I’m Dreaming of the Lost Lights at Hollywood Studios
Nobody does the holiday season quite like Disney.
Guests who travel to Walt Disney World and Disney earn a special treat.
Photo: Disney
Cast members surround vacationers with the most gorgeous decorations on the planet.
Most Disney fans would agree that the parks seemingly improve their holiday decorations every year.
Photo: Disney
Still, I can’t help but reminisce about something we lost a few years ago.
Yes, Christmas is over, but I’m still dreaming of the lost lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Join me as I reminisce about the Osborne Family Dancing Spectacle of Lights.
Photo: Disney
An Unlikely Origin Story
Are you familiar with the strange origin stories of this Hollywood Studios attraction?
The Osborne Family Dancing Spectacle of Lights didn’t start in Orlando, Florida. Instead, we can trace its roots to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Photo: rootsweb.com
There, a workaholic father named Jennings Osborne savored his rare opportunities to spend time with the family during the holiday season.
The wildly successful medical entrepreneur had founded the Arkansas Research Medical Testing Center, which established new standards in medical innovation.
Photo: KATV
Alas, that success worked against Osborne, as he didn’t get to spend as much time as he wanted with his children.
What working parent couldn’t relate to that problem? To his credit, Osborne invented a solution, though.
Photo: Arkansas Business
His beloved daughter, Allison Brianne Osborne, loved to decorate the family’s house each holiday season. It was one of the seminal family events of the year.
Jennings Osborne wasn’t about to let the little girl he called Breezy down. So, he started a holiday lights collection that rivaled anything anyone had seen before.
Photo: Arkansas Democrats Gazette
I mean that literally. Within a few years, the Osborne family home hosted so many holiday decorations that it became a source of intrigue throughout Arkansas.
Some people drove hundreds of miles to witness what the family claimed were three million Christmas lights.
Photo: Associated Press
Having decorated a few trees myself, I always wonder how Jennings Osborne kept that many lights plugged in and powered up.
Somehow, the Osborne family managed, though. In fact, his achievement proved so popular that news crews made an annual mecca to cover the holiday light show.
Photo: D23
Disney’s Strangest Acquisition
Alas, all this attention came with unexpected consequences. While everyone loved the purity of the lights and what they represented, the neighbors took issue with the premise.
From their perspective, the Osborne family’s lights caused an endless stream of traffic in and out of this section of town.
Photo: KATV
Imagine that you need to go to the grocery store in December. You know that you’ll face massive crowds, turning your quick trip into a multi-hour aggravation.
On top of that, the camera crews needed to park their vans somewhere, which usually meant the road by the house or sometimes even someone’s driveway.
Photo: KATV
The resentment would build over time, which is exactly what happened. The holiday decorations made Jennings and Breezy feel magical.
Sadly, the neighbors didn’t share those same warm fuzzies. And so they sued. Several different residents joined this lawsuit.
Photo: cba.cj
Ever the fighter, Osborne responded by – you guessed it! – doubling the number of lights at the house.
Eventually, a local circuit court judge ruled that Osborne could operate the lights.
However, the judge provided a 15-day limit and only a few hours per night of operation.
Photo: Miriam-Webster
Osborne pursued the matter all the way to the Supreme Court but ultimately failed to save his lights.
Guests would no longer watch the Osborne family’s lights in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Photo:ofx.ie
Thankfully, by this point, the story had become a national headline. So, other parties had grown aware of the six million lights that were suddenly available.
Yes, a representative from The Walt Disney Company contacted Osborne about the possibility of transferring the holiday decorations to Orlando, Florida.
Hilariously, Osborne completely misunderstood the offer at first and rejected it. Once he recognized what Disney wanted, he happily signed off on a new home for his decorations, though.
The Osborne Family Dancing Spectacle of Lights Arrives at Disney
The Osborne family started its holiday decorations collection in 1986. The transition to Walt Disney World occurred in 1995.
Photo: TheFloridaProject.com
Obviously, the decorations were absolutely massive in scope by then. For this reason, park officials stuck them in the place with the most space.
Disney doesn’t like to talk about the matter, but the early days of Hollywood Studios were a mess. The lack of a cohesive theme and rides proved problematic.
Photo: D23
In this instance, the park’s woes worked in its favor. Hollywood Studios had the space Disney needed to host ten miles of lights (and 30 miles of extension cords).
For a time, Residential Street became THE place to go at Walt Disney World during the holiday season.
Photo: MealTrip.com
The Osborne Family Dancing Spectacle of Lights instantly captured the admiration of park guests, which was understandable.
By this point, the lights had become a staple of late-night television jokes, morning news talk, and the like. These lights were famous!
Photo: D23
Everyone wanted to watch the lights, and the cast members loved the process of putting them in place each year.
By the turn of the millennium, Hollywood Studios had two claims to fame: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the holiday light show!
Disney proved the perfect locale for the Osborne family’s decorations. Each year, park officials added new and improved touches.
In that manner, Disney honored the Osbornes’ tradition of making the presentation better each year.
Meanwhile, the Osbornes visited Disney each year to admire the combination of their work and Disney’s. They were the royal family of this Disney attraction.
For 15 years, the Osbornes celebrated all the gorgeous enhancements of their personal Disney attraction.
The End of the Spectacle
Sadly, Jennings Osborne died in 2011. A few years later, Hollywood Studios strategists decided that the park didn’t draw enough crowds throughout the year.
So, Disney executives chose to reclaim the space from The Osborne Family Dancing Spectacle of Lights to build new attractions.
Today, we have Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which we love. Sadly, they came at the cost of the Dancing Lights, though.
To its credit, Disney announced this closure early enough in 2015 to give guests time to say good-bye.
Disney somehow still managed to underestimate the appeal of these holiday decorations, though.
Photo: OrlandoSentinel.com
Guests showed up in such massive numbers that Hollywood Studios extended the final Dancing Lights holiday season by several nights.
That statement alone demonstrates how passionate fans have always been about these lights.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Alas, the Osborne Family Dancing Spectacle of Lights closed for good on January 6th, 2016.
Each year since then, Disney fans have joined in what has become an annual tradition. We lament the lost lights at Hollywood Studios.
Photo: CNN
For 20 years, these lights warmed our hearts and ensured that we were overflowing with the holiday spirit.
They were a lasting gift from Jennings Osborne to his daughter Breezy as well as Christmas lovers around the world.
Photo: Danny Johnston, File, Associated Press
Thanks to the magic of YouTube, we’ll always enjoy video reminders of this show. Here’s how it looked during its first year:
And here’s the final season of the Dancing Lights:
You can easily understand how something this breathtaking would make a lasting impression on Disney fans.
We made annual meccas to Hollywood Studios at a time when it was barely attended during the days. We did it because the nights belonged to the Osborne family.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
I still dream of those magical nights and the lost lights.
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Feature Photo: Photo: Disney Parks Blog
