Let the Season of Magic begin! From November 8, 2013 through January 5, 2014, one of the most exhilarating spectacles of 4 million+ Christmas lights appears on Residential Street in Disney’s Hollywood Studios The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Pictures cannot do this experience justice. The best way to feel the electricity is to be there, to pulse with the surge of watts, wonder, and wow! We were leisurely smashing our faces with turkey sandwiches and salads from the Backlot Express Quick Service to make sure we were able to make it around the corner to stand under the soaring angels above during the lighting ceremony.
Dusk has a way of breathing enchantment into Walt Disney World. Whether it be a heart-pounding parade, fantastical fireworks display, or fairy-lit branches beckoning more shopping, Disney World embraces the nocturnal nightlife. However, as soon as that switch is flipped, rushing color and illumination into your senses, you would never know the sun had retreated for the day. Where ever you are, your eyes and mouth will resemble the letter O as you gaze up, down, and side to side to try to capture the wealth of enchanted imagery entering your heart and mind. There are so many details that may disappear into the vastness of the unique color-action combo that makes up the Osborne Lights. As if the hundreds of strings of lights and Christmasy figures weren’t enough, about every 10 minutes, a perfectly choreographed music-light show occurs. Mannheim Steamroller and other Christmas favorites are not only experienced auditorily, but also visually, taking full advantage of the human senses.
It is truly amazing that there are very few bodily injuries due to the fact that almost all spectators have their necks and heads cranked up while walking, taking pictures and video. You almost want to bring some blankets and enjoy the Christmas sky-party horizontally, like you would a 4th of July fireworks celebration. As soon as you feel like your neck will never regain its natural position again, a white, crystallized reprieve falls from the sky… snow! Disney magic has the power to melt hearts, spark imaginations, and craft artificial snow that will make you think you are in the mountains of Colorado instead of the heart of Florida. It is then that time stands still. There’s something fantastically wonderful about walls and window sills that can ignite passion with simplistic items such as wire and bulbs. Happiness flows like a current through veins that crave joy as merriment and purity materialize in pinpoints of multicolored visible light. It was then that I had time, actual time, to reflect on the meaning of Christmas. Yes, lights, music, and snow flurries are certainly meaningful and carry great tradition. But, taking a moment to see true bliss mirrored in the eyes of my husband and parents, watching smile after smile creep across their faces in sync with flying angels and ringing bells – this is Christmas. There’s no time to consider which stock to sell or how many coupons it will take to meet the grocery budget, this is the time to celebrate the reason for the season.
It is easy to spend an hour or more on this small stretch of the Streets of America, and I would recommend doing just that. Wonderful memories are captured here, in a capsule of melody and magic illuminations, where with a crack, Christmas is confined only by the limitations of your imagination. 
