Popular NJ Disney Light Show Nears End For 2021

HAZLET, NJ — Hundreds of people roamed over to a quiet street in Hazlet during the holidays to see in person the captivating 20-minute, Disney-themed light display that 18-year-old Ryan Basile put together with the help of his family.

"It was just it was amazing," he told Patch. "The word for it is amazing, to see what a Christmas show can do to people. It's a meeting that reaches so many people from all over the place and it really hits all of their emotions."

The last two shows will be on Friday and Saturday, starting at 6 p.m.

During the past few weeks, people drove from Pennsylvania and upstate New York to get a glimpse of the Disney magic, according to Basile. He even met two New Jersey natives who work for Disney in Florida and flew home just to watch the show.

"He said that the video was going around and all Disney people that work for Disney they were seeing it and he knew he had to fly home to come watch it. He said 'are you gonna do this next year, because we are 100 percent flying home again to see the show.'"

Another person told the family that they watched a video of the show and projected it on a wall all the way in Africa. On the first weekend of the show, someone who attended made a TikTok that got over 1.3 million views.

"It was going up hundreds of thousands of views per hour," Basile said. "It was like a full week of fame."

Some Disney blogs also picked up the story, according to the teen.

"At the end of the show people would cheer and it would be so loud outside my house. It would make my heart sink every time I heard that because it's my hard work, people were finally seeing."

READ MORE: Hazlet Family Puts On 20-Minute Disney Light Projection Show

On peak weekends, they counted about 200 to 300 people watching the show.

"Everyone knows Disney. They know the movies, they grew up on the movies. It also makes everyone happy," Basile said.

The light show was projected on the house with classics like "Little Mermaid," "Toy Story" and "Peter Pan." The house itself was decked out in Christmas decorations that would flash to the beat of the songs.

The show even featured a zip-lining Tinker Bell at the end.

"A lot of people also said that the show is very immersive. They felt like they were a part of it," Basile said.

According to the teen, it was based on a fireworks show that Disney retired this year because of their 50th anniversary.

"There was a lot of unhappy fans that really loved the show, us included, hence why I recreated it," he said.

Despite the mostly positive response, Basile said there was also a bit of negativity online.

"Ninety percent of the comments were people saying that just watching this brought them to tears and that they're so happy that we did," he said. "But there was people saying that Disney's gonna sue me and I was like 'they can't sue me, I'm not making money off of it.'"

In response to the overwhelming number of visitors, the family proactively went to the police department to try to come up with a traffic plan to ensure everyone's safety. Police blocked parking on one side of the street during show days so that an ambulance or fire truck could come through in the event of an emergency.

READ MORE: Hazlet Disney Light Show Limits Weekend Traffic: See Where

Basile said that a few neighbors also noted they saw an increase in trash left outside.

"We tried to keep up with our posts on Instagram and Facebook saying 'please be courteous to the neighbors,'" Basile said. "That was my number one priority, to be courteous to the neighbors. (...) Some neighbors weren't happy with it, but others were and they came to see the show every single weekend."

Basile also said that many people messaged the account asking for restaurants suggestions and for things to do and see in Hazlet.

"It was actually good for our town," he said. "For local businesses, it's really good. (...) They're not just gonna come here for one show, they want to make a night out of it. It really helps Hazlet being put on the map."

Of one thing Basile is certain: "100 percent I will be doing this next year."

He has the next 12 months to come up with something that will top this year's display.

"I would love to do it on a bigger scale. I don't know how yet but I have a whole year to think."

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