Orlando: First look at ICE! featuring ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ at Gaylord Palms Resort

Florida’s coldest holiday attraction is already under construction at Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee.

The resort hotel’s beloved ICE experience returns on Nov. 17 with another iteration of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The chilly walk-through exhibit is kept a frosty 9 degrees at all times — a temperature many Floridians have likely never experienced. Don’t worry, ICE guests get a thick blue parka to wear inside the attraction.

Characters, scenes and other holiday vignettes are carved out of 2 million pounds of clear and colored ice to fill the 20,000-square-foot attraction. In this year’s exhibit, you’ll see the story of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” come to life, including Charlie Brown’s sad Christmas tree, Lucy’s psychiatric help stand, the auditorium where the kids do their holiday dance and other classic scenes.
Last week, some of the 40 talented ice artisans arrived at Gaylord Palms from Harbin, China, also known as Ice City. They’ve been hard at work ever since, but on Oct. 19, the resort held a welcoming ceremony for the sculptors.

The group, all wearing Santa hats, were given an applause-filled welcome from dozens of Gaylord Palms employees as they made their way into the atrium. Then, Orlando’s Wah Lum Temple performed a traditional Dragon Dance to wish the carvers luck on the ICE project.

After the ceremony, Orlando Weekly was part of a small group to get a sneak preview inside the under-construction ICE exhibit. With a little less than a month until opening, the attraction space is currently filled with pallets of 300-pound blocks of ice, carving tools, piles of ice shavings and shards, and chilly sculptures taking shape.

So far, Charlie Brown characters are slowly coming to life under the artisans’ hands, along with ice brick walls, holiday decor and two-story-tall ice slides.

One of the characters closest to completion is the beloved Snoopy and his red doghouse.

ICE is part of Gaylord Palms’ annual Christmas event, which also features the Alpine Village of shops and food, live entertainment like “Cirque: Spirit of Christmas” and storytime with Mrs. Claus, and interactive activities throughout the resort for both guests and visitors.

There’s also ice tubing, a dazzling Christmas light show with the atrium’s towering tree, and both classic and Florida-style holiday decor.

Many attractions are included or discounted with hotel stays, and vacation packages are available. Tickets to ICE are discounted through Oct. 31.