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

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.