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Christmas lights

PHOTO TOUR of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

13 December 2012 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Walking around the corner at Disney’s Hollywood Studios onto New York Street and seeing the overwhelming amount of holiday lights displayed at the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is one of those must-do moments for me, that takes my breath away every year. If I could figure out a way to move into one of those Brownstones on the street, I would pack up in a heartbeat. Heck, I’d even live above the T.P. Tree! 😉 It is such a gift that Disney gives us each year, the beautiful lights, the music, a way to pause and enjoy the wonder and spirit of the season. It’s impossible not to go home happy.

I have so many wonderful memories tied into these lights – with my dad, who loved them as much as I do and loved the Studios too, my mom, as we tear up remembering the times with my dad, my older kids when they were little – I can still picture my now almost-14-year-old son sitting in his stroller, reaching his hand out to catch the “snow” as it fell, and now my youngest gets to experience it all as well and more and more memories are made each year. The past few years I’ve added memories with friends and other locals too. It’s just such a great place to wander and hang out. No parades or fireworks to line up for, just relax and enjoy the sights and sounds that envelope you at every turn.

So without further ado, lets take a look at some highlights from my most recent visit:

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Tree
Sid Cahuengas is always ready for Christmas!
One of my favorite Disney holiday displays!
My attempt to emulate Tom Bricker 😉
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
Santa!
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
Ooh, a black cat!
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
Fireplace with stockings
Fireplace without stockings!
The T.P. Tree
The infamous Toilet Paper Tree!
Crowds love The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
Spectacle of Dancing Lights
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
The canopy is the best
City Hall
City Hall with Mickey and Minnie lights
Santa Goofy is on hand for photos
Merry Christmas!
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
The big tree!
Peace on Earth!
Still more canopy!
Canopy in motion!
And even more canopy!
Canopy from afar!
Santa and the tree!
So pretty!
Santa and snow!
Blue canopy (yes, I guess I went overboard with canopy shots)
Looking up from next to the canopy.
Cannot get enough of the canopy!
The colors here are so pretty!
I loved this tiny pink hidden Mickey
Can I move in now?
The nativity is beautiful…
Goodnight from Hollywood Studios!

 

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Filed Under: Disney Holidays, Photos From the Parks, Theme Park Holiday Events, Walt Disney World Tagged With: Christmas lights, colors, dancing lights, Disney, Disney Christmas, Disney holidays, Disney photos, Disney snow, Disney's Hollywood Studios, extreme Christmas lights, holiday lights, hollywood, hollywood studios, lights, manger, music, nativity, osborne family, Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, Photo Tour, Santa Goofy, SODL, spectacle, Spectacle of Dancing Lights, spirit of the season

Busch Gardens Christmas Town Delivers Holiday Fun

10 December 2012 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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There are so many wonderful holiday events at Central Florida theme parks, and this year Busch Gardens Tampa is launching the biggest Christmas celebration ever. For the first time in the park’s 53-year history, visitors to Christmas Town will experience all-new evening attractions, shows and shopping from 6 to 11 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, Nov. 30 through Dec. 23. Christmas Town transforms the park into a nighttime holiday wonderland of wintery surprises and all things Christmas, filling guests’ senses with seasonal sights, sounds and flavors, and creating a beautiful new tradition for Tampa’s families. What’s even better than that? A portion of the proceeds from Christmas Town will benefit All Children’s Hospital here in the Bay area.

Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town
Signs letting you know where to find all of the Christmas Town fun

 

Christmas Town is a separate-ticketed night event, and regular daytime admission is not required or included. General admission for Christmas Town is $39.99 plus tax. Busch Gardens annual pass members will receive the deepest discounts with advance online priced at $24.99 for adults and $9.99 for children, and special offers are available for guests wishing to upgrade their paid daily admission to Busch Gardens. Gift cards are available at Bay area Publix locations and additional discounts are offered through promotional codes from Chik Fil-A, Coca-Cola at Wal-Mart and Fantastic Sam’s. Families with children ages 3 to 9 will enjoy a special advance-purchase price of $9.99 for their youngest members.

Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town
A “living angel” at Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town
I was a little worried that the drive to Tampa and the ticket cost would not be worth it, but Christmas Town was absolutely wonderful. I am a huge fan of Christmas lights, and seeing almost every inch of Busch Gardens covered in colorful, twinkling, beautiful lights, was just magical to me. The lights were all really well done, each area themed separately with unique activities, displays, or shows in each section. Special glasses are provided to make snow flakes appear on each light, making it even more fun.
Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town
How the lights look through the special viewing glasses
In addition to the lights, there are several really worthwhile shows going on during the night, as well as being able to ride some of the most popular roller coasters in the park. We really loved the ice skating show; Angels of Peace: A Christmas Journey on Ice, which was so spirited with contemporary versions of Christmas classics and some new songs as well. The Carol of the Bells light and music show on the Crown Colony  restaurant was also a highlight, so fun. The Celebration Village area had holiday snacks and drinks to enjoy while you stroll through the park, along with some of the familiar “Florida snow” we see in other area theme parks (aka soap!). There was also an area with “real” snow, enough to make and throw snowballs and go sliding: Snow World, presented by Coca-Cola.
Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town
Enchanted Flamingo Valley was my absolute favorite. SO many pink lights!
I took so many photos of the wonderful lights, I decided to put them all on a Busch Gardens Christmas Town flickr set, because I couldn’t decide which ones to post here. If you are able to make it down, I really think the Christmas Town event is worth it, and I hope it becomes an annual tradition for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, I know my family will be returning next year! You can find more information on pricing and tickets at the Christmas Town site.
Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town
Who knew the North Pole was a disco ball??

 

Disclosure: my family was provided a complimentary viewing of the events mentioned above. All opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: Busch Gardens, Florida Theme Parks & Attractions, Theme Park Holiday Events, Top Stories Tagged With: busch gardens, Busch Gardens Christmas Town, busch gardens tampa, Christmas, christmas celebration, Christmas lights, christmas town, Holidays, ice skating, SNOW!, theme park holidays

Holiday Happenings at Universal Orlando Resort

16 December 2011 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

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Universal Christmas treeOkay, first I have to admit that before last weekend, I had never been inside either Universal Orlando park. Shocking, I know. We’d been to City Walk a few times, for Hard Rock Cafe and Margaritaville but that was it. Of course when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened, I was determined to get there. Being able to walk in Hogwarts and order a Butterbeer? Sign me up! But time got away from us and we just never made it over there. I was thrilled when Universal invited the family and me to check out their holiday offerings and no one was more surprised than me that I actually LOVED Universal! As a life-long Disney fan, you’re sort of unofficially conditioned to like one place or the other, but after walking around the Universal parks, I gained a real appreciation for their design and look. Of course, I still have to get on some rides there, but hopefully I’ll fix that soon. In any event, I loved the holiday decorations, shows and parade Universal Orlando Resort offered, and hopefully sharing this here will convince some other hold outs to give them a try!

Here’s a video highlighting the holiday events:

 

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Filed Under: Florida Theme Parks & Attractions, Reviews, Universal Orlando Resort Tagged With: Christmas lights, Christmas theme parks, Grinch, Grinchmas, islands of adventure, Macy's Holiday Parade, mannheim steamroller, Orlando holidays, Orlando theme parks, tree-lighting, universal orlando resort, Universal Studios Christmas, universal studios florida, Universal Studios holidays

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