My New Happy: Osborne Family Spectacle Of Dancing Lights

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Osborne Family Spectacle Of Dancing Lights


Okay, I lied.  I said there would be no more Disney vacation pictures on my blog. However. Last week when we were at Hollywood Studios, we got to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, and it WAS spectacular.  I had no idea who the Osborne Family was or why their lights were at Disney, so I did a little research.  It's a pretty cool story.



Jennings Osborne was a wealthy Arkansas philanthropist who was fascinated with Christmas displays.  He started decorating his suburban Little Rock home in 1986, and within a few Christmases he had transformed it into a "3.2 million light yuletide extravaganza".  It was so bright that pilots reportedly could see the house from 80 miles away.



30,000 people a year visited the display, which eventually caused problems with Osborne's neighbors, who didn't like the traffic and commotion.  In 1993 several neighbors filed a lawsuit against Osborne, which he ultimately lost, and the lights had to come down.



Soon after, Osborne was contacted by Disney, who wanted to purchase his decorations and continue the tradition.  Four 18 wheelers and Mickey Mouse showed up at his home to pick up the lights.  And then, of course, Disney took it to a whole. other. level.



They added more lights, music, and snow.  Even my teenagers, who complained about leaving the rides to "go see Christmas lights we can see at home", were impressed. Trust me, there's nothing like this at home.



26 comments:

  1. Wow! Those photos are so vibrant and pretty! Must have been amazing to see!

    Jill
    www.dousedinpink.com

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  2. Wow everything is so beautiful!

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  3. I would love to see this! So cool and looks amazing.

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    1. It was pretty amazing, and I loved the story behind the lights.

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  4. Oh I do trust you. That looks AMAZING!!!!!! Thanks for sharing! Christmas lights always make me smile :-))

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  5. Oh. My. Word. Beautiful! You know, I think we can see these from my house!

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  6. We saw this when we were at Disney and it is amazing! Definitely a highlight!!

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  7. Oh I would LOVE these! Christmas lights are my thing and I haven't even went looking at any all year, this is motivation although I am sure I won't see anything like this around here! How do you file a lawsuit against someone who puts up Christmas lights? Talk about a Scrooge!!!! They could have sold hot chocolate and made a fortune. I would have loved to have had him as my neighbor!

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    1. I agree - he would have been a fun neighbor, I bet!

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  8. I think I remember reading about this in the 90's ? What a beautiful display - I just hope they are better at fixing them than me, when a strand goes out!

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    1. Can you even imagine being in charge of maintenance on those? I'm sure there's a whole department!

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  9. Holy cow! Glad that Disney kept Osborne's dreams alive, and of course added his spin.

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  10. Wow, those are breathtaking! Love the angels flying overhead.

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    Replies
    1. So cool, right? It was hard to know where to look!

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  11. That's a lot of lights...I imagine they're even more spectacular in person!

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