People alway say to us that we are so lucky to be able to spend Christmas at Disney World. Well, I do feel lucky to be in Orlando for the holiday...because it means I get to see my daughter. I also love the warm weather (which was in the 80's this year) and I admit that the decorations are stunning. However, we actually spend very little time "doing Disney" at that time of year. You see, everyone on the planet seems to come to Orlando for Christmas. The crowds both in the Disney parks, in malls and on the Orlando highways are unbelievable. We joke that it changes our personalities. We head to Florida full of love and Christmas spirit and by the time we are there a few days we are walking about saying "I hate people" every few minutes!
One of the things we never miss seeing is the Osborne Light Show at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Arkansas resident Jennings Osborne and his family were very big on the Holidays. In 1986, Jennings asked his youngest daughter Breezy what her Christmas wish was. She replied that she would like to see their whole house covered in lights. That first year the Osborne family covered their home with a 1000 red lights. With each passing year, the family added more and more lights, eventually buying property adjacent to their own in order to make the "show" larger.
The display grew to millions of lights. There were flashing lights, multi-colored lights, custom-made light sculptures and a 75-foot Christmas tree adorned by lights. So many people came from all over Arkansas causing traffic jams that the local residents asked that the Osborne family stop the annual display. In 1995, Disney's Hollywood Studios became the home of this dazzling light show. Approximately 80% of the lights that are on display come from the original Osborne collection. During the holiday season, once evening descends, this amazing display of 4 million lights springs to life. Formerly drab buildings become twinkling light sculptures, while a host of angels fly overhead. Florida "snow" flutters down while Christmas tunes fill the air.
