ICE! Featuring Christmas Around the World Headlines Gaylord Palms Christmas Activities 2017 (Photos, Video)

Hi everyone!

ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World is the headlining attraction (as ICE! always is each year) for Christmas at Gaylord Palms. But over the years, this singular attraction has become part of a myriad of holiday events, now just one of the things to do at Gaylord Palms instead of being the main reason to go. ICE! and the other attractions had a very big first day this year, we were there and had never seen it as crowded on a kickoff morning as we did this past week. So if you expect ICE! to not be as busy because it isn’t Frosty the Snowman or Charlie Brown Christmas themed, that isn’t the case. Plan your visits to try to avoid the largest crowds, which are generally during weekend time periods and holidays. The last day for Christmas at Gaylord Palms is January 7th, 2017. We will be talking all about Christmas at Gaylord Palms on our Mousesteps Weekly YouTube show and I will add that here when it is posted.

Here is a look at ICE! Featuring Christmas Around the World, with some tips and also a look at other offerings. Full disclosure, we were invited overnight – we have partnered with Gaylord Palms for about 8 years now. But before that, I have paid to attend and would pay now. Gaylord Palms is one of my favorite area resorts and it’s incredible what they do in a resort – as opposed to a theme park – for Christmas. There is a $22.00 parking fee, but restaurant meals are validated at $50.00.

Even if you don’t walk in the front entrance of the resort, it is worth heading to the lobby to check out the decorations – complete with new inflatable candy canes!

From the lobby, walk through the atrium with more holiday decor. The waterfalls are a favorite of mine here, and there are alligators, turtles, and an area with snakes and baby alligators too in the Everglades section.

ICE! is in the convention center, as are other activities. A number of years ago this area began to be themed to an Alpine Village, which is really nice – and the shop at the end of ICE! features many unique items.

The ICE! letters are in the Alpine Village this year, and make a nice photo op.

ICE! Featuring Christmas Around the World clocks in at about 9 degrees. A parka will be provided to use, but bundle up with a sweatshirt/jacket, double socks, hat and scarf to make the most of your time inside. Here is our video of it with all the rooms, then check out our handful of photos of it here.

2 million pounds of ice are carved by about 40 artisans from Harbin, China into the Christmas Around the World theme. This room reminded me of Epcot celebrations, with the Three Kings, the German nutcracker and Santa (and more) all within short reach of each other. Signs are posted for guests to learn about holiday traditions around the world.

My favorite may be the Germany display.

Santa Claus rings a bell.

Carolers.

In the ice slide room, there are Merry Christmas sayings including Mele Kalikimaka from Hawaii.

Check out the ice slides here, but the additional charge snow tubing is a lot faster.

A dove leads the way past children from around the world carved in ice.

A dove for peace.

There are ice tunnels here for kids.

There are photo opportunities throughout.

My favorite area in the display is where toys are side by side with their ice likeness.

A dinosaur sits next to his ice twin.

The nativity is a tradition each year, cut in crystal clear ice – and that is the hardest ice to make.

After ICE!, there are a variety of snack vendors including Krispy Kreme, Auntie Anne’s and Mike’s Italian Ice available. That may be about it, plus Gaylord Palms has its own location there too.

During the media event, we met Linus, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy, who are at the Charlie Brown & Friends Character Breakfast. There may be a couple characters meeting guests here on busy days as well, but that isn’t ever guaranteed.

Here is our video with the characters!

Another highlight of attending ICE! are the Cirque Dreams Unwrapped! shows. There are usually 2 or 3 per days, so check the schedule of when you want to attend before buying tickets. This is a view from our room with an atrium view. I love this type of room, being able to enjoy the holidays from it. The atrium is enclosed, so the balcony can be enjoyed rain or shine.

There are aerial acts.

This couple skates on a very small rink.

And at night, there is a Joyful atrium show including the 6 story tree. Again, check the schedule for all times on your set date before purchasing tickets. I personally recommend arriving in the mid afternoon, enjoying ICE! and whatever else you want to see, and then staying for Cirque Dreams Unwrapped! and Joyful. There are so many add-ons and different ticket combinations now, I will just send you off to the Gaylord Palms site to check them all out. Cirque Dreams Unwrapped and Joyful are both shown as part of the event without an additional fee.

Joyful is a new show this year, with a dazzling array of lights.

In addition to ICE!, ticket add-ons include Santa’s Snow Throw. The first year for this was 2016 and it is surprisingly fun.

Snow Tubing is back again this year. It took many years for Gaylord Palms to perfect a snow attraction, and this one proved to be a huge hit and is a LOT of fun as well. There are combo tickets that include this, or you can enjoy it separately priced.

Last year during the Charlie Brown themed ICE!, Gaylord Palms offered a Charlie Brown & Friends Character Breakfast. That is back again, with the addition of Linus. And honestly, this is one of my favorite character breakfasts in the Orlando area. Not only are there a nice amount of characters (4) unique to Orlando, but the food options are excellent and I will add a separate article this week. The breakfast is not offered every day.

A Lucy information desk is the check-in.

There are several themed waffles to try, including Charlie Brown. Plus I was happy to see him again this year!

After breakfast, we tried out the Build-A-Bear Workshop Scavenger Hunt. It does have a fee this year, but there is a prize – I don’t know what it is as this is a more challenging scavenger hunt and we didn’t finish it. Maybe before the event closes we will!

There is more to see than what I am showing, but definitely check out the Christmas Tree Trail in the Everglades themed to Christmas Around the World.

Nighttime at Gaylord Palms during the holidays looks beautiful from the outside! There are a lot of lights at Gaylord Palms, beginning from outside – I am not sure if it is still 2 million lights anymore, but there are so many.

Visiting Gaylord Palms for the holidays always feels like home to me, and it gets to be bigger and better every year. It wasn’t just once where I said out loud, “This is a resort!” – it is really extraordinary what Gaylord Palms does for the holday/Christmas season. I recommend it, whether visiting overnight or just for a few hours.