Changing of the Lights at Hollywood Studios – Osborne Holiday Lights

For those who have made it a holiday tradition to take the family to Walt Disney World® and enjoy the Osborne holiday lights at Hollywood Studios, this year will sadly mark the season finale. After 20 years of providing entertainment to park goers, the Hollywood Studios ever popular music and light show extravaganza will provide its farewell show this holiday season.

Yes, that’s right. Disney announced recently at its D23 Expo that the space is now needed where the Osborne Holiday Lights were to create room for some new lights − the upcoming Star Wars and Toy Story Land sections of the theme park. The Star Wars attraction is set to make its debut in the summer of 2016. As of the writing of this article, there has been no opening date announced for Toy Story Land.

As you can imagine, the buzz surrounding Star Wars is already galactic. Set to cover an estimated 14 acres, it is reported to be Disney’s largest single themed land expansion ever. In addition, a Star Wars land park is set to open at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, also to cover 14 acres. Disney has reported that each will include an attraction that will place visitors in the heat of the battle between the First Order and the Resistance, while still another attraction will hand over the controls of the Millennium Falcon to its thrill seeking guests.

Osborne Family Holiday Lights Background

The history behind the annual Osborne holiday lights show is indeed a story in itself. The Osborne holiday lights at Hollywood Studios were originally a gift from the Jennings Osborne family back in 1995. Incredibly, Osborne, a businessman and philanthropist who resided in Little Rock, Arkansas, actually used to decorate his house with them.

For those of you not familiar with the story, Osborne owned a couple of stately gated homes which sit next to each in suburban Little Rock. Every Christmas, the family had the grounds decorated to the hilt with their flashing light show.

While the lights were enjoyed by countless thousands of spectators over the years, they also angered quite a few of Osborne’s neighbors as you might imagine. The traffic jams became nightmares on the busy thoroughfare, and even after police were brought in to try to keep it moving along, the situation evolved into lawsuits, resulting in the family eventually donating the lights to Disney. Jennings Osborne passed away in 2011.

It is said that the total number of actual flashing lights is somewhere in the millions. It will be interesting to see where they will now end up, hopefully not in a Disney warehouse somewhere. The Osborne holiday lights at Hollywood Studios will be missed by all.

Meanwhile, check back soon at OVH360 for more news about Star Wars and Toy Story Land.

Be sure to book your Orlando Vacation Home Rental well in advance, as both attractions are forecast to draw millions of visitors to the theme park.

Browse the large hand picked selection of vacation rentals in Orlando, Kissimmee and Davenport between 3 and 7 bedrooms in size. If you have any questions or just need help, feel free to call the friendly OVH 360 service team toll free at 1-888-826-0551.

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