ICE

ICE at the Gaylord Texan Resort has been on my Christmas bucket list for many years. It is a special hand carved ice sculpture exhibit that takes place every year between Thanksgiving and New Years. The sculptures are prepared and crafted by special ice sculptors that are flown in from China each fall.

In the past, they have had themes such as Shrek, Snoopy, and Frosty the Snowman. This year, they featured "Christmas Around the World." We learned how other countries celebrate Christmas, and what makes it unique to them.

Here are a few tips to consider when preparing for your trip to ICE:

1. Dress warmly. As you can see in the picture below, I was not appropriately dressed. My feet were ice blocks by the time we had finished the exhibit. The temperature inside remains about 9 degrees Fahrenheit. They do give you big jackets to help keep you warm (which we were wary about wearing because thanks to me, we are becoming big germaphobes), but make sure you wear shoes that cover your feet and pants that cover your ankles. Bring gloves too. Although the jackets are pretty large (one size fits most), there are no pockets.

2. Visit during a non-peak time--either on a weekday, on a weekend when they first open, or after 5pm. We got there around 3pm and stood in a very long line It moved pretty quickly, but when we left around 5pm, the line had completed disappeared.

3. Allot time to walk around the Gaylord Hotel. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas, and it reminded me a little of the San Antonio Riverwalk. 

4. Use a Groupon or other coupon if you can. It can really add up after you get tickets and include parking. Unfortunately, we were not able to take advantage of any deals. A Groupon for ICE came out the day after we visited.

5. Have fun and take pictures plenty of photos!

Photos by Yung.