Yesterday, Gaylord Palms Resort held their annual Christmas in July event to reveal the theme for this year’s Ice! attraction.
In keeping with their partnership with Dreamworks Animation, Merry Madagascar will be the theme. To help with the announcement, characters from the hit Madagascar series of films were on hand, along with a few characters from Shrek.
The event was held around the resort’s new Cypress Springs Family Fun Water Park, and I wish I would’ve known they were allowing kids to try it out. Carol, our family writer, brought her two children and they really wanted to play on the slides and get drenched by the big bucket of water. Heck, if I wasn’t wearing jeans, I might of jumped in the pool. It was that hot out.
As we entered the pool area, we were greeted by several Shrek characters. Shrek, Fiona, Puss and Gingy were mingling and taking photos with the guests, which included children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida and Give Kids the World.
A quartet of singers serenaded the crowd with holiday songs, while standing in the zero-entry end of the pool. There was also a snack area with drinks and sugary treats like frosted brownies, chocolate-covered ginger cake lollipops and egg nog ice cream push-ups.
Alex (the lion), Gloria (the hippo), King Julien and Mort (the lemurs) took to the stage to help make the announcement for this year’s Ice! theme. I love Mort!
After the characters left the stage, a DJ came on in a wall of fog. Then the musical guest took the stage. In keeping with the fact that this event was about Ice! it was a fun surprise to see Vanilla Ice onstage singing, “Ice, Ice, Baby!” Word to your mother.
Following the event, the characters went inside to the resort atrium, where they continued to take photos with guests. There were even Penguin sightings (from Madagascar)!
Ice! is an annual holiday attraction that features over 20,000-sq-ft of hand-carved ice sculptures and slides. This year, it is open from November 10 to January 1, 2013. At the door ticket pricing runs from $25.99 to $29.99 for adults, based on peak seasons (ie: expect to pay more during Christmas week). Seniors and children receive discounts. However, you can save even more on all tickets by buying them in advance at christmasatgaylordpalms.com.
[Photos by Carol Garreans]
