Ice Exhibit at Gaylord Palms

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While you are taking your vacation in one of the many Disney villas, Florida villas, Orlando villas, Florida vacation rentals and villas near Disney that are available to rent, we strongly suggest you take some time out to visit the Ice exhibit at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee.

Every Christmas for the last few years there has been a spectacular event held at Gaylord Palms, called Ice. This features spectacular ice sculptures and lasts around 7 weeks – from November to just after Christmas.  My family and I went there recently and had a really memorable visit.

To create the displays, Gaylord Palms selects around 40 Chinese artisans, who are chosen from the participants in the International Ice and Snow Festival which takes place in China every year. It takes around one month for them to complete the wonderful display.

The walkways are carpeted and both wheelchairs and strollers can be accommodated. There are a limited number of wheelchairs available for rent if you prefer not to bring one of your own.

They do have a pre show before you actually get into the exhibit with entertainment.  You can also meet Santa.  They have a computer outside the exhibit where you can send an email to him if you don’t want to see him. 

Some interesting trivia they provided us:

48,000 pounds is the weight of the ice used to create the giant Santa Claus.

They have special programs where you can propose to your girlfriend or actually have a wedding at ICE!

5000 blocks of ice that are hand carved to create the exhibit. They come in a dozen different colors.

1500 specially designed LED tube lights that are frozen in the ice.

More than 18,000 square feet of space is used for the ICE! Exhibit.

The unique structure housing "Ice", is also known as the “Florida Fridge.”  It is believed to be the first of its kind in North America.

In all they use a staggering two million pounds of ice to create the displays which are kept at a chilly nine degrees Fahrenheit.

Three kinds of ice are needed to make the sculptures. White ice has the appearance of compacted snow and this effect is created by freezing the water very quickly which lends an opaque appearance to the ice.

Crystal Ice is made from de-ionized water that has been multi filtered. Each 400 pound ice block uses 45 gallons of water and takes around 72 hours to freeze.

Colored Ice is made by simply adding a bright colorant that makes a nice contrast to the brilliant white of the un-dyed ice.

Threaded among the displays are thousands of twinkling lights that add sparkle to the snow.

There is a wall where you can touch the ice to see how cold it is, buy you are politely requested not to touch the exhibits as all those warm hands will obviously eventually melt away parts of them away. 

There are incredible photo opportunities throughout the entire exhibition.  There is a 13 foot Santa carved out of ice.  You can pose for a picture with Santa.  There is a larger than life Gingerbread house which is another picture taking spot. Just be aware that the lens on your camera can fog up because of the cold temperatures. Be sure your camera batteries are charged because they drain quicker in colder temperatures.

Outside there is a skating rink and you will be pleased to learn that they supply you with skates for this.

You may be wondering if you can take all the cold when you are dressed in shorts and t-shirts? Well they have thought of that too and supply you with very warm clothing. The oversized parkas they give you kept my family and I very warm.  It is still a good idea to wear trainers or similar to keep the feet warm, and perhaps gloves as well.  There are no pockets in the parkas, and so ensure you have somewhere to put your car keys, wallet etc.

After the attraction, the hot chocolate is very welcoming as well.

There is the usual gift shop to visit and we feel it is always nice to take home a Christmas decoration that will remind you of your visit to ' Ice at Gaylord Palms'.

Prices are approximately $20 for an adult and $10 for a child.