Gaylord Palms Reveals New Holiday Experience Featuring “Elf” and Full Lineup of Christmas Activities for 2021

Hi everyone!

Gaylord Palms has announced its Christmas lineup of activities for 2021, which will include a new immersive experience inspired by the holiday movie “Elf” in collaboration again with Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment.  There are many returning favorites including the Snow Factory and Gingerbread Decorating Corner along with some new ones like the Gaylord Palms’ Shine Light Show. ICE! is not returning this year (I hope for 2022). Read below for more information on the Christmas at Gaylord Palms offerings! There is always so much under one roof to see and do.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A holly, jolly sleigh-full of holiday cheer is set for Gaylord Palms Resort with a host of special events and activities set to be unwrapped this Christmas season. Featuring a brand-new, multi-sensory marquee Christmas experience, Mission: Save Christmas featuring Elf™– Christmas at Gaylord Palms will delight guests of all ages with original shows, musical performances, dozens of larger-than-life Christmas trees, amazing acrobatics, delicious dining, interactive experiences and more. Christmas at Gaylord Palms begins Nov. 19, 2021 and continues through Jan. 2, 2022.

An All-New, Gaylord Hotels Original Experience: Mission: Save Christmas featuring Elf™

Representing this season’s marquee programming, Gaylord Palms needs guests of all ages to help save Christmas! In this collaboration with Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment, guests will join Buddy the Elf and answer the call from Santa to help muster enough Christmas cheer to power the Kringle 3000 and help Santa’s sleigh fly. Guests will journey into Buddy’s world to help save the holiday in a multisensory experience full of fun, interactive challenges perfect for all ages: Team up with Mr. Narwhal and friends in the candy cane forest, stay ahead of the toy quota in the North Pole, prepare for Santa’s arrival at the iconic department store and take part in an epic, virtual snowball fight in Central Park. These are just a few of more than 12 interactive elements to discover in this unique experience.

But that’s not all of the holiday happenings during Christmas at Gaylord Palms, with Christmas cheer spread all across the 64-acre resort. Here are the highlights:

Also New for 2021

• Also new this holiday season is “Cirque: The Spirit of Christmas.” An original Gaylord Hotels production, the show features dazzling acrobatics, feats of flexibility and high-flying stunts. This Broadway-style spectacle centers on Noel, a child dismayed by the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Trying to recapture her lost love of the season, Noel is visited by spirits who bring back the true meaning of the season in energetic, athletic and wondrous dreamlike chapters.

• Also new – Gaylord Palms’ Shine Light Show. The ceiling above the resort atrium dazzles with thousands of newly upgraded dancing lights synchronized to a high-energy, seasonal soundtrack. Animated light curtains glow around a centerpiece tree that magically transforms into a gleaming holiday spectacle.

Games, Feasts, Sweet Treats & Snow Much Fun!

• Even though temperatures in central Florida don’t feel like it, there’s snow in the air! Back for 2021 is the Snow Factory with thrilling ice tubing adventures and fanciful snowball building. Families can speed down icy slopes atop an inner tube and build and toss real snowballs in this snowy play space.
• Escape room fun returns to Gaylord Palms in the Naughty or Nice Escape Room. Yuletide trickster Jack Frost is back with his icy antics and has added many guests’ names to Santa’s infamous Naughty List. But Jack has a deal to make – if guests can sneak into Santa’s office and decode a series of riddles, they’ll be able to erase their names from the Naughty List. Guests need to put on their holiday thinking caps and solve all the puzzles, then dash away before St. Nick returns.
• Guests can join some of their favorite holiday characters for a breakfast buffet loaded with seasonal flavors to savor in a themed Character Breakfast at Villa de Flora.
• Guests can solve puzzles and look for clues throughout the resort’s 4.5-acre atrium in a character-themed Scavenger Hunt.
• In a second holiday scavenger hunt, yuletide sleuths can enlist in Santa’s Secret Service and decode some holiday fun in Santa’s Secret Service Scavenger Hunt. Using Santa’s special decoder ring, they’ll decipher clues and solve puzzles to break the code and save the season for everyone’s favorite jolly old elf.
• What’s Christmas without sweet treats? In the Gingerbread Decorating Corner, guests can let their Christmas creativity run wild while they adorn gingerbread houses and cookies. After they’ve reached confection perfection with their edible art, they can enjoy a sweet meet-and-greet and photograph with Nutmeg the Gingerbread Man.
• The Christmas Tree Trail will be the spot of many “elfies” for guests to post and share, with elaborately decorated holiday trees shining and sparkling all throughout the atrium.
• Adventure Kid Sophie joins pals Ava the Alligator and Seth the Sea Turtle for yuletide fun in Adventure Kids: Wonders of Winter. The trio stars in this (w)interactive show to educate and entertain during the chilliest of seasons.
• The jolliest hostess of all joins guests for a fun-filled celebration of Christmas traditions. In Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions, Mrs. Claus retells the classic Christmas tale, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” leads guests in a sing-along to favorite holiday tunes and shares a warm batch of Santa’s favorite snack – freshly baked Christmas cookies and milk.
• Experience the fun of Build-A-Bear Workshop^®! Guests can make their own furry friend, take part in the iconic Heart Ceremony and personalize with seasonal outfits, accessories, sounds and scents.
• Guests are invited to join the Sugar Plum Fairy and Nutcracker Prince in the Alpine Village Sweet Shop for Sugary Sweet Storytime. This celebration of sweets and tasty treats retells the story of “The Nutcracker” in an interactive experience, complete with holiday sing-alongs and laughs.
• Finally, what would Christmas be without a photo with the jolliest old elf of all, Santa Claus? Mailing a letter to the North Pole is great, but nothing can beat a personal visit with St. Nick to make sure you’ve secured a top spot on his Nice List. Presented by DEI, guests can visit with Santa and take home a keepsake photo.

Moving, Musical Celebrations

• Guests experience the beauty of the Three Kings Festival in The Journey of Los Tres Magos, a global celebration that honors the date Jesus was visited by the Three Wise Men following his birth. Told through story and song, the traditional festival is commemorated by many Christians in Latin America, Spain and throughout the world.
• The birth and life of Jesus Christ has been called “the greatest story ever told.” Guests can experience it through the eyes of six international storytellers in “The Greatest Story,” a musical stage show and multicultural celebration of everlasting faith, hope and love.

In addition to the special events presented as part of Christmas at Gaylord Palms, guests can enjoy plenty of family-friendly activities, water park fun and one-of-a-kind environments during their visit. The resort features a lush, 4.5-acre atrium with indoor gardens and Florida wildlife, a thrilling water park – featuring seven water slides, a dedicated kids’ play area, two pools and an action river attraction – a delicious line-up of culinary offerings, soothing spa treatments at Relâche Spa, and more.

As the safety of its guests and STARS (employees) is of paramount importance, the Christmas at Gaylord Hotels program has been developed in accordance with Marriott’s “Commitment to Clean” program and with enhanced protocols and social distancing measures. Events and activities also will operate in consideration with the latest local, state and federal legislation.

Tickets and Packages

Also being unwrapped under the Gaylord Palms tree: two Christmas at Gaylord Palms overnight packages that include special room rates and admission to select event activities.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms room packages and event tickets can be purchased now at ChristmasatGaylordPalms.com. Advance online reservations are required for all ticketed events.