'Polar Express' returning to Gaylord Palms for ice! exhibit
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - All aboard! Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee is bringing back The Polar Express for its annual holiday event.
This year's ice! exhibit will be based on the 2004 animated holiday movie, the resort revealed Thursday, and feature scenes recreated in colorful ice sculptures.
What we know:
Inside the 20,000-square-foot exhibit, visitors will find 11 scenes with icy versions of characters and other familiar sights from the movie.
The "Hot Chocolate" scene will feature dancing waiters made of ice juggling cups of hot chocolate.
Visitors will also be able to go inside a frozen passenger car for a cool photo op.
There will also be a scene set at the North Pole featuring elves, a colorful Christmas tree and an 11-foot-tall ice Santa.
Large, colorful ice sculptures based on "The Polar Express" for Gaylord's annual ice! exhibit. (Credit: Gaylord Palms)
Also returning is the slide room, which will feature five, two-story-tall slides that represent the movie's "Glacier Gulch." Next to the slides will be a large black ice version of the Polar Express train.
A large train made of ice in the Polar Express ice! exhibit. (Credit: Gaylord Palms)
Polar Express was previously featured at Gaylord Palms ice! exhibit in 2019.
"We've heard from many guests who want to revisit the magic of The Polar Express and introduce new friends and family members to it enchanting and inspiring story," Gaylord Palms general manager Ross Barker said in a statement.
A group of nearly 40 artisans from Harbin, China, will come to Central Florida to create the ice sculptures from more than two million pounds of ice.
The space is kept at a frigid 9 degrees to keep the ice from melting.
It's recommended that visitors bundle up while experiencing the exhibit. They will be given large blue parkas before they enter.
ice! dates and ticket information
The exhibit returns to Gaylord Palms Resort on Nov. 13, with the exhibit running through Jan. 3, 2027.
Tickets are now on sale. Prices range between $33 and $44, depending on when you go.
Other holiday activities at Gaylord Palms
The ice! display is part of Christmas at Gaylord Palms event that also offers activities such as ice tubing, the "Pomp, Snow & Cirqueumstance show, the "#LIT light show in the hotel's atrium and Christmas shopping at Alpine Village.
A new addition to the lineup is a Christmas Carousel inside the Snow Factory.
ice! exhibits around the country
Gaylord Palms won't be the only Gaylord property with an ice! exhibit this year.
The attraction is expanding to new locations, including San Diego and Phoenix.
Three new themes will be introduced at some of its other resorts: "Home Alone" at Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" at Gaylord Rockies in Aurora, Colorado, and Harry Potter at Gaylord Texan Resort.
The Source: This article was written with information released by Gaylord Palms Resort.