#Lit Light Show

Set to a heartwarming holiday musical score, this multi-sensory spectacle of 2 million lights is filled with the memories, magic and dreams of Christmas. This free show takes place in the Emerald Bay Plaza area of the resort. No show times are listed on the website.

Cirque Dreams Unwrapped

You will be dazzled by an array of seasonal characters brought to life in a dreamscape of imaginative costumes and creativity in. Stunning feats of showmanship are performed on stage and in the air for the entire family to see. Enjoy this uniquely inspired 25-minute Christmas dream presented with the Broadway style and inventive theatrics for which Cirque Dreams is renowned. Guaranteed seating is available for a fee, complimentary open seating is available on a first come, first served basis for each day’s matinee and evening performances.

ICE! Featuring the Polar Express

This is our third time experiencing ICE! at Christmas at Gaylord Palms. The Polar Express event blew our other visits out of the water. The storytelling and exquisite artistry of the ice carvings made you feel like you were in the movie.

Located in the Alpine Village, ICE! featuring the Polar Express is a walk through ice sculpture attraction in 9° F temperatures. Fear not, warm parkas are provided. I do recommend close toed shoes, a hat, and gloves for a more enjoyable experience.

In the middle of the story are the ice slides! There is a short slide for young children and 4 longer slides for bigger kids and adults. We brought our adult kids Jordan, his wife Savannah, and one of my “adopted” sons Chase with us to the event. They each did the ice slides 3 times each.

Tickets for ICE! featuring the Polar Express start at $14.99 for kids 4-11, $28.99 ages 10-adult. Prices vary by date and time. Bundles are available so that you can pay one price and experience more of the awesome activities.

Other Christmas at Gaylord Palms Events and Activities

• Indoor Snow Tubing-additional cost
• Stroll the Gaylord Palms Christmas Tree Trail-free
• Sounds of the Season Concert Series-additional cost
• Build a Bear Workshop-additional cost
• Gingerbread Decorating Corner-additional cost
• Photos with Santa-additional cost
• Mrs Claus’ Christmas Traditions-additional cost
• Elf Training Academy-additional cost
• Santa’s Snow Throw-additional cost
• Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt-additional cost
• Sugary Sweet Storytime with the Sugar Plum Fairy-additional cost
• The Greatest Story Stage Show-guaranteed seating for a fee, complimentary open seating on a first come, first served basis
• Naughty or Nice Escape Room-additional cost

Ticket Bundles

Silver Bundle-ICE! featuring The Polar Express, Snow Tubing, and Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt 20% discount.

Gold Bundle– ICE! featuring The Polar Express, Snow Tubing, Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt, Santa’s Snow Throw, and Mrs Claus’ Christmas Traditions 30% discount.

Platinum Bundle– ICE! featuring The Polar Express, ICE! Chill Pass, Snow Tubing, Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt, Santa’s Snow Throw, Mrs Claus’ Christmas Traditions, Gingerbread Decorating Corner, Sugary Sweet Storytime, Elf Training Academy, Hot Chocolate, and Prepaid Short Term Parking 40% discount.

The other activities may be added to your bundle at a discounted rate. See website for specifics. There are also great deals available to stay at the Gaylord Palms and enjoy the Christmas activities during your stay.

Whether you live in Central Florida or are coming down for a visit, I highly recommend visiting Christmas at Gaylord Palms.

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We love visiting Christmas at Gaylord Palms when we are in Orlando! This year’s Sounds of the Season Concert Series has me wishing we lived closer! It is a lifelong dream of mine to see Sandi Patty give a Christmas concert! I’m also a fan of Voctave and VoicePlay. Holidays in Hollywood and 4eva29 have me interested too. If you are in central Florida in December make sure you check out Christmas at Gaylord Palms, you won’t be disappointed.

The performances featured during the Sounds of the Season Concert Series include:

Sandi Patty

Wednesday, December 5, 2018 – 8:00 p.m. – $40 general admission, plus tax and fees

As one of the most highly acclaimed performers of our time with five Grammy® awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three platinum records, five gold records, and eleven million units sold, Sandi Patty is simply known as “The Voice.” Sandi is the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary gospel music history, with 40 Dove Awards, and is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Patty has released a number of Christmas albums over the years, including “Christmas Blessings” in 2014.

Deejay Young

Thursday, December 6, 2018 – 8:00 p.m. – $25 general admission, plus tax and fees

Deejay Young got his musical start at the young age of five on the National Tour of the hit Gospel-theatrical stage play, “Daddy Please Don’t Leave.” He continued performing, mastering his skills as a vocalist and songwriter. Young has performed at many prestigious and historic venues across the world, including Radio City Music Hall. His latest project and debut holiday album, “An Unplugged Christmas,” was an Amazon Music Top Holiday Album seller upon its release.

Voctave

Wednesday, December 12, 2018 – 8:00 p.m. – $35 general admission, plus tax and fees

Voctave is an 11-member a cappella group from the Central Florida area. Formed in the winter of 2015, the voices that bring their artistic arrangements to life represent a wealth of diverse backgrounds and musical experiences. Group members have professional roots with Walt Disney World entertainment, but their range does not stop there. From gospel music to musical theater, contemporary Christian to barbershop, pop music to choral specialists, Voctave voices have covered it all both in and out of the a cappella realm. Members of Voctave have performed all over the world and can be heard on countless recordings. With multiple #1 songs and albums on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, Voctave has also ranked in the top 25 on Billboard Magazine’s charts.

Holidays in Hollywood

Tuesday, December 18, 2018 – 8:00 p.m. – $25 general admission, plus tax and fees

Enjoy the seasonal sounds of the silver screen with this concert featuring Christmas songs from classic holiday films performed by some of Central Florida’s most talented and diverse vocalists. These singers have performed all over the world and will leave attendees in awe of their unique voices.

4eva29

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 – 8:00 p.m. – $25 general admission, plus tax and fees

Originally a girl group named “FLIRT” in the 90s, these five powerful female vocalists have made a comeback as pop-star moms, having performed on Broadway, in Las Vegas, and at Walt Disney World. 4eva29 creates a hilarious one-of-a kind concert experience. In their special performance at Gaylord Palms, these fiercely hilarious ladies will put their own spin on holiday classics like “Jingle Bells”, “Santa Baby”, and of course, Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You.”

VoicePlay

Thursday, December 20, 2018 – 8:15 p.m. – $30 general admission, plus tax and fees

Locally based and internationally known, VoicePlay introduced their unique sounds to the world on Season 4 of NBC’s “The Sing-Off.” VoicePlay creates a total theatrical experience as their full stage show presents amazing, humorous, and vertigo-inducing harmonies with their music-without-music sound, bouncing between eras and styles plus mixing in inventive and often hilarious on-stage theatrics.

Concert Series tickets are now on sale online at www.ChristmasAtGaylordPalms.com/SoundsOfTheSeason.

The Sounds of the Season Concert Series is an ideal complement to the holiday activities available during Christmas at Gaylord Palms. The resort’s signature attraction is ICE!, an experience created by artisans from Harbin, China, home of the world’s largest ice and snow sculpture festival, who carve more than two million pounds of colorful ice into larger-than-life sculptures. This year, ICE! features “A CHRISTMAS STORY,” which has been a staple of holiday movie lists for years! Guests can experience this holiday favorite in a whole new way as the hilarious family tale will come to life through hand-carved ice sculptures and displays, inviting guests to relive the film’s iconic scenes such as The Old Man’s Major Award, Aunt Clara’s pink nightmare and the ultimate triple dog dare at the school’s flagpole, and many more!

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During our brief visit we started by strolling the Gaylord Palms Christmas Tree Trail. This trail includes 9 different trees decorated to represent the holiday traditions from 9 different countries around the globe. Then it was time to take our seats for the Joyful! Atrium light show. Both the Christmas Tree Trail and the light show are free. Next was the Cirque Dreams Unwrapped show. I have to be honest, I can never figure out if there is a story line for a cirque show or what it has to do with Christmas. Tickets to this show are $14.99 adults $10.99 children for the matinee and $17.99 for adults and $12.99 for children for the evening shows. There are also free seats available on a first-come-first-served basis. After the show Mrs Claus, Snowflake the Elf, Jack and Jackie Frost and friends came out to tell us about what other activities were available at Christmas at Gaylord Palms.

We followed Mrs Claus and friends down to the Alpine Village where our first stop was to write our letters to Santa and then send them to him in the post office. We entered the Alpine Village and Jordan immediately headed for the Snow Tubing area. The Snow Tubing does have height requirements so make sure you check the website before heading out. Prices for Snow Tubing is $18.99 for children and $19.99 for adults. Jordan had a lot of fun tubing and racing against others. Then we all went over to Santa’s Snow Throw where for $9.99 each person gets a bucket of snowballs to throw at targets. We Floridians never get to throw snowballs, so this was a lot of fun! We peeked in on Mrs Claus’ Christmas Traditions Show, tickets are $9.99, and we looked around the Build-a-Bear Workshop pop-up shop but we didn’t do the Build-a-Bear Scavenger Hunt, tickets $9.99.

Now it was time to head into ICE! Featuring Christmas Around the World. It is 9° F inside ICE! so you are provided a parka to wear while inside. Closed toed shoes are recommended and I suggest wearing gloves, scarf, and hat as well. ICE! is always a cold but beautiful holiday treat. Jordan tried an ice slide, but no one was sliding very well! We spent about 15 minutes inside ICE! and then it was time to go warm up! Our last stop was the gift show where they have a lot of ICE! and Christmas themed items on sale.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Christmas at Gaylord Palms and we hope to make it an annual family tradition going forward. It is a great event for the entire family. The most economical way to participate in the most activities is to buy the Platinum Play & Save pass which is 30% off of the total cost for ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World with priority front-of-the-line access (Chill Pass), Snow Tubing, Build-A-Bear Workshop® Scavenger Hunt, Santa’s Snow Throw (One Bucket of Snow Balls), Mrs. Claus Christmas Traditions show, and a Gingerbread Decorating Kit all for $83.99 for adults and $78.99 for children. I highly recommend buying your tickets and planning your visit <strong>online before you travel to the Gaylord Palms, some events sell out and you don’t want to be disappointed. There are other events that are also a part of Christmas at Gaylord Palms that we didn’t get to experience like the Sounds of the Season Concert Series, Breakfast with Charlie Brown and Friends, and Photos with Santa, all of which cost extra. If you find yourself in Central Florida during the Christmas season, plan to visit Christmas at Gaylord Palms, you won’t be disappointed.

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A New World of ICE! at Gaylord Palms

Celebrating the 15th season in Orlando, ICE! presented by Pepsi® returns to Gaylord Palms to deliver frozen fun to everyone! This year’s ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World celebrates the world’s diverse holiday traditions, representing United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany and more.

“We’re excited to offer this theme in Central Florida, a destination welcoming millions from around the world every year,” said Johann Krieger, General Manager for Gaylord Palms Resort. “This year’s ICE! theme also inspired our creative team to add new activities and live shows that celebrate cultures and highlight diversity during this special time of year.”

Artisans from Harbin, China, home of the world’s largest ice and snow sculpture festival, travel more than 6,000 miles to hand-carve more than two million pounds of colorful ice into larger-than-life sculptures. When guests enter the nine-degree attraction this year, they will discover holiday scenes from various nations and two-story ice slides surrounded by sculptures and international tidings, all before ending with a trip to the North Pole to experience Santa’s toy workshop. The ICE! experience ends with the Frostbite Factory live ice carving showcase and the traditional Nativity created with crystal clear ice.

All-New Performances and Experiences

Gaylord Palms welcomes back an exciting, new season of Cirque Dreams Unwrapped – reimagined by Broadway director and renowned Cirque Dreams founder Neil Goldberg. Never-before-seen acts, artistry and costumes set in a magical and timeless wonderland bring this new high-flying adventure for the entire family onto the atrium stage. This latest Cirque Dreams Unwrapped spectacle is a thrilling 25-minute, action-packed experience of amazement, theatricality and imagination that will have guests on the edge of their seats. Complimentary seats will be available on a first come-first seated basis, while Guaranteed Seating may be purchased in advance.

Guests wishing to enhance their show experience should reserve a place at a Cirque Dreams Unwrapped Dessert Party, available on Saturdays during December. Incredible views from a private fourth-floor viewing patio provide a unique perspective for the Cirque Dreams performance as guests enjoy a special buffet of holiday sweets from the Gaylord Palms culinary team paired with beverages to please all ages.

Gaylord Palms’ dazzling atrium becomes even more merry and bright during Joyful, a spectacular new multisensory experience surrounding the resort’s six-story Christmas tree. Joyful will feature an exclusive holiday musical score along with millions of dancing, choreographed lights during the 12-minute nightly shows that illuminate the resort’s atrium.

More joyful noise will fill the resort’s atrium with the new Sounds of the Season Concert Series featuring a capella concerts on select nights in December. Local performance groups appearing include Voctave, Gaylord Palms STARS (resort staff) and the Orlando Gay Chorus, along with a very special collaboration between Opera Orlando, Orlando Philharmonic and the Orlando Ballet. All performances will be onstage in the St. Augustine Atrium and include a special concert patron-exclusive visit to the resort’s popular ICE! attraction following the performance.

As guests explore the sights and sounds of Christmas at Gaylord Palms, they’ll discover a brand-new experience, the Christmas Tree Trail. Set inside the Everglades Atrium, this Christmas Tree Trail offers a display of nine magnificent trees provided by Balsam HillTM, adorned with decorations honoring the culture and traditions of various countries including Brazil, China, Italy and more. Guests can explore the trail at their leisure, admiring the décor while learning about international holiday celebrations.

Guests will encounter some extra Christmas magic when they visit the new, immersive Reindeer Express Post Office. Kids are invited to jot down their top Christmas wishes on a postcard before entering this special facility to send their wishes off on a journey to Santa. When kids submit their postcards, they can watch as the cards are stamped and prepared for delivery via a special scan, sending their wishes directly to the North Pole before returning the card to them as a special Christmas keepsake.

The all-new Build-A-Bear Workshop® Scavenger Hunt sends guests to find Snowburst, the Gaylord Hotels Polar Bear, along with his bear buddies (each with a holiday talent) as they make sure Gaylord Palms is festively decorated with holiday cheer! In addition, guests can choose from all kinds of furry friends to bring home, including the exclusive light-up Snowburst polar bear, as imaginations soar at the Build-A-Bear Workshop® at Gaylord Palms.

Returning Favorites

Award-winning buffet restaurant Villa de Flora brings back the hearty and heartwarming Breakfast with Charlie Brown & Friends, allowing guests to pose with Snoopy and hang out with Charlie Brown and Lucy. In addition to the Peanuts Gang meet and greets, the breakfast includes a delicious morning buffet with themed dishes, such as Charlie Brown’s Build-Your-Own-French-Toast Station with Snoopy’s Maple Syrup, Pig Pen’s Dirty Hash Browns, Lucy’s Flap Jacks and Woodstock’s Granola.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms invites guests to return to the festive Alpine Village, the central hub for holiday happenings. In addition to ICE!, the area is home to various attractions; shows; seasonal food, beverage and retail locations; and Photos with Santa, where holiday memories can be captured inside his toy workshop.

Gingerbread Decorating Corner presented by Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas continues to be a deliciously fun holiday tradition. Guests may select a gingerbread house or a themed cookie kit to enjoy a sticky and fun interactive experience, creating sweet souvenirs that can be carried home unless someone eats them first! The delightful larger-than-life gingerbread pair, Cinnamon and Nutmeg, will also be available for toasty hugs and holiday photos.

Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions brings the First Lady of the North Pole back to Gaylord Palms as she leads a half-hour interactive show. Guests enjoy classic holiday stories and a sing-a-long, plus a delicious finale as the holiday hostess presents everyone with warm cookies and a glass of cold milk.

Santa’s Snow Throw puts real snow in the hands of guests as they show off their pitching prowess by tossing snowballs at a variety of interactive targets. Bragging rights go to those with the best aim!

Snow Tubing sends guests zooming down an eight-lane tubing hill covered in real snow. This all-ages attraction offers both single and double tubes to accommodate children and parents. Evenings are enlivened with Cosmic Tubing, complete with flashing LED lights and high-spirited holiday music.

How to Visit Christmas at Gaylord Palms

Guests seeking to save can bundle multiple attractions and experiences by purchasing a Play & Save Pass, available in three tiers: Silver, Gold and Platinum. All passes include ICE!, Snow Tubing and Build-A-Bear Workshop® Scavenger Hunt. The Gold Pass adds Santa’s Snow Throw and Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions. For the greatest savings, purchase the Platinum Pass, which also includes priority front-of-the-line access to ICE! and a gingerbread decorating kit. Play & Save Passes are available for adults and children and offer as much as 30-percent off depending on the bundle selected.

The best way to experience all of Christmas at Gaylord Palms is with an overnight stay. One-night packages start at $240 plus tax, resort fee and parking. Packages include ICE! tickets for two (with option to add additional adults or children) plus a souvenir family photo. Overnight guests may also schedule a visit to ICE! during the daily hotel guest-exclusive Extra Cool Hour from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Make the holidays merrier and extend the package to stay for multiple nights!

Christmas at Gaylord Palms is open daily from November 21, 2017 – January 7, 2018, including holidays. For additional information and to book packages or tickets, visit ChristmasAtGaylordPalms.com.

We will be attending the November 20th media preview so make sure you are following along on Instagram!

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Here is some great information about all of the Christmas Festivities taking place at the Gaylord Palms.
The “coolest “ Christmas celebration south of the North Pole is coming to Central Florida’s Gaylord Palms Resort, where temperatures will be hovering around nine degrees and guests will be invited to experience SNOW! and ICE!

That’s right. Forty tons of real snow will fill the all-new SNOW! A North Pole Carnival attraction, where young and old can make snowmen and snow sculptures, take aim at a snowball target range, build igloos and have their own personal snow day. And, once again ICE!, a dazzling winter wonderland hand-carved from more than two million pounds of ice returns for its eighth year at “The Best of Florida Christmas Celebration” from November 20 through January 2, 2011. Gaylord Palms Resort makes it easy, and fun, to celebrate the holidays in one of the world’s most exciting family vacation destinations, with unique Christmas packages starting at just $199!

• “Christmas Memories” captures that special time together with family or friends. The one-night package includes accommodations, tickets to ICE!, souvenir photo, self-parking and resort fees.

• “The Best of Florida Christmas” package where guests can enjoy a complete Florida holiday vacation, from beginning to end! This “Best Of” package offers accommodations, unlimited admission to ICE! with priority entry, tickets to SNOW!, A North Pole Carnival, souvenir photo, self-parking and resort fees.

• The Grandparent Getaway holiday package, which includes accommodations, tickets to ICE!, souvenir photo, and a special lunch or brunch dining experience with Mrs. Claus starts at just $459, including resort fees and self-parking,  for a two-night stay.

While staying at the Gaylord Palms Resort, guests can enjoy every detail of the Best of Florida Christmas offerings from ICE! to SNOW! and the myriad of shows and holiday entertainment.

The theme for this year’s ICE! attraction is based on the  beloved Christmas poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” The iconic holiday sonnet is captured in intricate hand-carved ice, including “stockings hung by the chimney,” father in his sleeping “cap” and, of course, a sleigh with eight flying reindeer.  Not a single ice-carved Christmas trapping is missed as visitors arrive in the Grand Hall where they can walk up an ice stairway to the second floor and, then, take a slippery slide down one of the attraction’s four two-story ice slides.

A favorite holiday tradition is the attraction’s signature scene, a life-size Nativity carved completely of crystal-clear ice.  Dramatic lighting and a stirring narrative track give guests an opportunity to pause and reflect on the story behind the season.

The massive wintry landscape of ICE! is carved by hand during a month-long visit by skilled artisans from Harbin, China, a city known for its annual International Ice and Snow Festival.  Although the attraction is kept at a frigid nine degrees, visitors stay warm in the oversized winter parkas handed out before entry.

SNOW! offers all the fun of a winter carnival in 40-tons of real snow! Included is a snowball target range, Kiddie Snow Tube Run, Coke Bottle Toss and Flip a Penguin. Food areas, with snow-themed holiday treats, will offer everything from snowberries, snow cones, cotton candy and roasted chestnuts.

According to Senior Vice President and General Manager Johann Krieger, temperatures within the new SNOW! attraction can range from 35 to 60 degrees, comfortable enough for  visitors, and of course Santa, who is available to visit with children at “A Visit to Santa Claus,” conveniently located nearby.

“The Best of Florida Christmas Celebration” encompasses virtually every square inch of the 63-acre resort which is decked out in lights and holiday trimmings inside and out.  The massive 4.5-acre indoor atrium is aglow with thousands of lights, trees, poinsettias, wreaths, bows, and garlands, and serves as a backdrop for dazzling holiday events.

Of special note is “Luminescence,” a musical stage show that fills the atrium with sound, light and high-tech aerial choreography with performers flying through the 18-story, glass-enclosed space.

“Family Traditions,” an a capella choir, performs traditional carols for visitors in the Emerald Bay Plaza.  “Christmas Wonders” a stage review also offers festive holiday tunes, topped off with the lighting of the Majestic Christmas Tree.  Shows take place throughout the day and evening all through the holiday season.

Children of all ages will enjoy “The Polar Bear Pursuit,” a scavenger hunt for holiday trinkets and treasures.  Grand prize is a Gaylord Palms VIP Getaway.

On weekends throughout the holiday season, visitors will have an opportunity to join Mrs. Claus for a Holiday Lunch on Saturday or Holiday Brunch on Sunday at the award-winning Villa de Flora restaurant, where Santa is often a surprise guest.

As a salute to Florida’s vibrant Latin community, Gaylord Palms continues its annual tradition – Noche Latina at ICE! This after-hours exclusive opportunity will be held on Friday, December 3.

For those seeking a little more adventure, the Orlando Polar Bear Club will take the plunge on Saturday, December 4, running through ICE! in nothing but a bathing suit.

Tickets to the ICE! attraction range from $9.99 to $25.99 depending on the type of ticket and day of the week. Entry to SNOW!, a North Pole Carnival, is $7.49 Monday – Thursday and $9.99 Friday – Sunday with the purchase of an ICE! ticket.  Discounted tickets are available online at www.gaylordpalms.com/christmas.

For reservations and further information call 407-586-2000 or visit www.gaylordpalms.com/christmas. Resort package pricing is based on availability, subject to change and exclusive of taxes and assessment fees. The Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center is located at 6000 W. Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee, FL.

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