Christmas in Disney

There's something extra special about being in Disney at the holidays. The parks are decorated beautifully, the characters are dressed like Santa, and there are special events and parades that cannot be seen at any other time of year. One down side to going to Disney World during the holiday season is that everyone else in the world is there too. The week of Thanksgiving and the week before, during, and after Christmas, are the busiest winter weeks for Disney. Families with elementary and high school aged children flock to the Sunshine State for Winter Break.

One of my favorite things to see in Disney at Christmas is the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. This amazing light display began as the Osborne family's Christmas display on their property in Arkansas. In 1995 they decided to share their passion for Christmas lights with Disney World. Some of the Osborne family's original light pieces are included in the now much larger scale display such as "flying angels" and a rotating carousel. The light spectacular has changed in recent years. Originally, visitors would walk through a setting of houses on the MGM back lot that were once used for television shows. During my first experience at the spectacle of lights I remember passing by the house seen in The Golden Girls. This section is no longer open to the public and some of the houses have been torn down. Now visitors are treated to a dancing light show on the Avenue of the Americas.







"When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it's because he's so human; and that is the secret of his popularity."—Walt Disney