Disney helps bring holiday magic to the Night of a Million Lights 2021 event at Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee, Florida.

Ever get tired of looking at holiday lights at Walt Disney World Resort? Nah, us either. But sometimes it’s fun to venture off-resort to see what’s going on in the community. 

And we know from experience that a trip to the Night of a Million Lights 2021 event at Give Kids The World Village is well worth it. Our communications director, Tatjana Lazar, went to check out Night of a Million Lights in person before its official opening and gave us all the deets.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tatjana | Disney Life 🌟 (@tatjana.land)

[metaslider id=”50088″]

What Is the 2021 Night of a Million Lights Event?

Photo by Tatjana Lazar

Like many holiday light displays, Night of a Million Lights is an event where you can walk among millions of lights, listen to festive music, and even sample the best holiday treats.

The cottages are lit up with millions of lights reflecting off the pond. Photo by Tatjana Lazar

Photo by Tatjana Lazar

Photo by Tatjana Lazar

But Night of a Million Lights is special in another way: All proceeds go to help Give Kids The World Village to help “provide critically ill children and their families with magical weeklong wish vacations at no cost,” according to their FAQ page.

How Do You Get There?

The park itself is in Kissimmee, about 10 miles from WDW Resort. Lazar recommended using a GPS to get there, since the park is a little out of the way. Driving is preferable, but if you don’t have a car, you can easily grab a rideshare.

Photo by Tatjana Lazar

You can even see Santa at the event! Photo by Tatjana Lazar

Disney Helps Bring the Magic

It would be one thing to donate a bunch of lights and call it a day, but Disney went one step further to help ensure the event would draw crowds to raise even more money.

Disney’s Holiday Services team themselves helped decorate the village using millions of colorful lights. Rather than just throwing the lights up and calling it good, the Holiday Services team took inspiration from “it’s a small world” by creating light displays that celebrate cultures around the world.

Photo by Tatjana Lazar

Photo by Tatjana Lazar

[metaslider id=”40370″]

“Banana!” Photo by Tatjana Lazar

“Yer a fire hydrant, Harry!” Photo by Tatjana Lazar

“It was just absolutely magical—a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit,” Lazar told us. “I loved the Osborne Family Lights back at [Disney’s Hollywood] Studios when they were there, so this was the closest thing to it, and just so wonderful and magical and sparkly. It was really, really great.”

Do You Miss the Osborne lights display at Disney? Take a trip back in time in our special 2020 Winter Wonderland edition. We’ll even send you a copy free when you sign up for a one-year subscription using the code 2xMagic!

Relive Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

The display includes a 360-degree dancing lights show, a guided storytelling tour, a sparkling tree trail, and more. You can take a tram ride through the Village to see the millions of sparkling lights, and stop off at the holiday marketplace to buy some unique gifts for your friends and family.

Shop for gifts at the holiday marketplace. Photo by Tatjana Lazar

Cozy up in matching hoodies. Photo by Tatjana Lazar

Get a T-shirt to help you remember the magical event. Photo by Tatjana Lazar

About Give Kids The World and Founder Henri Landwirth

Give Kids The World Village was founded in 1986 by Henri Landwirth, a Jewish Holocaust survivor. After both his parents were killed in Nazi death camps, Landwirth emigrated to the US. After serving in the army, he moved to Florida in 1954 to manage a 100-room motel in Cocoa Beach. He founded Give Kids The World Village in 1986 to help provide sick children with magical experiences that they’d remember for all time.

As a Jew herself, Lazar was touched to learn of Henri’s story. “I’m always wowed when someone who went through something so horrible, so traumatic—witnessing the death of his family around him—comes out of it and just wants to do good in the world,” she said. “I think that’s just such a beautiful, special thing, and I was really touched by that.”

Henri Landwirth died on April 26, 2018, at the age of 91, but his legacy lives on at Give Kids The World Village and through fundraising events like Night of a Million Lights

Night of a Million Lights 2021 runs from Nov. 12, 2021 to Jan. 2, 2022. It’s a must-see to add to your agenda if you’re looking to see Christmas lights near Disney World this holiday season.

Your Complete Guide to 2021 Christmas at Disney World

PHOTOS: All the Trees of the 2021 Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll

2021 Disney World Christmas Food and Drinks: Full Menu

[metaslider id=”53772″]