Gaylord Palms: ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ returns as ICE theme for 2023
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Good grief, it’s already time for a Christmastime announcement. Gaylord Palms revealed Tuesday that the theme for its 2023 ICE exhibit will be “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
“You get to walk through every scene of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ with these larger-than-life, hand-carved ice sculptures,” Niko Nickolaou, head of special events and entertainment for Gaylord Hotels, said before the announcement.
ICE will be presented daily at the Kissimmee resort between Nov. 17 and Jan. 3.
The attraction will draw on characters and settings from the animated holiday television program that debuted in 1965. The show used Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” characters to deal with commercialism, seasonal depression, over-the-top lighting displays and a sagging sapling before landing on “what Christmas is all about,” as Linus Van Pelt said in the broadcast.
It defied that description to become a family favorite.
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Gaylord Palms last had the Charlie Brown theme for ICE in 2016. This year’s look will have a major design change in the ice-slide room, which will be set in the play rehearsal scene, Nickolaou said.
“We’re going to go into a new immersive experience into the theater … but you’re going to be actually entering backstage,” he said. “As you’ll come out, it’s this amazing thing to see Charlie out on stage – you’re actually coming out walking onto the stage – and you’ll be taking the slides down, which is kind of a cool new look for us.”
The stage scene is where TV viewers witnessed casting chaos, Charlie Brown in director mode, Snoopy’s happy dance to a jazzy soundtrack and Linus’ spotlight soliloquy.
“We always try to think of how can we innovatively upgrade this, how do we do it differently, and this year, it’s truly spectacular,” Nickolaou said. “The music is tied to it. It’s that immersive element that we’re always trying to capture.”
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The basic set-up of ICE remains in place. Colorful sculptures are carved out of 2 million pounds of ice by 40 Chinese artisans. The space, spread over several rooms, is kept at 9 degrees Fahrenheit. After walking past the “Peanuts” displays, visitors see an elaborate nativity scene of crystal-clear ice figures. Gaylord Palms says it takes five or six weeks to produce the 20,000-square-foot attraction.
ICE debuted at the hotel in 2003.
“It’s super-photogenic,” Nickolaou said. “We always make sure that we have the small things, the right angles and the right focus for guest flow to make sure that they can capture their moments for photos.”
Among the other holiday festivities planned for Gaylord Palms are “Cirque: Spirit of Christmas” stage show, “#LIT Light Show” in the atrium, “The Greatest Story” stage show, ice tubing, Snowball Build & Blast, a Naughty or Nice Escape Room, Elf Training Academy, a Christmas tree trail and the Alpine Village holiday shop.
“Peanuts”-related activities will include a character breakfast and the Merry Snoopy Scavenger Hunt in the garden atrium.
ICE admission varies with the date. Ticket prices range from $32.99 to $42.99 ($22.99 to 29.99 for ages 4-11). There are combo deals that include select other Gaylord Palms holiday events.
For more information and to buy tickets, go to ChristmasatGaylordPalms.com.
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