Christmas Redux

Yes, I know it's January 6. Yes, I know that Christmas 2011 is a mere memory for most of the country, and that memory is likely blurred by the more recent excesses of New Years Eve last weekend. But next door to Celebration, Christmas continues unabated for two more days in a little niche of the Walt Disney World Resort. There, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights will continue to blaze in all its glory until the glow gets turned off for another year on January 7.

I haven't seen the Osborne lights yet this year, although my husband was there pretty much as soon as the display opened. I'm not big on mob scenes, so every year I bide my time until the holidays are over. Most of the mass of humanity leaves after New Years, and the people who remain aren't all that interested in Christmas anymore. Instead of wedging your body through a nearly solid wall of hostile strangers, you can take a leisurely stroll among the lights and enjoy the musical show and the host of little details, like LED scenes in the windows.

Another tradition that works better when the crowds die down is finding the black (well, purple) cat who gets hidden among the lights each year. Supposedly one of the Osborne family's Halloween decorations was accidentally mixed in among the original shipment to Disney World. He was put up with the original display, and now, every year, he gets hidden in a new spot for sharp-eyed Disneyphiles to find. I posted his location this year in one of my Examiner articles if you didn't get to see him for yourself.

If you're not lucky enough to live in Celebration, Florida, or somewhere else within driving distance of the parks, my husband took a video of this year's display if you want to join me vicariously. The weather will be a little more temperate tonight, with lows in the 50s, and if there's a chill, it will only make the experience more genuine. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to this year's holiday season, and thanks to Disney World, I can cling to it for that one extra week in January.