ICE at Gaylord Palms

[MarinaAndCharlie]

Hi there - We are actually staying at Pop Century on Disney property but we'd like to visit the ICE exhibit at Gaylord Palms. A couple of questions:

1) Is Gaylord Palms walking distance from Pop Century?
2) If not, would we be allowed to take a Gaylord Palms shuttle (if there is one) from a Disney park, see the ICE exhibit, and take the shuttle back to a Disney park when we're finished?
3) What are the hours of the exhibit?
4) How much does it cost and do we need to buy tickets ahead of time? Are they for specific days or just a general ticket like park tickets?

Thanks!

 

[inkkognito]

I'll try to answer what I can:

Nope, not quite within walking distance (maybe 3 or 4 miles, but you'd have to walk a busy street with no sidewalks so you'd be taking your life in your hands).

They probably wouldn't let you use the shuttle as I think their guests pay for it with a resort fee rather than cash. You'd be stuck taking a taxi.

Hours will be announced later, and you can buy tickets ahead if you want to be sure of availability. I highly recommend buying the "fastpass" too. It gets you priority entrance...otherwise, the line can be LONG LONG LONG.

 

[webray]

Gaylord Palms is definately not within walking distance, busy roads, no sidewalks, so it would be very dangerous.

Take a taxi.

Ice is fantastic, definately worth seeing. Purchase your tickets online and print them out ahead of time for a small discount. Plan on going right when they open in the morning, as the day goes on it gets very crowded.

 

[MarinaAndCharlie]

okay great! Thanks guys! I'm super excited about this exhibit and can't wait to see it in December!

 

[toverly]

I would take a taxi to the Gaylord Palms. Then you would be free to explore the beautiful atrium and have the free hot chocolate. When we were there the travel site with the gnome was having some sort of contest. We went around trying to spot the gnomes to enter for a free stay/trip. Also just be sure to take the jackets they provide, don't try to take your own. When I went a few years ago, there were a few small girls in their own jackets. They weren't having a good time. But we loved it! It is so worth the time and effort. To warm up later, we went to Winterland/Summerland golf course and did a round in the Christmas side with Christmas carols. It was great.

 

[horseshowmom]

okay great! Thanks guys! I'm super excited about this exhibit and can't wait to see it in December!

Last year there was a code good for 50% off - FBC (don't know whether it will work this year or not).

 

[Echo queen]

Be there when the doors open, the tickets lead you to believe you are picking a time frame, not true the line gets really long long. I took the advice of inkkognito last December and it worked out great. Very nice ice.

 

[cinderella73]

When u guys say crowded do you mean in early December as well? As in the first 2 weeks ? Or just as it gets close to Christmas? And what is the fastpass for? Is it used to get in faster at the Ice exhibit? And also has anyone done the ice skating? Thanks

 

[Echo queen]

We were there around 12/26 to 12/28 very busy. So I'm not exactly sure just how busy it will be early December. Good luck and Merry Christmas Cute family photos.

 

[elaine and the boys]

We will be arriving at the Gaylord Palms on Christmas Day, mid-afternoon. We hope to begin our vacation that evening with dinner and Ice. We're heading to Epcot the following morning and will be transferring to the Dolphin the morning after that, so Christmas night is our only chance to see Ice. Does anyone know if hotel guests get a discount? And could someone elaborate on the "fastpass" that was mentioned?
THanks!

 

[MarinaAndCharlie]

Actually I didnt know there was anything there besides the actual sculptures. What else is there to see/do (ice skating?) and is it included in the ticket price? I dont know where to find any real details since its still a ways away...

 

[webray]

check out gaylordpalms.com to get the details on ICE and ticket prices/discounts, etc.

They do have a holiday package (or have in past years)_ that includes ice, your room, a meal or (something) gingerbread house making. It has always been a really nice package.

The resort is fabulous, plan on checking it out, maybe having dinner there. Great buffet, or restaurant options. Alligator feeding.

It is the travelocity nome. Also, beautiful decorations, holiday concerts (live music, etc). So much to do there during the holidays..we love it.

 

[horseshowmom]

We will be arriving at the Gaylord Palms on Christmas Day, mid-afternoon. We hope to begin our vacation that evening with dinner and Ice. We're heading to Epcot the following morning and will be transferring to the Dolphin the morning after that, so Christmas night is our only chance to see Ice. Does anyone know if hotel guests get a discount? And could someone elaborate on the "fastpass" that was mentioned?
THanks!

I booked through Dreams Unlimited last year for arrival on Christmas Day, and they had a great package that included ICE! tickets (think it was about $150 for the night including an atrium view room).

As for the fastpass, I've been a couple of times and never heard of it.

 

[inkkognito]

They don't actually call it a Fastpass of course, since that is a Disney trademark. I can't remember the actual name, but we bought ours online and you can probably get it there too (not sure if they sell out so that's why we did it online). The standby line was bloody ridiculous when we got there...well over an hour. With the fastpass thing, you go right in. Well worth every penny vs. standing in the neverending queue.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I must be going crazy or something because I don't see where you can order tickets online for this event. I know it says it on the webpage, but I just can locate the place I'm suppose to purchase them. Can anyone help?

 

[HopperFan]

We went on a couple years ago on New Years Eve. We bought our tickets online in advance for the earliest time of the day. We had no problems getting in within minutes. We walked through, backtracked and walked through again.

The ice slides are fun and we did them over and over.
Click photo for video.



We even bought the photo they took of us in our parkas (and we rarely buy photos) because it came out so good.

We bought the combo tickets for a few of us, and they went Ice Skating.

Then we went into the Gaylord Atrium and had fun doing a Scavenger Hunt for Gnomes. We walked all over the atrium, very cool and they had it decorated for holidays. Were other holiday activities going on in there as well. We spent hours there.

 

[jamie@dvcstore]

It looks like everyone has done a great job of answering your questions. I just wanted to let you know that ICE is fantastic! It is so worth the trip off property.

My suggestion would be take your time going through and looking at everything if you can stand the cold. I am from FL though the cold does not phase me. Some in my group got cold easily so I thought we went through it a little too quickly.

Take as many pictures as you can. The colors they use to light the different sculptures looks great in pictures. Have a wonderful time and stay warm!
________
Suzuki Gsx1400 History

 

[dogodisney]

I must be going crazy or something because I don't see where you can order tickets online for this event. I know it says it on the webpage, but I just can locate the place I'm suppose to purchase them. Can anyone help?

The tickets are not on sale yet.

 

[MarinaAndCharlie]

Does anyone remember how much the entrance tickets were?

 

[nixieh]

Ice tickets are on sale now on their website with a variety of prices for adults/kids for weekdays and weekends. Can't see any sign of anything that you can pay for to jump the lines like someone mentioned earlier. We want to go on Xmas afternoon as we are staying at the Gaylord Palms on Xmas night but don't know if it will be mega packed that afternoon

Here is the link for booking tickets

http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylor...lando-events/ICE/index.html?intcmp=gp-tsr-ice