Are DH and I alone in thinking Osborne Lights okay but not fabulous? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Are DH and I alone in thinking Osborne Lights okay but not fabulous?
Maybe it's just that neither of us is all that fond of elaborate holiday light displays, but we both came out of Osborne Lights wondering if the pixie dust missed us where the lights are concerned.
We weren't either of us very impressed, more an "Okay, we saw them, and that's one HUGE bunch of lights synced very expertly to music. Been there, saw 'em, can say we did both."
::::: neutral shrugs :::::
Must be something wrong with us, I guess, since we LOVE the GF's over-the-top lobby decorations. But not Osborne Lights so much. Go figger.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We enjoyed the Osborne Lights once...and never felt the overwhelming need or desire to go again, although I think we did walk thru a second time on another of our trips. It was never a must do on our list of things to do on the next trip.
So, no you are not alone. We seem to enjoy the other decorations - like the gingerbread creations and the poinsettias!
__________________
Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
I've never seen them in person but I agree with the sentiment I read online - "it's like Christmas threw up." There's just way too much IMO to the point you can't see anything. Not that it matters anyway but just because I could, I even found a video online - I couldn't even watch it. It messed with my eyes and gave me a headache.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I completely agree with you, Dot. I loved when they first came to the studios and were displayed on the movie and tv house street from the backlot tour. That street was like a little neighborhood and each house was decorated with a different personality. You could wander down the street and really imagine people living there. There was a bigger display on New York street, but it was still not as overdone as it is now. It's gotten to be "let's put lights on every square inch of these buildings and call it pretty". It really felt like Christmas in the early days. Now it's more like Vegas.
You've nailed it, Laurie. I hadn't realized it until you said "more like Vegas," but that display is as excessive as the Vegas Strip. A ridiculous number of lights!
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
I love the lights! When I was little my DDad would take me to Boston to see the lights and then we would drive through neighborhoods to see the decorated homes. It was a time to have my Daddy all to myself and it was wonderful. Being in the Osborne Lights takes me back to that time. I wish I could have brought Dad down to FL with me to see the lights, but I probably would have just turned into a teary mess if I did.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I do love the lights. I think I liked them better before they were "dancing" but there is still something about being totally surrounded in Christmas lights that makes me happy.
We love them but this year it was less enjoyable because it was just SO CROWDED. I like to stroll with a drink or a snack and enjoy it slowly but this year I felt we were just shuffled along. I'm certainly sad to see them go but we also love the GF decor and made sure to take a trip over there as well
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ballston Lake, NY
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 46,162
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 94
Likes (Received): 241
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 139
Pixie Dust (Given): 3
Pixie Dust (Received): 4
I love the lights! I never got to see them when were on the houses on the Backlot Tour. I definitely think it is hard to enjoy them if it is really crowded. I will definitely miss them.
I loved them. I am not a big Christmas person as I have worked retail and that has ruined Christmas for me. I would just assume go into a coma Thanksgiving night and wake up December 30th. My friend brought me to the Studios to see the Osbourne lights and I have to say I loved them. I was put in a Christmas spirit I have not felt in years.
My son loves them, I like them, but my husband hates them. Then, he hates anything that is Garish Christmas. Sorry to see them go but last year it really wasn't a lot of fun like it was the first few times; too crowded, too regimented with how you were directed to go only a certain way, too many lights, and then there was that dessert or dinner thing. Bought a mug of hot chocolate, danced around for 30 minutes, then left. Twenty years is a good run. Time for something new.
...my husband hates them. Then, he hates anything that is Garish Christmas.
Precisely why neither of us was impressed. Those were Christmas lights on steroids! Or, as lauriep so aptly termed them, more Vegas than Christmas.
That's exactly what all those synced flashes brought to mind immediately--the Vegas Strip. One thing I can say for it is that there's not incessant deafeningly loud music as you move along the Strip.
No. Decidedly not. Give me the simple real neighborhood feel that Laurie said the display once had.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We really love the lights. We always thought the area back where they are was such a waste of space and boring (not that it will be that way anymore ) so it was nice they did something there during the holidays! Definitely disappointed they will be gone!
We enjoyed the Osborne Lights...right up until they started selling them as a dessert party package. Once they did that it was horrible because it totally blocked up one end of the street and you could only enter and exit at opposite ends of the street. The first few times we saw it they were great because you could come and go as you pleased and you weren't herded through them like cattle. The last couple times were horrible. We didn't even bother with them on our last trip. If I want to see something like this in future I'll just watch the Great Christmas Light Fight on TLC.
Small World Holiday in Disneyland is far superior in my opinion.
Have your brought your Dad to Lasallette? We would always stop in Attleborough (can't spell it today) with the kids after our Christmas visit to Providence and it was a beautiful stroll and a calm and peaceful evening. There is also one off 89 in NH but I haven't been.
I had no desire to see the Osborne lights. I am not impressed by the ability to put lights on anything (like Spectromagic, too). And I hate Vegas lights.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Judy and Kenzie
Linear Mode
