Having, for the last few years intended to visit this annual festive season exhibition at Gaylord Palms but never quite managing to fit it in to the hectic Xmas schedule we always seem to have, but during a month’s holiday at our villa last December we decided it was about time we saw what all the fuss was about as our friends have been raving about it for ages!
We set off with some friends who had not seen it before either; it was a couple of nights before Xmas to make it as atmospheric as we could. We arrived at around 17:30 and parked up no problem; we walked through the hotel to the exhibition and were surprised to find no queue for tickets. We purchased our tickets and were given various goodies including tickets for a free hot chocolate after the trip.
We made our way to the entrance where we were issued with parkas to keep us cosy, these are available in all sizes both for children and adults. We were prepared and had gloves and hats, albeit Santa hats, mine was pink and drew some strange looks, but they kept us warm and I think the people who thought we were over the top whilst waiting to go in then understood when we all went it. Most people were not anticipating just how cold it was. It was marketed at 9 degrees but it did feel colder and it made your cheeks sting and nose run……honest!
The sculptures are absolutely amazing and are made by artists flown in from China but I won’t spoil the surprise, it was something that I had always avoided looking at or reading about the show as I wanted it to be a complete surprise to me and I was not disappointed.
One thing I will tell you about though is the ice slide at end of the exhibition. There are four slides, 2 smaller for children and the less adventurous and two longer ones for the braver amongst the visitors! Our party did the slides twice and ¾ of the party were over 50! You just sit on the back of the parka as they are really long and you get a helping (gentle) shove and you are soon whizzing down at a speed of noughts. This is the last exhibit before you leave. Once outside the camera steams up and your nose drip, but don’t worry they provide tissues at the exit!
You exit through the gift shop where you can purchase amazing Xmas decoration in every shape and size, I even had to stop my Bah Humbug partner from buying a snow globe but we did come away with a Nutcracker Tin soldier and a limited edition Coca Cola Santa so it is infectious!
The best bit for me was the signs saying please do not lick the ice :+)
We set off with some friends who had not seen it before either; it was a couple of nights before Xmas to make it as atmospheric as we could. We arrived at around 17:30 and parked up no problem; we walked through the hotel to the exhibition and were surprised to find no queue for tickets. We purchased our tickets and were given various goodies including tickets for a free hot chocolate after the trip.
We made our way to the entrance where we were issued with parkas to keep us cosy, these are available in all sizes both for children and adults. We were prepared and had gloves and hats, albeit Santa hats, mine was pink and drew some strange looks, but they kept us warm and I think the people who thought we were over the top whilst waiting to go in then understood when we all went it. Most people were not anticipating just how cold it was. It was marketed at 9 degrees but it did feel colder and it made your cheeks sting and nose run……honest!
The sculptures are absolutely amazing and are made by artists flown in from China but I won’t spoil the surprise, it was something that I had always avoided looking at or reading about the show as I wanted it to be a complete surprise to me and I was not disappointed.
One thing I will tell you about though is the ice slide at end of the exhibition. There are four slides, 2 smaller for children and the less adventurous and two longer ones for the braver amongst the visitors! Our party did the slides twice and ¾ of the party were over 50! You just sit on the back of the parka as they are really long and you get a helping (gentle) shove and you are soon whizzing down at a speed of noughts. This is the last exhibit before you leave. Once outside the camera steams up and your nose drip, but don’t worry they provide tissues at the exit!
You exit through the gift shop where you can purchase amazing Xmas decoration in every shape and size, I even had to stop my Bah Humbug partner from buying a snow globe but we did come away with a Nutcracker Tin soldier and a limited edition Coca Cola Santa so it is infectious!
The best bit for me was the signs saying please do not lick the ice :+)