Night of a Million Lights

The whole fam had come back to the resort and Jinx and Kyra were just going to relax with Jinx trying to kick his headache. But Roxy and I were heading back out after I changed into my Make-A-Wish shirt and blue Disney mask.

We ate some snacks and headed back out the door to meet our Lyft to take us to Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee. We had tickets for a charity fundraiser event they were doing called Night of a Million Lights. The common areas were all decorated and each cottage usually occupied by Wish Families were sponsored and decorated by different businesses. At this time there was no Wish travel due to the pandemic.

It was a huge effort to get everything done by a bunch of area volunteers plus representatives from the businesses. Disney themselves had donated 3 million lights to the project, we’re guessing from the now defunct Osbourne Festival of Dancing Lights that used to be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

We had 7pm reservations and arrived just as our reservation window opened. When we came in we were greeted by some volunteers plus a sign from the Mayor Clayton, the mascot of the village.

We then headed out into the courtyard to take in the spectacle!

They even had a giant fairy princess!

They had a cool photo op for the guests to commemorate our time here

This was a big deal for me as I was celebrating 10 years as a Volunteer Wish Granter for Make-A-Wish Oregon. I had sent many Wish Kids and their families to Give Kids the World Village as part of Orlando theme park trips. I had told those families all kinds of info about the place and how special it is for the kids and their whole family. But to get to finally come here myself was checking off a bucket list item in a big way.

For any who are interested in what they do and how you can help click on the image below.

We moved on around the courtyard taking in the amazing lights.

This little cottage belongs to the mayor and his wife

We then moved on into the housing area where the cottages are

Loved the gingerbread car!

Quite the tower and I loved the Wish Stars they had spiraling up it.

There’s pink …and then there’s PINK!!!

This area had the pool where they were serving hot cocoa and cookies. We’d be returning there in a little while.

And yes, I’m enough of a goofball to put my face in a waiving reindeer

…especially when it is commemorating some of the money raised!

If I had the trees for it I would get some of those colorful balls.

This next one was really cool animated window setup by ITEC Entertainment

As we moseyed around the neighborhood we ran into the tallest fairy princess ever!

They had a very colorful Christmas tree path with several great trees

Very sparkly!

We were getting a little chilly so we headed over to the pool area to partake of some of their hot cocoa. It looked like a wonderful setup for a warmer day!

From there we headed back to some of the central buildings. That is one magical looking sleeping tree!

And again, someone really has a penchant for pink!

Ands such amazing theming for their merry-go-round

If you look closely in the archway you can see Santa in a bit of a bind.

As I said earlier, Disney really stepped up to help make this magical event a reality!

Even though it was chilly out, I was still a little bummed that this place wasn’t open.

The fountain was a real work of art.

From here we headed down towards the lagoon and another neighborhood of houses.

A bit curvy, but still a pretty cool panorama looking across the lagoon.

The mayor and his wife were keeping busy!

The Lego Snowman was quite a feat!

We finished up with the houses and headed back to the front of the property, still lively with music and fellow guests.

The rainbow tree was pretty cool

While we watched that colorful spectacle I make the request for our Lyft to take us back to the resort. It was 9pm and we had all the fun we could handle for the day. It had been a magical evening taking in the beauty of the lights and talking to the people who keep the place going. Like Make-A-Wish is is largely a volunteer effort – amazing people doing amazing work.

We were back at the resort by 9:30pm and after the standard night-time routine were settled into bed. Our last day of theme park fun awaited us at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Would we get a reservation for Rise of the Resistance? Would we see and do all we wanted to?

Tune in next time to see!