Winter in Florida is considered to be one of the mildest in the country. Everywhere in Florida, except at the Gaylord Palms ICE! Exhibit in Kissimmee, that is. The temperatures inside this holiday winter wonderland are kept at a chilly nine degrees farenheit to preserve the 2 million pounds of sculptured ice.
The ICE! Collection of Art
ICE! takes the art of sculpture and freezes it to prefection. Started just a few years ago, the ICE! exhibit has drawn thousands of visitors to its winter wonderland since. Each year, about eight months before the launch of a new ICE! exhibit for the holiday season, a group of approximately 40 artists from China are chosen to being designing the blueprints for the upcoming year’s ICE! exhibit. Months before the detailed ice sculptures are completed, the artists are busy coordinating each individual display, while attending to detailed revisions of their plans.
Carving two million pounds of ice requires a master’s work and all of the sculptors and artists are well trained. On a recent visit to ICE! I met with one of the sculptors while he was carefully adding fine details to a new exhibit piece. He smiled for a picture and said that he had been working with ice sculpturing for seventeen years. He has been traveling half way around the world from China to work with the ICE exhibit since it began.
When you enter the ICE! exhibit, a host provides each visitor with a long, heavy parka to wear. The 9 degree temperature inside the exhibit requires even more though, so I’d highly advise some gloves and a hat to get the most out of viewing. Once you enter ICE! there are different rooms to walk through, each having a different holiday theme and related ice sculptures. The ice sculptures are life size and highly detailed. They use three different types of ice and freezing processes to achieve different sculptures. Some of the ICE! exhibits are colored with paints, while others look pristine in a shiny, clear, ice finish.
The ICE! Masterpeices
The theme for ICE! this year is, “A Season of Wishes.” In one spectacular series of ice sculpture scenes, a Victorian Christmas is represented through an ice sculptured sleigh and horses, along with a house and Victorian themed holiday decorations. If you walk into another room, you will find Santa’s Toyland exhibit, complete with ice sculptured toys and an icy Santa. Each scene has room near it for some memorable family pictures, so bring a camera. A complete nativity scene is also sculpted in ice, with life size sculptures of the people and animals.
The best part of the ICE! exhibit is near the end, however. In the last viewing room, there is a winter wonderland scene that has two different ice slides to slide down. Children were lining up to slide down the ice slides during my visit. For only $5 more, you can add to your admission ticket and skate for a session at the new ICE! skating rink. Skate rental is included in the price. After you finish your tour, you may redeem a coupon for a free hot chocolate to warm you back up. A parking coupon is also enclosed in the voucher package that you get with your admission. The parking coupon will discount the parking fee to $7 instead of the gate price of $10.
How to Visit ICE!
ICE! is located at the Kissimmee, Florida Gaylord Palms Resort and Conference Center, just off of Florida’s Highway 1-4. It is a short ride from the Disney World Area, and close to many of the tourist hotels. If you order tickets online and prepay, they will cost $16.99 for an adult (Monday-Thursday), $19.99 for an adult (Friday-Sunday). At the door, an adult ticket costs $19.99 (Monday-Thursday) and $24.99 (Friday-Sunday). Senior rates are $16.99 weekdays and $21.99 on weekends for those 55 and older. Children between 4-12 years of age pay $9.99 for admission everyday, and those under 3 are free with a paying adult.
ICE! will be on display through early January and return next holiday season. To contact ICE! at the Gaylord Palms, by phone you may call (407)586-4ICE or visit the website at www.gaylordpalms.com/ice. The ICE! exhibit is open everyday, including holidays, from 10 am until 8:30 pm.
