RUMOR: Lights of Winter Returning to Epcot for Holidays Around the World

Tom Corless

RUMOR: Lights of Winter Returning to Epcot for Holidays Around the World

RUMOR: Lights of Winter Returning to Epcot for Holidays Around the World

Do you remember the Lights of Winter at Epcot?

Photo by Tom Bricker, Disney Tourist Blog
Photo by Tom Bricker, Disney Tourist Blog

The Lights of Winter were a staple of Holidays Around the World at Epcot for many years. These illuminated arches danced to holiday music on the bridge between World Showcase and Future World, long before even the Osborne Lights were synchronized to music.

Since being retired back in 2009, many Epcot fans have lamented the loss of these arches, mostly because Disney simply never replaced them with anything. The bridge has been barren ever since, remaining dark during the holiday season over the last eight years.

So it is very interesting that there is a pin being made for Holidays Around the World 2017 that features the long-lost Lights of Winter from Epcot’s past:

rumor lights of winter returning to epcot for holidays around the world 3 rumor lights of winter returning to epcot for holidays around the world 2

While the pin design could just be for nostalgia, it does seem strange to make an item dated for 2017 based on a past offering from eight years ago.

So, while there is no other evidence of their return, the existence of this pin does raise some questions. Disney has yet to formally announce the entire Holidays Around the World lineup for 2017 as of yet. And, the bridge where the arches once resided looks like it will be gone in the not-too-distant future thanks to the overhaul of the park that is on the way. Could this be a final farewell for the Epcot holiday offering and the park that once was?

Author

  • Tom Corless

    Tom has been regularly visiting the Walt Disney World® Resort from the time he was 4 months old. While he has made countless visits in the last 28 years, he did not become a truly active member in the Disney fan community until the summer of 2007, when he decided to launch the WDW News Today website and podcast. Tom has since become an Orlando-local and is a published author on Walt Disney World. Contact Tom at tom@wdwnt.com.

16 thoughts on “RUMOR: Lights of Winter Returning to Epcot for Holidays Around the World”

  1. I would love to see the Lights of Winter (LoW) again.
    I can vividly remember walking excitedly along the walkway between Future World and World Showcase chatting how much I enjoyed the LoW. I was talking and not looking, so I stopped and looked up where they should have been..and…..nothing……nothing!!!!! I was shocked… My wife said I looked like I’d been shot.

  2. If you are going off a product release then Dreamfinder and Mr Toad should have returned years ago.

  3. What do you mean the walkway from Future World to World Showcase will be gone?? What changes are being made to that path??? But I will be buying this pin in November….

  4. It’s a very cute pin – I wish I could purchase it! But there are two issues I have with this article:

    Firstly, there’s every chance this is just a nice nostalgic tribute to a previous holiday feature. Like others have mentioned, Disney play off nostalgia in a huge amount of merchandise.

    Secondly, no one truly knows whether those paths will be gone. The blue sky art shows something different but it is entirely that, blue sky, so it’s not clear at all what they’ll do to Epcot other than ‘it’s going to change’.

  5. As one of the anti-Confirmed people, I think the article is perfect, full of info, exactly where the rumor originates from, etc., and the headline is completely accurate. :)

    Thanks for this, it’s an interesting thought. We weren’t going during the holidays back then, so I never heard of that “show.” It would be a nice fill in, even if it’s just for a couple of years. I hope long term they do come up with a Osborn Lights replacement.

  6. Has anyone heard where the Osborne Lights are headed? If they resurface, our family will be there. Done with Disney until that happens. I’m sure the Epcot makeover will essentially end the Christmas experience at Disney.

  7. Sure would be nice of them to do this since we got screwed out of Osborne lights but I’ll believe it when I see it

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