ORLANDO, Fla. – You think you put up a ton of lights and decorations for Christmas? You’ve got nothing on some of these Central Floridians who take Christmas decorating to the extreme.
We’re talking displays that take days, even months, to assemble and that include hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, out-of-this-world inflatables and custom-made crafts that would make Santa proud.
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News 6 has compiled a list of more than 30 homes and businesses and plotted them on a map for you to use for your very own holiday light hunt.
We also spotlight a few of the biggest displays below that made this year’s News 6 Tour of Lights.
1. LAKE COUNTY - Mount Dora Boating Center - 148 Charles Ave., Mount Dora
Located throughout the marina, the display is filled with lights, music and a little bit of magic. This is the 23rd year that General Manager Joe Lewis and his crew of three industrious elves have created this Winter Wonderland. It boasts more than 1 million lights, a rooftop carousel, synchronized snowflakes and photo ops at every turn.
Lewis says they start putting up the display in mid-October and keep it up until mid-January. You can see the display from both the water and the street, but if you want to take a tour inside this Christmas light extravaganza, your last four chances are on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
2. ORANGE COUNTY - Johanessen Lights - 7849 Georgeann St., Winter Park
Located at the end of Georgeann Street in Winter Park, this is where Eric Johannessen and his family open up their front yard to the entire community and throw a nightly Christmas party unlike any other complete with an interactive stage, more than 400,000 twinkling lights and a new, custom-built two-story Christmas castle.
Johannessen is a local builder and says both he and one of his workers start construction on the massive Christmas display in September.
He says it takes the entire three months to pull off this kind of display. It has even been featured on both local and national TV shows and is making a return appearance on News 6.
3. SEMINOLE COUNTY - Fye’s Crazy Christmas House - 407 Eagle Circle, Casselberry
The Fye’s Crazy Christmas House is a family favorite in Seminole County year after year. It is decked out with more than 60,000 lights, dozens of inflatables and even a wood sleigh, complete with Rudolph and his crew.
The custom-made sleigh is a great place where children can climb up and get a great Christmas picture. There is also a Santa’s mailbox where you can drop off a letter and Santa will write back.
This has become a Christmas tradition for the entire Fye family and is going on its ninth year. The Fye family says it all started when they put up one little inflatable in their yard one Christmas. Now it takes 10 days and a dozen people to make this crazy Christmas wonderland come alive.
Here is your News 6 Tour of Lights map to help you find the closest light displays in your area: