Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

SeaWorld Orlando‘s Bands, Brew & BBQ festival is happening every Saturday in February, and there are some major artists in the concert lineup.

They include:

Feb. 6 – LeAnn Rimes

Feb. 13 – Montgomery Gentry

Feb. 20 – John Rich (of Big & Rich)

Feb. 27 – Yes

The concerts are free with admission to SeaWorld. If you’re a Florida resident, there’s a great deal right now on the 2010 Fun Card.

If you are visiting Central Florida in February, be sure to put a visit to Fantasy of Flight on your calendar.

Four of the original Tuskegee Airmen will share their stories Feb. 18, 19 and 20 at the aviation attraction in Polk City.

Fantasy of Flight has a permanent multimedia exhibit about these brave men and the plane they flew, the P-51C Mustang.

About 15 years ago, I discovered that a neighbor of mine had been a Tuskegee Airman. I subsequently had the great privilege of hearing about many of his experiences in fighting for all U.S. citizens, at a time when he was not even afforded the rights of many of the people he was defending.

I strongly encourage you to bring your families out to meet these brave men and hear their stories. It is important that this history not be forgotten. I intend to be there with my child.

The Tuskegee Airmen will appear in an open forum and Q&A sessions at Fantasy of Flight. The event is free with admission, which is $28.95 for adults and $14.95 for youth ages 6-15. Kids 5 and under are free.

Fantasy of Flight has an amazing collection of vintage aircraft, interactive exhibits about great moments in aviation and daily aerial demonstrations. It’s worth the short drive from the Orlando or Disney area to spend a day here.

Fantasy of Flight is located off Interstate 4, between Orlando and Lakeland. The aviation attraction is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

My family and I had the opportunity to visit ICE! this weekend at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee. I had heard a lot about the annual holiday attraction, but this was my first time visiting.

ICE! is a walk-through exhibit of giant ice sculptures, with ice slides for the kids (and young at heart) to play on, as well as some fun photo ops.

I posted my account of our ICE! experience over at i.seekissimmee.com, where I’m guest blogging this week.

Not that I’ve been there, done that, here are my tips for moms planning to take their kids to see ICE!:

• Bring gloves or mittens. It is 9 degrees inside the ice exhibit, and while they supply parkas, your hands will get cold. A stocking cap to wear under the hood or a scarf might also be helpful.
• No need to bundle up much more than that, though. We saw families in all manner of garb, including some with long johns and several layers on top of them. You spend about 30 minutes in the exhibit, and the parka keeps you warm enough during that time, in my opinion. You are walking through, on and around ice — part of the fun is getting cold in there.
• When you walk into the exhibit, take the lens cap off your camera. Your camera will need a few minutes to acclimate to the colder temperatures so that it doesn’t fog up when you are trying to take a family portrait.
• Be sure to stop at the counter to get your hot cocoa coupon before you get in line for the exhibit. When you are finished at ICE!, follow the signs into the Gaylord Palms atrium to pick up your hot chocolate. The hot chocolate coupon also gets you $1 off your parking.
• Plan to spend a few hours at the Gaylord Palms after the exhibit. There’s much more to enjoy. Walk through the atriums to view the thousands of poinsettias and other Christmas decorations. And stop at the Emerald Plaza stage to watch one of the free holiday stage shows that are performed several times a day.
• There is a gift shop outside of ICE! with many souvenir items, as well as lots of Christmas gift items to browse through. (I found a couple of unique Christmas ornaments for gifts.) I always like to know this in advance so that I can talk to my daughter about whether we will/won’t be buying a souvenir before we get to the gift shop. Consider yourself informed!

Depending on the day you go, ICE! costs $22-$26 for adults and $10-$13 for children. There are discounts for seniors, and you will save money if you buy your tickets in advance online.

Disclosure statement: My family’s tickets to ICE! were provided by the Gaylord Palms.

ICE! has become an annual event during the holiday season at all four Gaylord resorts around the country. It’s part exhibit, part attraction. You buy a ticket, don a (provided) parka and step into what’s essentially a gigantic freezer chilled to 9 degrees farenheit.

Inside are room after room of amazing ice sculptures that are carved by artists from Harbin, China. This year the Gaylord Opryland has teamed up with the Schulz family to do scenes from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in ICE!

I got a peek inside the ICE! attraction last month, right after the artists had started their carving. Here’s a video look at how they create their frozen masterpieces:

ICE! featuring A Charlie Brown Christmas runs through Jan. 2, 2010 at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tenn. It’s one part of the resort’s “A Country Christmas” celebration, which also features shows by the Radio City Rockettes and Louise Mandrell.