If your favorite part of the holiday season is wrapping up in a heavy winter coat and stepping into a literal frozen wonderland, we have some massive news. Marriott International and Gaylord Hotels have just announced their largest ICE! footprint to date, expanding the signature holiday attraction to eight destination resorts across the U.S. for the upcoming season.
Even better? They are rolling out some heavily requested, brand-new themes that theme park and pop culture fans are going to lose their minds over.
What’s New for the Holiday Season?
This year, the story-driven walk-through attraction is introducing three major new pop-culture properties to its ice-carving repertoire:
- Harry Potter™ – Head on over to the Gaylord Texan Resort (Grapevine, Texas) to experience the Wizarding World rendered entirely in brilliant, hand-carved ice.
- Home Alone™ – The Wet Bandits are heading to Gaylord Opryland Resort (Nashville, Tennessee) for some classic holiday mischief.
- Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas™ – Halloween Town meets Christmas Town at the Gaylord Rockies Resort (Aurora, Colorado).
Expanding to New Coastlines
In addition to the fresh themes, ICE! is making its debut at two brand-new locations, marking the first time the event reaches certain regions:
- Gaylord Pacific Resort (Chula Vista, California) will debut with A Charlie Brown Christmas.
- JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort (Phoenix, Arizona) will bring New Line Cinema’s Elf to the desert.
Returning Fan-Favorites
The rest of the impressive eight-resort lineup includes returning favorites paired with classic holiday tales:
- Gaylord Palms Resort (Kissimmee, Florida): The Polar Express™
- Gaylord National Resort (National Harbor, Maryland): Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
- JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort (San Antonio, Texas): Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™
Behind the Frozen Magic
For those who haven’t experienced ICE! before, it is an absolute engineering marvel. More than 300 master artisans travel from Harbin, China (home of the world-famous Harbin Ice Festival) to spend roughly 40 days hand-carving over 60,000 blocks of ice.
In total, the attraction features more than two million pounds of ice sculpted into floor-to-ceiling scenes, complete with towering two-story ice slides, frosty tunnels, and interactive photo ops. Just remember: the entire walkthrough is kept at a brisk 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-13°C), though thankfully, the resorts provide their iconic, cozy blue parkas to keep you warm.
Beyond the main ICE! exhibit, the host resorts transform into full-scale winter wonderlands featuring millions of twinkling lights, ice tubing, character dining, live stage shows, and festive holiday villages.
Tickets and early bird vacation packages are officially on sale. If you want to check out Harry Potter, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or Home Alone carved entirely out of ice, you can start planning your holiday getaway over at SoMuchChristmas.com.
Will you be checking out any of the new ICE! themes this year? Let us know which resort is at the top of your holiday travel bucket list on X!
Clint Gamache is the owner of ThrillGeek. He started ThrillGeek to share his love of theme/amusement parks and pop culture with the world. You can find him at Halloween Horror Nights. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter/X, Instagram @iamcg83