Gaylord Palms preps ‘Elf’ for big ‘Ice’ debut
The sounds of Christmas are coming from deep inside Gaylord Palms. Chainsaws, ice picks and heavy machinery are revved up to turn huge blocks of colorful ice in “Ice,” the very, very, very cool — make that downright frigid — holiday sculpture display at the Kissimmee resort.
In some ways, this year’s attraction will be familiar. It’s a walk-through with elaborate ice sculptures based on a movie in a 9-degree atmosphere. (Ponchos are provided, though veterans will recommend bringing coats, caps, scarves and other layers.) As usual, the carving is done by artisans from Harbin, China, known for its annual elaborate ice-sculpturing festival.
But Gaylord is rolling out a new movie as its theme this year. The “Ice” displays will represent scenes from “Elf,” the 2003 film starring Will Ferrell as the lead character Buddy with Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel and Edward Asner. Workers are currently crafting iconic “Elf” moments, including the snowball fight scene.
Here are a few takeaways from a recent “Ice” preview for members of the media.
What you’ll see
“The ‘Ice’ attraction takes you on a journey throughout the movie, starting with Buddy learning, not quite yet, that he’s a human sitting on papa elf’s lap and then taking the journey to New York to find his dad and really falling in love with Jovie,” says Meghan Hash, director of special events and entertainment for Gaylord Palms.
“Buddy’s life is about being happy and making people happy and spreading joy,” she says.
In the story, Buddy is a suspiciously oversized elf, so proportions are played with in “Ice.” Hash says that carvers can make figures as small as a coin and as large as 30 feet tall.
‘Elf’ awareness
Gaylord decided to go with “Elf ” two years ago, says Niko Nickolaou, senior director of special events and creative at Gaylord Hotels.
“‘Elf’ was something that we heard from our customers that they wanted to see in some way, shape or form,” he says. “So from developing the story beats, doing some concept renderings and figuring out the story that we could tell through it and working with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to kind of connect that entire element all the way through.”
The creative process went from 15 renderings to a book of 400 pages of drawings and architectural elements. Final music was developed over a year ago, he says.
It takes a village, and not just the one in China.
“You have to figure out different things that you’re utilizing,” Nickolaou says. “You know, impact on lighting could be because of the color of the ice. So we have to work with the lighting designer to make sure that the ice looks the right way, that depicts the right scene from the movie.”
Storm surge
The recent run of hurricanes didn’t disrupt “Ice,” Hash says. The artisans had not arrived in Florida yet during the stormiest part of the season.
“The artisan team and the team here at Gaylord have worked very proactively and getting us back up to speed where we need to be in preparation for our opening,” she says.
Having a snowball
Now, about those snowballs.
“The slide room, to me, is going to be so much fun,” Nickolaou says. “Knowing what we planned for that room and being this epic snowball fight and having a larger-than-life Buddy throwing snowballs back up the hill as you’re racing down these two-story slides. … That room’s going to be incredible.”
What else
The traditional “Ice” finale of the crystal-clear ice sculpture nativity scene will be in place again. Other Gaylord Palms holiday activities will include “Cirque: Spirit of Christmas” stage show, Snow Flow Mountain tubing, Snowball Build and Blast, gingerbread decorating corner, Elf Training Academy, Naughty or Nice Escape Room and more.
Ticket prices for the “Ice” attraction alone vary with date and time. They run between $29.99 and $45.99, and there are combo deals with other Gaylord offerings. “Ice” is open daily Nov. 15 through Jan. 4.
For more information, go to gaylordpalms.com.