After a bit of convincing – and allegedly an explanation that MGM Studios’ Residential Street area was part of the park, and not an actual residential street in Orlando – the family agreed to donate their display to Disney. Walt Disney World Project Director John Phelan heard about the use through media coverage and decided to contact Osborne about potentially moving the display to the resort. Just when it looked like the Osborne’s version of Christmas would be cancelled permanently, the Walt Disney Company stepped in. ![]() Things got even worse for Osborne in 1995, when the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered his display shut down entirely. Jennings Osborne appealed the county court’s decision to both the Arkansas Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court, the latter of which saw Justice Clarence Thomas shoot down Osborne’s claim that his “religious freedom” was being violated. The good times didn’t last though, and by the next year the country court ordered Osborn to only have the display active for 15 days, and only from 7PM to 10:30PM. In a move that could be considered to be, at best, arrogant and at worst, purposely poking the bear, Osborne responded to the suit by stringing an extra 1,000 lights. In 1993 (when Osborne’s lights were lit from sundown to midnight 35 days of the holiday season) six neighbors banded together and took Osborne to court. ![]() In the early 1990s, several of Osborne’s neighbors became unhappy with large crowds and heavy amounts of traffic Osborne’s lights brought to the area. However, not everyone was happy with Jennings. By 1993, the home drew news crews and visitors by the thousands to view the classic lights, as well as features including a giant illuminated globe and a 70-foot tall Christmas tree. Over the next seven years, the Osborne’s display became increasingly ornate, detailed… and, in-turn, popular. Never one to go about things lightly, Osborne (and wife Mitzy) decked out their home in over 1,000 Christmas lights. The story of the Osborne Lights begins in 1986, when successful Arkansas businessman Jennings Osborne was asked by his then young daughter Allison (nicknamed Breezy) to decorate the family’s Little Rock home for Christmas. The Osborne home in Little Rock as it appeared during the 1993 holiday season. In fact, the story of how they got to Walt Disney World in the first place is a fascinating tale featuring lawsuits and a Supreme Court case. However there’s more to the Osbourne Lights than their controversial closure. The display, housed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (originally Disney/MGM Studios) theme park, is still mourned by die hard fans to this day. The Complete History of The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lightsįor over two decades, The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights was a beloved part of the holidays at Walt Disney World… until it was discontinued. ![]()
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