Brr. Brr. Oh my gosh. Brrrrrr. My husband, children and I want our noses back. They froze and fell off inside the ICE! exhibit at Gaylord Palms – Orlando, Florida. We look kind of funny without them, but I gotta tell you – it was totally worth it! This past weekend, my hubby Rob, Ginger (9), Parker (7) and I drove a couple of hours south to see what ICE! was all about. I’ve heard about it for years, but finally took the leap and am so grateful I did.
If you’re unfamiliar, ICE! is an incredible 20,000 square foot exhibit in the fancy shmancy resort Gaylor Palms, which has several locations throughout the USA. ICE! is just that. It’s 2 million pounds of ice carved and colored, bringing our friends from the movie Madagascar to life. Based off the “Merry Madagascar” cartoon this year, our family enjoyed watching Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, Melman the Giraffe, all the penguins, lemurs and Santa celebrate the season in that monstrous nine degree building. Did I mention it was f-f-freezing? Sure, the folks in Chicago might scoff at our reaction, but this exhibit is literally the longest cold spell Florida has ever seen. It’s also one of the “coolest” things in my state. The resort provides each guest with a hooded parka which helps a bunch, but I totally recommend dressing really warmly with hats and gloves as well. One especially fun component of the experience was the ice slide. We couldn’t go fast, but it was still super fun scooting our frozen tushies all the way down. I’d expect to spend about 30-60 minutes walking through ICE! If you dress appropriately, you can take a little extra time more comfortably.
What my husband and I really appreciated about our day was the affordability factor. You will pay between $9.99 and $27.99 per ticket based on various factors. However, you get much more than a tour through the beautiful frigid ice. Along with that tour, you’re welcome to take part in a variety of free events like the: uber glamorous Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration, live stage shows, visits with Santa, DreamWorks character meet and greets and more. For a little extra, you can buy a gingerbread cookie and/or house decorating kit and spend some time decorating. We spent about $24 to sit down, relax and decorate a gingerbread family of cookies. While there, the adorable gingerbread man, GINGY, from the Shrek movies came out to mingle and pose for some photos with us. Too cute!
We arrived at 3:30pm and we left at 9:30pm. We enjoyed the variety of activities, the festive feeling and the actual focus on Christmas. We went from one fun thing to another without any complaints from the kids. They loved every minute of our trip and for that, my husband and I are grateful. I imagine I could have taken an 80 year old, who would have loved it all too. ICE! Gaylord Palms is simply the wholesome and healthy ho, ho, ho – falalalalaaaaaaa kind of fun we all crave in December. I recommend you give it a go!
Have you been to ICE? Plan on going any time soon?
ICE! Merry Madagascar at Gaylord Palms
Fitzness.com
