As you will have seen by our past posts, the Gaylords Palms Hotel is our favourite Dining place. We recommend it to all of our guests for that ‘Special Occassion’ while they are on holiday in Orlando. They have just announced that they are teaming up in a partnership with DreamWorks Animation. They will be bringing some of the well known characters from the animated movies including, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens and Madagascar to the four Gaylord Palms Resort Hotels, including the Gaylord Palms Resort near Disney World in Kissimmee.

Called “The DreamWorks Experience, the new attraction opens in November 2011 in the run up to Christmas. Tickets are already on sale. Guests can expect character breakfasts, private birthday parties, meet-and-greet sessions, parades, shows and special themed Christmas events.

Gaylord Resorts have decided to go into direct competition with Disney, Universal and Nickelodeon who all already have themed dining experiences. Our visits during the Christmas Season to see the Ice Creations have been amazing, so this will make the whole visit even better as all of the original restaraunts are still there.

Following up on our last post, Legoland have finally announced their opening dates as SATURDAY 15TH. OCTOBER 2011. Idealy suited for the young ones aged 2-12

Happy Holidays

Mary & Larry

From November 20th, 2010 to January 2nd, The Gaylord Palms Hotel will be the place to go for a real Christmas Treat. Orlando’s coolest holiday attraction is a wonder world of sculptures, hand carved from nearly TWO MILLION pounds of ice.

Inside the atrium, you can explore a whimsical winter wonderland of larger-than-life, three-dimensional hand-carved ice monuments and sculptures, including fantastic frozen creations, slippery ice slides, and memorable holiday scenes. The theme for 2010 is ‘T’was the Night Before Christmas’.

On our last visit we were amazed at the scenes but this year for the first time, A SNOW  show should make it even better. It’s advertised as a North Pole Extravaganza, fun for kids and adults! Experiencing a snow play area, complete with carnival-style games including “Frosty Ring Toss,” “Elf Bowling,” a snowball throw game and carnival themed food carts with snow cones, cotton candy and their very special “snowberrys.” There’s even a Kiddie Snow Tube Run!

In addition to ICE! and SNOW!, Gaylord Palms offers an entire choice of holiday revelry, including a majestic Christmas tree, live stage entertainment, holiday dining and 4.5 acres of holiday decorations.

The Dining choice is why this is our favourite place to eat. We have never been disappointed with either the food or the price, it is great value and certainly worth a visit for that special occasion. Do not forget to get your receipt for your meal, ”Endorsed” by the waiter, as this is needed for Free Parking.

Wishing you all a Very Special Christmas & Best Wishes for the 2011.

Mary & Larry

Gaylord Plams are now advertising their Christmas Ice & Snow event.

We attended last christmas and it was great. So do not miss out.

We even decided to eat there on the day we visited on the boat on the lake inside the hotel. The food was really good. It is worth considering eating otherwise you have to pay for parking.

Give it a go!

Every Christmas for the last few years there has been a spectacular event held at Gaylord Palms, called Ice. This features spectacular ice sculptures and lasts around 7 weeks – from November to just after Christmas.  My family and I went there recently and had a really memorable visit.

To create the displays, Gaylord Palms selects around 40 Chinese artisans, who are chosen from the participants in the International Ice and Snow Festival which takes place in China every year. It takes around one month for them to complete the wonderful display.

The walkways are carpeted and both wheelchairs and strollers can be accommodated. There are a limited number of wheelchairs available for rent if you prefer not to bring one of your own.

They do have a pre show before you actually get into the exhibit with entertainment.  You can also meet Santa.  They have a computer outside the exhibit where you can send an email to him if you don’t want to see him. 

Some interesting trivia they provided us:

48,000 pounds is the weight of the ice used to create the giant Santa Claus.

They have special programs where you can propose to your girlfriend or actually have a wedding at ICE!

5000 blocks of ice that are hand carved to create the exhibit. They come in a dozen different colors.

1500 specially designed LED tube lights that are frozen in the ice.

More than 18,000 square feet of space is used for the ICE! Exhibit.

The unique structure housing “Ice”, is also known as the “Florida Fridge.”  It is believed to be the first of its kind in North America.

In all they use a staggering two million pounds of ice to create the displays which are kept at a chilly nine degrees Fahrenheit.

Three kinds of ice are needed to make the sculptures. White ice has the appearance of compacted snow and this effect is created by freezing the water very quickly which lends an opaque appearance to the ice.

Crystal Ice is made from de-ionized water that has been multi filtered. Each 400 pound ice block uses 45 gallons of water and takes around 72 hours to freeze.

Colored Ice is made by simply adding a bright colorant that makes a nice contrast to the brilliant white of the un-dyed ice.

Threaded among the displays are thousands of twinkling lights that add sparkle to the snow.

There is a wall where you can touch the ice to see how cold it is, but you are politely requested not to touch the exhibits as all those warm hands will obviously eventually melt away parts of them away. 

There are incredible photo opportunities throughout the entire exhibition.  There is a 13 foot Santa carved out of ice.  You can pose for a picture with Santa.  There is a larger than life Gingerbread house which is another picture taking spot. Just be aware that the lens on your camera can fog up because of the cold temperatures. Be sure your camera batteries are charged because they drain quicker in colder temperatures.

Outside there is a skating rink and you will be pleased to learn that they supply you with skates for this.

You may be wondering if you can take all the cold when you are dressed in shorts and t-shirts? Well they have thought of that too and supply you with very warm clothing. The oversized parkas they give you kept my family and I very warm.  It is still a good idea to wear trainers or similar to keep the feet warm, and perhaps gloves as well.  There are no pockets in the parkas, and so ensure you have somewhere to put your car keys, wallet etc.

After the attraction, the hot chocolate is very welcoming as well.

There is the usual gift shop to visit and we feel it is always nice to take home a Christmas decoration that will remind you of your visit to ‘ Ice at Gaylord Palms’.

Prices are approximately $20 for an adult and $10 for a child.

We spent Christmas in Florida this year and decided to visit the Hotel as there were quite a few things going on inside. It had the Ice Land where you pay to go in and brave the cold (we didn’t as that is what we were getting away from). The braver one’s were actualy invited to go round in their bathing costumes (brrr!)

There were lots of festivities going on along with Carol Singing and hunt the Gnome competition.

The hotel itself had three Atriums - Key West, Everglades and St Augustine, each with its own unique restaurants. We decided to eat in Key West as that had its own Yacht on a lake in the Hotel. The food was fantastic but not in the large portions that you would normally expect in the USA. However, the food was great. We will definitely visit again and go to one of the other restaurants.

The Hotel also had its own 9 hole putting course that was free to use. What a bonus for the two golfers in our party.

Finally, one thing to mention is that it will cost $12 to park there but if you eat in one of the restaurants that fee is refunded.

ICE! at Gaylord Palms

This is a truly memorable place to visit and one you will never forget.  We visited this atttraction a couple of years ago with my two young children and it was spectacular.  It very different to anything that we had visited before and the children really enjoyed themselves. 

ICE is an attraction made entirely out of “Ice”.  The attraction’s main scene is a life-size Nativity carved completely of crystal-clear ice.  There are sleighs and reindeers where you can sit in the sleigh and have your photo taken.  There are also great slides which the children (or even the parents) can go down, all made out of ice!

Be prepared though it gets extremely cold in the attraction and you are supplied with Parka coats - do wear them as I have never experienced cold like that before.  Also wear closed in shoes/trainers. 

ICE! is open daily, including holidays.  Event hours vary throughout “ICE! season.”  For further information visit the website http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-palms/best-of-florida-christmas/index.html?source=http://www.gaylordpalms.com/ice

SeaWorld The Polar Express Experience

Guests are invited to jump aboard The Polar Express Experience at SeaWorld for a magical trip to the North Pole.  SeaWorld’s Wild Arctic transforms into a thrilling expedition to the fabled Santa Town. The Polar Express Experience is based on the film from Warner Bros.  The Polar Express Experience provides guests with lighting, scent, sound and motion to transport them to the North Pole … and into the spirit of the season.

When guests arrive at their destination, they step off the train and into the movie itself. Temperatures drop and holiday spirits soar as the travelers arrive at the frozen North Pole, complete with towering Christmas tree, gift-laden sleigh, village decor and Santa himself. The journey continues as guests also encounter other inhabitants of the North Pole — the animals themselves — including graceful beluga whales, powerful polar bears and giant walruses.

Visit http://www.seaworld.com/ for further information.

Christmas in Magic Kingdom

We have visited Magic Kingdom during a many trips to Orlando, but I do love going there during Christmas time.  You get lots of Christmas sprit along Main Street, where you will find Disney elves have decked the halls with towering Christmas trees, colourful lights, bows and garland. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, toy soldiers, and giant gingerbread men greet guests during special daytime runs of “Mickey’s Once Upon a ChristmastimeParade.” The parade is included in regular park admission on select dates.  Pls visit the website for further details.

This is only a few ideas of what to do. Just enter “Christmas in Orlando” on the Interet and you will find plenty of information. 

Happy Holiday!!! 

There’s usually no need to book, we’ve never had to wait very long for a table. There’s a huge atrium inside the hotel and at the restaurant you feel as if you are sitting outside, it’s styled on the old town of St Augustine. The waiters serve drinks and you help yourself to the buffet, it’s difficult to choose and you want to try everything; our particular favourite is the lobster bisque, then there are salads, chicken, fish, steaks, vegetables, pizzas - you need to be hungry when you get there and you really have to leave room for dessert!

It’s all reasonably priced too so it doesn’t break the bank to take the whole family. It’s a little bit more expensive in the evenings and Sunday lunchtimes. After dinner you can take a walk round the Atrium, there are waterfalls and tropical plants, streams with live alligators and turtles in them and a part of it is called the Everglades which the kids loved.

There’s another restaurant here called the Old Hickory Steakhouse which we have yet to try. On the other side is ‘Old Key West’ with a restaurant on a sailing ship set in a lagoon. There are some nice shops for gifts, clothes and jewellery and several bars to relax with a drink before dinner. On occasions there has been a live show in the entertainment area in the centre and we have also seen a wedding taking place there which is a lovely setting. In the winter there is an ice skating arena which always seems a little incongrous in Florida but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

After lunch it’s best to plan to do nothing more than lie around the pool. We like to visit Gaylord for lunch early in our holiday when we are up and about early. Our next visit hopefully will be Christmas Day!