When I asked my kids if they wanted to see ICE at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, I heard a groan from the back of the car.
“It’s too long,” said Aren, my oldest.
“Too cold,” complained his younger brother, Iden.
I got my way. But the kids are glad I did.
The longer, pre-exhibit presentations featuring a complex story about Santa and explaining the presence of these astonishing ice sculptures, have been abbreviated from two years ago. It did get a little cold — the exhibit area is chilled to 9 degrees, which is an absolutely jarring change when its 80 degrees outside. But the line moved quickly, and the highlight — the ice slide at the end of the show — got the kids warmed up.
The best part of ICE for the adults are the meticulously-carved ice sculptures — angels, ornaments, animals — that seem to come to life in a frozen, darkened tent. It’s really remarkable.
In short, we loved the improvements to ICE over two years ago, the last time we went to it, and I think it’s a terrific family activity during the holidays. You can catch ICE at the Gaylord Palms here in Orlando, the Gaylord National resort in Washington, the Gaylord Texan and the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. (They’re all slightly different; the Texan features the Grinch from Dr. Seuss, for example.)
(Full disclosure: Our friends at the Gaylord Orlando invited us to see the latest edition of ICE. Before getting their offer, I asked my family if they wanted to see it, and I heard a groan from the seat next to mine: “Too expensive.” She had a point … unless you go mid-week, ICE has a big price.)
(Photo: Traveling Fools of America/Flickr Creative Commons)
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
they also have one at gaylord opryland in nashville featuring peanuts characters
You can also see it in Nasville at Gaylord Opryland. We love going but it is a little expensive.
Well, he’s a rich travel columnist, so he can afford it, unlike us mere mortals..LOL
I agree that it is expensive for a few minutes of fun and to add to the expense, the Gaylord in Orlando charges a ridiculous amount for parking (and there is no other way to get there)
Come to Maryland this weekend. You’ll see more ice than you’ll ever want to again. :-)
We’re headed to the Gaylord Texan for Christmas weekend, and we’ve booked tickets to ICE. Thanks for the encouraging preview!
I found the ICE event at Gaylord to be a complete waste of time and money. The access for wheelchairs is awful. There was no pre-show. The aisles between exhibits are narrow. The attendants are ill-informed about all aspects of the event and the hotel itself. The gift shop merchandise is over-priced. The Santa took a two-hour break (?) so no photos. The hobby railroad trains were not running. There is a long journey to the “free” hot chocolate just to make you go past further shopping venues. There is no valet parking or anyone to help the handicapped. The facilities for the actual ICE presentation are rather shabby but then I’m used to Disney’s standards so I was extremely disappointed. I will never go to this event again.
How expenisive is expensive? Since WDW isn’t exactly “cheap,” please put it in perspective for me.