The Making of ICE! at Gaylord Hotels
Experience the beloved ICE! attractions at Gaylord Hotels this holiday season. Carving more than 10 million pounds of ice, it will take a team of 40 artisans from Harbin, China approximately six weeks to create each 19,000-square-foot frozen attraction. These expert artisans follow a 300-page design book filled with sketches and blueprints to create each individual piece. Each Gaylord Hotel property will feature a classic Christmas story or movie, making this is a holiday spectacle not to be missed.
The very first ICE! experience was presented in 2001.
…or 5,000 tons of ice will be carved by artisans.
It’s a frosty 9 degrees inside ICE!
Ice artisans will travel from Harbin, China.
Carving tools are handmade for the highest precision.
- How ICE! Comes to Life
How ICE! Comes to Life
The process of ICE! is precise and highly focused. Using skills passed down from generation to generation, the artisans follow a 300-page design book filled with sketches and blueprints to create every piece of the exhibit.-
Colorful Chemistry
Colored ice (created by a chemist who mixes a special food coloring, to ensure it maintains its bright color for the entire season), clear ice and LED lights are all used to create the sparkling spectacle, as the frosty fun bring classic Christmas stories and films to life. -
Artisans Arrive
Our troupe of expert artisans hails from the city of Harbin, China, home to the world's largest annual ice and snow sculpting festival in the world. -
Ice Arrives
300-pound ice blocks are delivered to the 9-degree environment using a state-of-the-art chilling system that maintains the attraction's chilly temperature. -
Carving Begins
Carvers will use chisels, chippers, tongs, handsaws, grinders and even chainsaws to bring the experience to life. It will take the team of artisans about six weeks to create the 20,000-square-foot frozen attraction. -
Nativity Scene
The ICE! experience concludes in a separate area dedicated to a Nativity scene, meticulously carved, and shaped into a dramatic display of crystal-clear ice. -
Final Product
In addition to seeing characters from the classic Christmas stories and movies, guests can also take slippery rides down two-story-tall ice slides, traverse through ice tunnels and arches, and visit Carver's Showcase to see live sculpting demonstrations.
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- Harbin, China
The Ice City
Also known as "Ice City," Harbin, China is home to the world's largest annual ice and snow sculpting festival in the world. Temperatures in Harbin fall dramatically to an average of only two degrees, sometimes plummeting to -36 degrees! Harbin stays below freezing for almost half the year.
- "The magic behind the Making of ICE! is truly something special. My family has never seen anything like it! A holiday tradition that will live on for many years to come."
-Jessica M.
The Magic of ICE!
