A new world of ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort

The Family at Gaylord Palms ICE! in Orlando, FL (2016)

Me and Graci bundled up!

Exciting news..... one of my family's favorite places to go during Christmas time is in Orlando at Gaylord Palms ICE! It is always a blast and cold! Last year my whole family (19 people) went to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday! Today they announced the theme of this year's ICE! It will be ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World, showcasing different cultures and their wintertime festivities. 

“We’re excited to bring this theme to Central Florida, especially since the Orlando area hosts millions of visitors from around the world each year,” said Johann Krieger, General Manager for Gaylord Palms Resort. “We feel this year’s ICE! theme and our other holiday events embrace cultural diversity and our unifying similarities, celebrating love and peace during this special time of year.”

Cirque Dreams Unwrapped

Cirque Dreams Unwrapped

Artisans from Harbin, China, home of the world’s largest ice and snow sculpture festival, travel more than 6,000 miles to hand-carve more than two million pounds of colorful ice into larger-than-life sculptures. When guests enter the nine-degree attraction this year, they will discover holiday scenes from various nations and two-story ice slides surrounded by sculptures and international tidings, all before ending with a trip to the North Pole to experience Santa’s toy workshop. The ICE! experience ends with the Frostbite Factory live ice carving showcase  and the traditional Nativity created with crystal clear ice.

What I also love is at the end of your ICE! tour is the nativity scene reminding us about the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus' birth! We also really enjoyed the Cirque Dreams Unwrapped - reimagined by Broadway director and renowned Cirque Dreams founder Neil Goldberg. We had a blast doing the other activities as well, which will all be back!

RETURNING FAVORITES

The kids posing
with Charlie Brown at breakfast

Award-winning buffet restaurant Villa de Flora brings back the hearty and heartwarming Breakfast with Charlie Brown & Friends, allowing guests to pose with Snoopy and hang out with Charlie Brown and Lucy. In addition to the Peanuts Gang meet and greets, the breakfast includes a delicious morning buffet with themed dishes, such as Charlie Brown’s Build-Your-Own-French-Toast Station with Snoopy’s Maple Syrup, Pig Pen’s Dirty Hash Browns, Lucy’s Flap Jacks and Woodstock’s Granola.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms invites guests to return to the festive Alpine Village, the central hub for holiday happenings. In addition to ICE!, the area is home to various attractions; shows; seasonal food, beverage and retail locations; and Photos with Santa, where holiday memories can be captured inside his toy workshop. 

Graci and Randi enjoying all the
festivities!

Gingerbread Decorating Corner presented by Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas continues to be a deliciously fun holiday tradition. Guests may select a gingerbread house or a themed cookie kit to enjoy a sticky and fun interactive experience, creating sweet souvenirs that can be carried home unless someone eats them first! The delightful larger-than-life gingerbread pair, Cinnamon and Nutmeg, will also be available for toasty hugs and holiday photos.

Randi making cookies!

Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions brings the First Lady of the North Pole back to Gaylord Palms as she leads a half-hour interactive show. Guests enjoy classic holiday stories and a sing-a-long, plus a delicious finale as the holiday hostess presents everyone with warm cookies and a glass of cold milk.

Santa’s Snow Throw puts real snow in the hands of guests as they show off their pitching prowess by tossing snowballs at a variety of interactive targets. Bragging rights go to those with the best aim!

Snow Tubing sends guests zooming down an eight-lane tubing hill covered in real snow. This all-ages attraction offers both single and double tubes to accommodate children and parents. Evenings are enlivened with Cosmic Tubing, complete with flashing LED lights and high-spirited holiday music.

Mark your calendars for Christmas at Gaylord Palms which is open daily from November 21, 2017 – January 7, 2018, including holidays.

Here's information for booking!!!

The best way to experience all of Christmas at Gaylord Palms is with an overnight stay. One-night packages start at $240 plus tax, resort fee and parking. Packages include ICE! tickets for two (with option to add additional adults or children) plus a souvenir family photo. Overnight guests may also schedule a visit to ICE! during the daily hotel guest-exclusive Extra Cool Hour from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.  Make the holidays merrier and extend the package to stay for multiple nights! For additional information and to book packages or tickets, visit ChristmasAtGaylordPalms.com.

The beautiful nativity scene at the end of ICE!
A wonderful yearly tradition!

Mini Vacation in Orlando at Gaylord Palms

Family time at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando.

The glass atrium view from the room
balcony.

What a great time our family had enjoying SummerFest at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida this summer. We had the pleasure of staying two nights at this beautiful hotel during Father's Day weekend.

The resort has a phenomenal 4.5 acre glass atrium with some of the best gardens and landscaping I have seen. If you can get a room with an atrium view it really is worth it. Having coffee in the morning on the balcony overlooking the atrium was so peaceful and relaxing. A great way to start a morning!

Enjoying dinner at the Moor Restaurant,

On our first night we explored the resort deciding to have dinner at the Moor, which is a restaurant inside the hotel with an indoor saltwater lagoon. 

Rock n' Roll Never Dies
Ghost Tour.

After dinner we went on the Rock n' Roll Never Dies Ghost Tour. It is offered on Friday and Saturday nights at 7p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. during the SummerFest. It's easy to find and right at the front where you check in and it's $9.99 per person. This is a guided tour through the Gaylord Palms atrium. You carry a flashlight and hear ghost stories for about a half hour.  It's scarier if you go on the last tour of the night!

Girls waiting to go down
the Florida Free Fall Drop.

On Saturday, we explored the hotel more and enjoyed the amenities including the Cypress Springs Family Fun Water Park with a beautiful pool and water slides. The girls were brave enough to go on the Florida Free Fall drop slide and the Tamiami Twister racing slides. Even though it was a long wait, the girls said it was worth it to try it out.  They had a blast!

I think the highlight for our family was all of us trying the FlowRider, which is surfable wave simulator. You have to request a time to ride the flow rider at the towel hut. Tip: Set this up right away, so you have a time. Each time slot is for 30 minutes and it cost $20. They fill up fast. 

Randi on the FlowRider.

Graci on the FlowRider.

We were rained out the first night, so check the weather too! I was a little hesitant to try it because I thought I could get hurt if I flipped over, but after watching others and my two daughters convincing me to try it, I did! I am so glad I did it because it was awesome! By the end of the half  hour,  our daughters were able to stand up and surf. 

Ben enjoying the FlowRider!

Even my husband was doing tricks on the surf board. We met friends who said they stayed at the hotel just to go on the FlowRider and surf! They even had their own surfboards and were great at surfing!  

We had a great time enjoying the pool. It was a weekend, so it was crowded. Tip: Go early to grab a chair. Parents, there's also a really nice adult pool called the South Beach pool, which is beautiful and very relaxing.

Graci and Randi made "Kidz Sushi" aka candy sushi.

There are great activities and crafts for the kids during SummerFest. My girls loved the junior chef classes. This is only offered on Saturdays and is $14.99 per child.  I highly recommend doing this with the kids, my girls loved it! Each week it is something different. My girls had fun making "Kidz Sushi," which was actually candy sushi. The kids designed their own chef hats and had classes with a culinary expert. We also enjoyed devouring their creations!

The girls also had fun going to the Relache Spa and creating their own "Rockstar Fizz" this was a bath ball with essential oils.

The girls picking out their
essential oil for their bath ball.

There are three different items kids can create. They can make one or create all three to bring home. They include the a fragrant lotion, scrub or fizz. This is available Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. You can stop by or set up a time. If the kids want to create one item it's $6.99, two items is $12.99 and three items is $18.99.

  

There are plenty of other things to do around the resort that are included in your stay. We ventured out to the dive-in movies and saw Sing!  It was a beautiful night and different watching a movie poolside. The movies are daily at 8:15 p.m. There are also fish feeds and alligator feedings. Sing-a-long shows and morning cartoons and a scavenger hunt.

Ben and Graci taking a photo
with the SummerFest lanyard.

Right now the they have a great deal for families with SummerFest featuring the Surf In & Rock Out Package with rates starting at $179 per night, plus taxes and fees. You get a welcome bags, two drink tumblers that include unlimited soda refills, $25 resort credit per night and a SummerFest lanyard for each guest on the reservation. Tip: The drink tumblers are awesome! Each drink is a savings of at least $4, so well worth it. There are several stations you can get the refills throughout the resort.

We were there for two days and we didn't want to leave because we were having so much fun. It was a fabulous mini-vacation!

**Click here for a link to special rates for SummerFest.

**To see more photos and video check out Instagram at Mom2MomwithKadi