Our Preview of ICE! at Gaylord Palms Featuring ‘Elf’ – NEW for 2024 (Photos, Video)

Hi everyone!

We previewed ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort, which features Elf for 2024. ICE! is a favorite tradition of us for many years, with 40 ice carvers from Harbin, China carving 2 million pounds of ice into the year’s chosen theme. And this year, we’ll be seeing 10 immersive scenes based on the 2003 film Elf. ICE! is part of a larger Christmas at Gaylord Palms experience and runs from November 15th, 2024 – January 4th, 2025.

Here are photos and video of our preview! The first two photos are from the artisan welcome at the resort. Gaylord Palms brought in a lion dancer to officially welcome the carvers (who had actually been there a couple of weeks already).

The artisans gathered for a photo, with a large card signed by Gaylord Palms employees.

Here is our video, followed by photos of the exhibit.

We were given parkas (which each guest wears at ICE!) and walked through the 9 degree exhibit. While there is still more to be done, we were happy to see so much complete. Here, Buddy the elf sits on Papa Elf’s lap.

Here is a closer look.

Buddy sits in the classroom, bigger than everyone in it.

The faces are really wonderfully sculpted.

We were told there would be desks in this area for more immersion.

Buddy stands as part of the name/logo of the film.

The candy cane forest was being carved.

Peppermints and candy canes, along with ribbons of candy have been carved. There is more complexity to the carvings this year, with more colors and shapes.

Mr. Narwhal rises from the water.

A carver works on Jovie’s character.

Buddy’s father can be seen in a New York scene with the Empire State Building in the background.

He holds a briefcase.

In the Gimbels scene, a truck carry’s gifts.

Reindeer were in the process of being carved.

The two-story ice slide room is always a guest favorite!

A wreath has been carved at the top of the stairs.

Buddy, Papa Elf and Jovie sit by the fireplace.

This is another example of a more complex way of carving this year, with various colors and shapes in the fireplace.

The crystal clear ice is actually the hardest ice to make, and that is what the yearly Nativity scene is made from.

No matter what the ICE! theme, the Nativity scene has been there since the exhibit debuted at Gaylord Palms in 2003.

If you want to see more ICE!, check out our article from 2023 about Gaylord Palms A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Tickets can be purchased for Gaylord Palms ICE! – as well as other Gaylord Palms holiday activities – at the official Gaylord Palms website.