ICE! at Gaylord Palms Florida
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (121798)
Gainesville, Florida
December 5, 2015 8:59pm CST
Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida is a massive and magnificent resort, with hundreds of hotel rooms wrapped around a 4.5 acre indoor atrium, that features three distinct ecosystems that are representative of Florida's natural beauty. From the swamps of the Everglades, to the Spanish heritage of St. Augustine, to the tropical warmth of Key West, the atrium at Gaylord Palms is a tourist destination of its own right.
But one of the major attractions that makes Gaylord Palms so popular--especially during the holidays--is it's famous ICE! attraction! ICE! is an indoor winter wonderland where people can venture through six distinct rooms, all chilled to 9 degrees Fahrenheit, and follow the story of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Over two million pounds of ice was brought in for the attraction! In addition to the walk-through sections, there are also 4 giant ice slides for kids to slide down, an ice-carving room, and a breathtaking nativity scene carved from crystal-clear ice.
For those that live in Florida, or those that are visiting for the holidays, ICE! at Gaylord Palms is a spectacle you don't want to miss! And while you're there, don't forget that Disney World is only 10 minutes away!
Have you ever been to Gaylord Palms in Florida, or any of the other Gaylord resorts?
8 people like this
10 responses
@VivaLaDani13 (60820)
• Perth, Australia
8 Feb 17
@moffittjc Florida looks amazing to me in general. It's another place I've always wanted to go to.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Feb 17
You have an open invitation to come visit anytime you want to!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
I don't know. It was hard for me to tolerate such a low temperature, because I'm used to very hot weather living down here in the tropics. But for people who live farther north, who are used to cold weather, they may be able to tolerate it more.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
6 Dec 15
@moffittjc Oddly I found it quite comfortable when I visited Central Siberia, although most people were constantly cold.
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
@Asylum Although I live in a tropical environment, I can tolerate the cold quite well. I am very hot-natured, I'm always hot, I'm always sweating, and so when I get into a cold environment, it feels so good! It's a nice feeling to not walk around feeling hot and sweaty all the time! But, I have never spent more than six weeks in the cold, so I don't know how my body would handle it if I had to live in the cold for six months instead of six weeks!
@LadyDuck (472291)
• Switzerland
6 Dec 15
@moffittjc We thought to move there, it's one of the best place in the world. If there was not all the immigration staff to do, we would have moved there.
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
Wow, that's great! Sounds like you are a regular visitor to our area! Hope you have a chance to come back soon!
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
Key West is it's own little world! Even though it's still part of Florida, and part of the US, when you get there it is like you are in a completely separate country! What's not to love about Key West! I would love to live there, if the cost of living wasn't so high! But I do like their laid back way of life. They call it "living life on island time." Nobody is in a hurry, everyone is super nice, and there's always a party going on!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Dec 15
We definitely get a lot of visitors from Ireland and the UK, so hopefully you can visit someday! I think you will have a really good time!
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Dec 15
@euphie This past summer I met two gentlemen from Dublin who were visiting Orlando on a business trip. I thought they were great guys, and we struck up a friendship. I hope to be able to add to my bucket list a trip to Dublin soon to visit my two new friends. I know it's not Northern Ireland, but if I did visit I wouldn't be too far away from where you live!
@euphie (573)
• Ballymena, Northern Ireland
8 Dec 15
@moffittjc Yeah, I think it would be a lovely place to visit - one for the bucket list
@JudyEv (342516)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Dec 15
This sounds absolutely amazing. I can't imagine a 4.5 acre atrium let alone all the micro climates.
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
I had always heard about it, but never could fathom the magnitude of it until I stayed there! It is definitely worth the experience!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (342516)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Dec 15
@moffittjc I'd almost forgotten about it but we went to a big atrium thing in Singapore which had different micro climates. You took a lift or stairs up about three storeys and they had a waterfall, high humidity and all this jungle type vegetation. Very impressive.
@JudyEv (342516)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Dec 15
@moffittjc Wow, that would be really something. Apart from the waterfall area, this one was more just the varied plants with a few seats and water features. The one at Gaylord must be a great tourist attraction.
@NicoleMcNeal (130)
• St. Cloud, Florida
6 Dec 15
I live in Saint Cloud, but I used to live in Kissimmee in that area. I have worked at Gaylord Palms in the past, and my 85 year old father in law currently works there. That place is sooo beautiful inside and out. I used to visit the Mel Fisher Treasure Museaum Exhibit when Gaylord first opened up. And ive eaten at the resteraunt thats on the boat in that indoor Lake. I cant wait to go over there again and see what beautiful things they have on display now. And its really close to Old Town so we can kill two birds with one stone.
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Dec 15
You are so lucky to live so close to all the action! I'll be at Disney World for a week with my family at Christmas, I'm thinking about spending a day to go over to Gaylord. And I completely forgot about Old Town! Although I've been there lots of times, I've never taken my kids there! I think they would love it!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Dec 15
@NicoleMcNeal Thank you! I know how much I love Old Town, so I'm sure my kids will have just as much fun there! I wish we had time on our currently upcoming vacation to stop by Old Town for a night of fun, but we've packed a lot of activity into our Disney trip. Oh, and Downtown Disney is now called Disney Springs!
@NicoleMcNeal (130)
• St. Cloud, Florida
8 Dec 15
@moffittjc Ive lived in the area for 25 years now. Ive gotten a little bored with all the attractions in general. Ive worked at almost all of them. But they are nice to go visit every now and again. I used to work at Disney at all 4 of their major parks and many of their resorts and other attractions as well. I love that place. I was attempting to go the other night to their free section formerly known as Downtown Disney and Disney Village Marketplace. It looks like now its called Rock Springs or something or the other. And theres a big construction traffic mess in that section. My boyfriend has poor night time visibility and there were no u turn signs everywhere. Poor guy got all frustrated and decided to go home instead of dealing with the driving and parking nightmare. Lol.
I think your kids will love Gaylord and Old Town as well. Kids just love Old Town. I know I did and so did all my friends when I was younger. Enjoy your vacation :)
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
6 Dec 15
Wow, that sounds like a 'cool' place to visit @moffittjc . I went to a lot of attractions in Florida but never saw this one.
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
If you ever come back to the central Florida area, you should definitely stop by and visit Gaylord! In fact, for such a glamours resort, their hotel prices are surprisingly affordable, and they are minutes away from all the theme parks!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
@nanette64 I've got plenty of room! Come on down! We'll just tear up the town!
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
6 Dec 15
@moffittjc Well dang, I thought I was going to be staying at your place. LOL.
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
6 Dec 15
Gaylord? *snicker* I am such a child. *sigh* ICE! sounds like a lot of fun. :)
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
Hop on across the pond and come see it for yourself!!! Do you know if your brother ever stayed there or visited there when he was in Orlando?
@andriaperry (117272)
• Anniston, Alabama
6 Dec 15
I wished I could vacation in the keys right about now :)
@moffittjc (121798)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Dec 15
I live in Florida and I wish I could be vacationing in the Keys right now!
