hidden Mickey's. Between the two nights Terye and I found almost all of the Mickeys, if you use the official number. There is always a black cat hidden (it's actually purple, but it looks like a black halloween cat). We also found a razorback (University of Arkansas mascot), a toilet paper tree and a paper towel tree. One of the angels is in white, to honor the passing of Mr. Osborne in 2011.
The lights are rearranged every year, so you can have a fun night of exploring every year. I would rank this as my second favorite holiday event in Disney World. And, it's free! As long as you pay to get into the park.
You can check out my video on Youtube.
You can follow me on Twitter: @Travelingiraffe
The second time we went it was a private event, about 200 guests. I didn't have my good camera, just my iphone, it was freeing I was dancing in the streets, literally. I had so much fun, I was sad when they turned off the lights and escorted us out.
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| For my Jewish readers! |
You can check out my video on Youtube.
You can follow me on Twitter: @Travelingiraffe
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Holidays In Disney World
This year was the first time I was ever in Disney for the Christmas holidays, I had heard a lot of hype about what Disney does and it lived up to the hype!
The main holiday events are: Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom, Candlelight Processional at Epcot, and The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at the Hollywood Studios. I will go into each of these in great depth later on (probably in the middle to later part of the year as people start planning their own holiday trips.) But aside from these events the parks and resorts are dressed up for the holidays too. I felt fully immersed in the holidays while I was there.
Very Merry Christmas Party - I thought this event was over priced, but it was still fun. They have some special characters for photographs (all 7 dwarves in one place for photos), cookies and hot chocolate, a special show in front of the castle, a special parade and special Wishes fireworks. With the reduced number of people in the park I found you didn't have to fight so hard for a spot for the parade, which was good since I waited an hour to see the 7 dwarfs. The park is magical at night, and even more so when you're not fighting with so many people and are listening to Christmas music, it really does make a difference. This is an event that would be fun to do every couple years, but not necessarily every year, unless you need a little push to get into the holiday spirit.
The Osborne Family Dancing Lights - I had heard about these, I had previously seen the Streets of America. But gosh darn it, these were just cool! I love Christmas lights, I love Christmas music - lights dancing to Christmas music = heaven in my book. But it was very crowded. I actually saw these twice, the first time I was taking photos with my tripod, between that and the crowds it was just cool. But when I went for a private viewing and didn't even have my camera - I was dancing in the streets and singing songs - I LOVED it!. I also finally had a chance to help Terye find the hidden Mickeys. But I guess if you don't like Christmas lights or Christmas music then this would be a waste, of course if that's the case you should probably go to Disney another time of year.
Candlelight Processional - This is another event I had heard great things about, and it was my favorite. It was void of gimmicks and was just about Christmas. A famous person does the narration (Edward James Olmos) of the Christmas story and then a choir (accompanied by an orchestra) sang the appropriate Christmas song. If you enjoy going to church and listening to the choir sing on Christmas you will LOVE this!
Holiday Story Tellers - These are at Epcot at World Showcase. Each country has a story teller that talks about holidays in their country. While I really enjoyed the Christmas ones, I also really enjoyed the ones that talked about other holidays - The Monkey King really stood out. The Christmas ones reminds us of where our traditions come from and the non-Christmas ones remind us that the world is different and people celebrate different holidays while we're opening the presents that Santa placed under our trees.
I did visit a few of the different resorts - Grand Floridian, The Contemporary, Saratoga Springs, Yacht and Beach Club and of course my home resort of Port Orleans French Quarter. The Grand Floridian was my favorite in terms of decorations - a gingerbread house that is big enough to be a store selling gingerbread - impressive. Every resort had trees, multiple trees - I think the ones at Yacht and Beach had the best theming.
The last few years I've had trouble getting myself into the holiday spirit. But by the end of the week in Disney, I couldn't get it out of my spirit. I loved spending the holidays in Disney. I was running around the park singing about baby jesus, what more could you want? Since I bought an annual pass I think I might try to sneak in a trip right after Thanksgiving next year before my pass expires!
The main holiday events are: Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom, Candlelight Processional at Epcot, and The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at the Hollywood Studios. I will go into each of these in great depth later on (probably in the middle to later part of the year as people start planning their own holiday trips.) But aside from these events the parks and resorts are dressed up for the holidays too. I felt fully immersed in the holidays while I was there.
Very Merry Christmas Party - I thought this event was over priced, but it was still fun. They have some special characters for photographs (all 7 dwarves in one place for photos), cookies and hot chocolate, a special show in front of the castle, a special parade and special Wishes fireworks. With the reduced number of people in the park I found you didn't have to fight so hard for a spot for the parade, which was good since I waited an hour to see the 7 dwarfs. The park is magical at night, and even more so when you're not fighting with so many people and are listening to Christmas music, it really does make a difference. This is an event that would be fun to do every couple years, but not necessarily every year, unless you need a little push to get into the holiday spirit.
The Osborne Family Dancing Lights - I had heard about these, I had previously seen the Streets of America. But gosh darn it, these were just cool! I love Christmas lights, I love Christmas music - lights dancing to Christmas music = heaven in my book. But it was very crowded. I actually saw these twice, the first time I was taking photos with my tripod, between that and the crowds it was just cool. But when I went for a private viewing and didn't even have my camera - I was dancing in the streets and singing songs - I LOVED it!. I also finally had a chance to help Terye find the hidden Mickeys. But I guess if you don't like Christmas lights or Christmas music then this would be a waste, of course if that's the case you should probably go to Disney another time of year.
Candlelight Processional - This is another event I had heard great things about, and it was my favorite. It was void of gimmicks and was just about Christmas. A famous person does the narration (Edward James Olmos) of the Christmas story and then a choir (accompanied by an orchestra) sang the appropriate Christmas song. If you enjoy going to church and listening to the choir sing on Christmas you will LOVE this!
Holiday Story Tellers - These are at Epcot at World Showcase. Each country has a story teller that talks about holidays in their country. While I really enjoyed the Christmas ones, I also really enjoyed the ones that talked about other holidays - The Monkey King really stood out. The Christmas ones reminds us of where our traditions come from and the non-Christmas ones remind us that the world is different and people celebrate different holidays while we're opening the presents that Santa placed under our trees.
I did visit a few of the different resorts - Grand Floridian, The Contemporary, Saratoga Springs, Yacht and Beach Club and of course my home resort of Port Orleans French Quarter. The Grand Floridian was my favorite in terms of decorations - a gingerbread house that is big enough to be a store selling gingerbread - impressive. Every resort had trees, multiple trees - I think the ones at Yacht and Beach had the best theming.
The last few years I've had trouble getting myself into the holiday spirit. But by the end of the week in Disney, I couldn't get it out of my spirit. I loved spending the holidays in Disney. I was running around the park singing about baby jesus, what more could you want? Since I bought an annual pass I think I might try to sneak in a trip right after Thanksgiving next year before my pass expires!
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