Osborne Lights Officially Returning for 2015 for 20th and Final Season

[Yankee Mouse]

Hyperbole, much?

Yeah pretty much. It feeds into that whole "attack on christmas" thing that some media outlets like to believe is happening.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Disney hates Christmas so much, they're spending $2.8B at the Studios just so they have an excuse to get rid of the Osborne lights!

 

[Yankee Mouse]

Can I ask, because I'm just curious, but how is Holidays Around the World lesser than it used to be? Stories still in Mexico, Norway, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, UK, not sure about Canada.

Candlelight Processional is about a 45 minute production. I would count that as a very large attraction, if you're going to count the Osborne Lights as such. IMO, a much, much greater attraction than Christmas lights...I was never a fan of the Osborne lights (but I realize this is just personal opinion).

Yeah, I don't really understand the claim that Osborne lights is an attraction but CP isn't. I guess CP is more of a show? Splitting hairs IMO. And really, CP is a whole lot more religious than the Osborne lights, and easier to avoid. Plus didn't they originally replace LoW (which I loved) with a gospel choir singing christmas songs at the fountain?

I also forgot about all the Christmas music pumped into the parks for 2 months. So this thought that Disney is trying to get rid of christmas to appeal to all visitors is just silly.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I'm not going to complain until I see what they will be offering next year. I think Disney knows they will have to step it up elsewhere to make up for this loss.

 

[*Q*]

I'm not going to complain until I see what they will be offering next year. I think Disney knows they will have to step it up elsewhere to make up for this loss.

I imagine they made a pretty penny on merchandise and such for the event. If so, I'm sure they wouldn't want to lose that revenue.

 

[Communicore]

From the article:

I think that there is plenty of room to expand without doing away with something that makes you awestruck,” she said.

Cue "Thriller" laugh, accompanied by Cheshire Cat grin and your favorite Disney Villain cackle.

I guess some people will never ever know how Disney operates.

 

[GeneralZod]

Good riddance.

 

[Communicore]

I don't really understand the big deal. I mean if Communicore, Horizons and Toad can be booted out, then this "spectacle" should, too! I care more about "Lights Of Winter" than this half-day park diversion.

 

[bruiser659]

I certainly hope they're relocated somewhere. It's such a big part of the Holidays at WDW.

On BAY NEWS 9 they reported that the lights were moving to Sunset BLVD.

 

[space42]

On BAY NEWS 9 they reported that the lights were moving to Sunset BLVD.

Disney has said otherwise. The lights are being retired and portions are being returned to the Osborne family.

 

[Jon81uk]

I agree with you about complaining about nothing changing, and still complaining about changes but one of the reasons Disney bought up so much land in Florida was so that they could expand and yet the only new real expansions have been hotels and multi-million dollar homes.

Also, in addition to the infrastructure issues with moving the lights (which I think it is a cop out because Disney used to be a leader in innovation), another reason (the main one I think) they won't go somewhere like Disney Springs or a resort is because if they go there, they can't charge people.

I am very disappointed to see the lights going away, even if it is for star wars, which I am very excited about. But if they did real expansions with all the land they have they wouldn't have to get rid of attractions like this. That to me is the frustrating part.

I understand your point on expansion but unfortunately DHS was poorly designed in the first place as it was meant to be a working studio and expansion would be hard. Also the park is changing from a working studio with a tour to a theme park. With the backlot tour gone, all the rest of the film studio, like the Streets of America sets should be removed as well, as they look cheap and don't continue the new theme they are going for.
Hollywood Studios is changing first, then expanding.

 

[RSoxNo1]

People keep talking about moving them to Epcot or Disney Springs, but it really isn't that simple. The Backlot is a row of facades, that have all the anchor points for mounting in place, and the electrical infrastructure to do it. They are not going to want to cover the World Showcase or Disney Springs buildings with all the mounting hardware, and spend 6 months of the year having them partially installed and being removed.

The lights were a unique fit for the backlot, and something I can't see being replicated anywhere else at WDW.

With the lights going, they need to create a new holiday spectacular, with Epcot being the obvious choice.

I really think the best option would be to set up the facade around where the Flex theater is being setup.

 

[slaball1]

I really think the best option would be to set up the facade around where the Flex theater is being setup.

But with the lights being returned to the family as reported, do you honestly think they would rebuild?

 

[Next Big Thing]

With the lights going, they need to create a new holiday spectacular, with Epcot being the obvious choice.

I actually think DAK is the obvious choice as ROL will be debuting next year and the park will be staying open later. They could potentially do a Christmas version of ROL and possibly something else on the Tree of Life. Especially with the leaves just being redone and projection mapping rumored, they could do something really cool.

Of course those may not be the most splashy additions, but then again, DAK has zero holiday offerings at the moment so adding a few here and there would be a huge boost to the park.

 

[DisneyManOne]

I'm glad I got to see those lights once...namely, during my 2012 trip (the same trip in which I got the picture that serves as my profile picture). They were quite nice and beautiful, but yet, I've only seen it once, so I think I won't miss it that much...

 

[RSoxNo1]

But with the lights being returned to the family as reported, do you honestly think they would rebuild?

The rumor has been that they would get the winners of the Great Christmas Light Fight to decorate.

 

[slaball1]

The rumor has been that they would get the winners of the Great Christmas Light Fight to decorate.

Now that, I could believe

 

[Next Big Thing]

The rumor has been that they would get the winners of the Great Christmas Light Fight to decorate.

It's very tight back there... not a lot of room to waste space on facades to be used for 2 months out of the year.

Personally i'd love to see something at Animal Kingdom. DAK needs a major Holiday draw (right now it literally has nothing with the loss of the parade).

 

[JERiv]

I'm sorry, but I don't get what the big deal is. Yes, they were pretty, but once you saw them once, you saw them. And holy moley was it crowded in there!!!!

And nowadays, you can drive around some neighborhoods and see some fairly impressive light displays during the Holidays, if that's your thing.

Plus they're adding two entire new lands in DHS. So complaining about them closing one seasonal nighttime-only show like it's the end of the world seems kind of excessive. I HIGHLY doubt anyone ever decided to go to Disney during the Holidays JUST because of the lights.

"Hey honey, lets spend $3-5,000 on a Disney World vacation so we can go see the Osbourn Family Lights @ DSH!" - said no one ever.

 

[Nmoody1]

Disney has said otherwise. The lights are being retired and portions are being returned to the Osborne family.

Who in turn are probably in talks with Universal!

I still don't see why they could have just moved the lights to Hollywood and Sunset.