It's official, as announced in the Disney Parks Blog 2015 is the last year for the Osborne Lights. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...a-delightful-holiday-tradition-one-more-time/ I'm crushed as this was one of my absolute favorites.... ~Joanie
Ouch! I guess that makes this even more of a priority to shoot this Pixelmania, if it's going to be our last.
We might want to shift the focus after Dinner on Wednesday to hopping over to Hollywood Studios as the camp grounds at Ft. Wilderness will still be decorated for the foreseeable future. ~Joanie
Might indeed be a good idea. Maybe both can still be done - if we do Osborne after dinner, then depending on when DHS closes, there may still be good time that evening to do something else like the Campground, or pick any other hotel for holiday theme shooting. We can even use Wilderness Lodge as a hub - bus over to DHS and back again after Osborne, then boat to the campground and back - in case anyone drove to Wilderness, their cars could be kept there if desired.
Wow! I thought this might happen, boy am I glad we are doing this at Pixelmania this year! This is by far my favorite Christmas offering at WDW.
Don't forget about Yeeha Bob that night too... Who knows, with the way Disney Parks Entertainment has been going...
As far as transportation is concerned: I just returned from a trip the last few days of August/first few of September and we had great success using UBER for our resort to resort/ park to park etc. needs. The cost was less than half of what Mears is charging and the app on the phone provides you with a real time location of the vehicle, description of the vehicle along with the plate number and a picture of the driver. No cash is exchanged as your credit card on file with Uber is charged and the driver does not get tipped since they keep more of the fee versus what Mears pays it's drivers. We were using this deal that when you referred someone to Uber and they downloaded and set up the app both you and the person who who was the new user got free rides (up to 20$). You did not have to be in the same vehicle as the new user or even on the same trip. We were Uber-ing all over WDW with most of the rides being free because of this (we referring each other). The drivers and vehicles were slightly better than some of the Mears Cabs that I have experienced. I also love the fact that you get to rate the UBER drivers and they get to rate you. This allows the people running UBER to thin the herd from drivers that aren't doing a good job or eliminate passengers who are jerks. Based on that and the fact that the price was less than half of what Mears is charging I now use UBER. Transportation just got a lot cheaper at WDW if you need an alternate to the buses. Remember you have to download the app using a referral code that you are sent by email from a friend to get the free ride. ~J
As of the operating schedule dated 8/7/15 DHS is scheduled to close at 8pm on Wednesday night. Usually (unless it's raining) they leave the lights on for an hour after park close. With all the crap cuts in operating hours and attractions we will have to see if the bean counters nailed this schedule. So with the latest Wednesday ADR at Whispering Canyon being at 5:40 pm I plan on Uber-ing it from the Wilderness lodge over to DHS to get in an additional night of Osborne lights shooting on Wednesday. That means that DHS will be done by 9pm leaving plenty of time to hoof it over to the next location on the schedule. I also plan on heading over to the Osborne lights after my Thursday San Angel Inn dinner while 'youse' guys are at Universal. My dinner at San Angel inn is at 5PM and I still have 3 open spots if anyone would like to join me for an alternate meet. DHS closes at 8pm on Thursday night but there is a 8:30pm Fantasmic on the schedule for that night. Then we have Sunday night when DHS is open until Extra Magic hours of 10pm. I'm not sure that they would leave the lights on for an extra hour with that "late" closing. This sucks for us because it will still be crowded. So there is the Osborne update! ~Joanie
The last two times I've shot Osbourne, the lights were all shut off the moment of park closing. Don't count on any post closing shooting time.
One reason for shutting the lights off promptly is to get people out of the area and let the event folks set up for private parties. I've done a couple of those, and believe me, it's the best way to see the lights. Too bad we don't have a big enough group to afford it.
We'll have to see what effect this announcement will have on our Osborne touring: Disney has announced the Merry & Bright Dessert Party as a new way to enjoy the final year of the Osborne lights.
To me that just means it is desserts eaten in a roped off section near the lights and not necessarily a private after hours party under the lights. Similar to the fireworks dessert party.
