Holiday cheer is here: Get your tickets now for Ice! at Gaylord Hotels

One of our family's cherished holiday traditions is a visit to Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. Its stunning glass atriums and lush gardens create a magical atmosphere, making it a beautiful destination year-round, especially during the festive season.

But it’s not just about Nashville. There are four additional Gaylord resorts nationwide in Kissimmee, Florida; Aurora, Colorado; Grapevine, Texas; and National Harbor, Maryland. Together, they dazzle the holiday season with over 7 million twinkling lights (that’s 295 miles if laid end to end), 110,000 feet of garland, 600 Christmas trees, and 30,000 poinsettias.

That’s a lot of holiday spirit, but the real highlight is yet to come. The hotels feature spectacular life-size, walk-through winter wonderlands crafted from 36,000 blocks of ice (weighing a total of 12 million pounds), hence the name of Gaylord's signature holiday event — Ice!

If you're looking to make Gaylord Hotels' Ice! a part of your holiday traditions, here’s everything you need to know before you ho, ho, go, including tips on finding discounts for 2024.

Each Ice! event offers a distinct experience at every location

This year, Gaylord Ice! will be showcased at six locations across the U.S. — all five Gaylord Resorts, and for the first time, at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Each venue invites visitors to enjoy immersive (and chilly!) walk-through displays inspired by popular Christmas movies. While the themes vary by property, they all share a common thread — thousands of ice blocks, expertly colored and sculpted by world-class artisans into holiday wonders that will enchant guests of every age.

Across all six locations, skilled ice carvers from Harbin, China — home to the world’s largest ice and snow festival — journey to the U.S. to reshape those 12 million pounds of ice into whimsical and impressively realistic holiday scenes, some towering over 30 feet high. A highlight for children, and the young at heart, is the chance to slide down a frosty ice slide. There’s also a smaller slide available for younger kids or those who prefer a less intimidating experience.

This year's Ice! events feature the following themes:

• Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center: "The Polar Express," running from Nov. 22, 2024, to Jan. 1, 2025
• Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center: "Frosty the Snowman," available from Nov. 8, 2024, to Jan. 4, 2025
• Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center: "Elf," happening from Nov. 15, 2024, to Jan. 4, 2025
• Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," from Nov. 15, 2024, to Jan. 5, 2025
• Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center: "A Charlie Brown Christmas," from Nov. 15, 2024, to Dec. 28, 2024
• JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," from Nov. 23, 2024, to Jan. 5, 2025

Reserve your tickets in advance and search for special offers.

Certain Ice! activities, such as character breakfasts and tours of the ice sculptures, require timed entry tickets. Purchasing your tickets early increases your chances of securing your preferred date and time, particularly around holidays or busy weekends.

Early booking provides greater chances to secure discounts on Ice! and other activities at Gaylord locations. For a limited time, you can enjoy savings on tickets and vacation packages as Gaylord Resorts launches Ice! tickets for 2024, with more discounts anticipated around Black Friday. Follow Gaylord Hotels on social media to keep up with the latest deals.

Gaylord Rockies — Aurora, Colorado

• Enjoy up to 20% off with the Festive Favorites Pack, which grants access to Ice! featuring "The Polar Express," the Mistletoe Scavenger Hunt, and the Elf Training Academy.
• Receive up to 30% off with the Holiday Deluxe Pack. This includes everything in the Festive Favorites Pack, plus entry to the Gingerbread Decorating Corner and Mrs. Claus' Christmas Traditions.
• Get up to 50% off with the Ultimate HoliDAY Pass. This package includes all features of the Holiday Deluxe Pack, along with Tier 2 seating at Cirque: Frost.

Explore all offers at Gaylord Rockies

Gaylord Opryland — Nashville, Tennessee

• Enjoy up to 20% off with the Festive Favorites Pack, which grants access to Ice! featuring "Frosty the Snowman," the Snowman Scramble Scavenger Hunt, and ice tubing.
• Get up to 30% off with the Holiday Deluxe Pack, which includes everything in the Festive Favorites Pack, plus ice skating, the Gingerbread Decorating Corner, and hot cocoa.
• Receive up to 50% off with the Ultimate HoliDAY Pass, including all features of the Holiday Deluxe Pack, along with the Snowball Build & Blast.

Discover all offers at Gaylord Opryland

Gaylord Palms — Kissimmee, Florida

• Save up to 20% with the Festive Favorites Pack, offering access to Ice! featuring "Elf," the TwElf Days of Christmas Scavenger Hunt, and Snow Flow Mountain ice tubing.
• Save up to 30% with the Holiday Deluxe Pack, which includes everything in the Festive Favorites Pack, plus the Snowball Build & Blast and the Gingerbread Decorating Corner.
• Enjoy up to 50% off with the Ultimate HoliDAY Pass, which encompasses all elements of the Holiday Deluxe Pack, plus the Elf Training Academy, Mrs. Claus' Christmas traditions, and Cirque: Spirit of Christmas.

Explore all offers at Gaylord Palms

Gaylord Texan — Grapevine, Texas

• Save up to 20% with the Festive Favorites Pack, granting access to Ice! featuring "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," the Reindeer Games Scavenger Hunt with Rudolph and the Misfit Toys, and Snow Flow Mountain tubing.
• Enjoy up to 30% off with the Holiday Deluxe Pack, which includes everything from the Festive Favorites Pack, plus the Gingerbread Decorating Corner and the Snowball Build & Blast.
• Get up to 50% off with the Ultimate HoliDAY Pass, encompassing all features of the Holiday Deluxe Pack, plus ice skating and the Christmas Carousel.

Discover all offers at Gaylord Texan

Gaylord National — National Harbor, Maryland

• Enjoy up to 20% off with the Festive Favorites Pack, which provides access to Ice! featuring "A Charlie Brown Christmas," the Merry Snoopy Christmas Scavenger Hunt, and Snow Flow Mountain tubing.
• Get up to 30% off with the Holiday Deluxe Pack, including everything from the Festive Favorites Pack, plus access to the Gingerbread Decorating Corner and Mrs. Claus' Christmas traditions.
• Receive up to 50% off with the Ultimate HoliDAY Pass, which encompasses all elements of the Holiday Deluxe Pack, plus the Snowball Build & Blast and fountain-level seating at Cirque: Spirit of Christmas.

Discover all offers at Gaylord National

JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country — San Antonio, Texas

• Save up to 20% with the Festive Favorites Pack, which grants access to Ice! featuring "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," ice tubing, and The Grinch's Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt.
• Receive up to 30% off with the Holiday Deluxe Pack, including all features of the Festive Favorites Pack, plus the Snowball Build & Blast and Mrs. Claus' Christmas Traditions.
• Enjoy up to 50% off with the Ultimate HoliDAY Pass, which includes everything in the Holiday Deluxe Pack, plus access to the Gingerbread Decorating Corner.

See all offers at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country

There are plenty of festive activities to enjoy.

While the dazzling Ice! displays might draw you to Gaylord, there's so much more to experience during the holiday season; you can find a variety of activities that will entertain your family for an entire day or even a weekend.

Although offerings may differ slightly from one location to another, you can expect to enjoy experiences such as snow tubing, holiday-themed scavenger hunts, gingerbread decorating, ice skating, ice bumper cars, family-friendly escape rooms, horse-drawn sleigh rides, photos with Santa, holiday character breakfasts, and much more.

After visiting for several years, our favorite activities include the Ice! walk-through, ice skating (they offer pushchairs for balance to assist younger kids), the scavenger hunt, and the ice bumper cars.

While most activities require advance ticket purchases, during our last visit to Gaylord Opryland, we found just as much enjoyment in wandering through the atriums and admiring the stunning decorations and numerous Christmas trees (which is free) as we did in building snowballs and sliding down the tubing hill.

Dress appropriately for the weather.

Spoiler alert: Ice! is quite cold—specifically, nine degrees Fahrenheit. The friendly staff at Gaylord will provide you with one of the lovely blue parkas shown above, but be sure to wear closed-toe shoes, pants, and gloves to fully enjoy the experience.

The jackets come with hoods, but it might be a good idea to bring a hat to help keep your body heat. If you have them, pack touchscreen-friendly gloves as well, since there are photo opportunities at every turn, and frozen fingers don’t make for great pictures.

If you plan on tubing or ice skating during your visit, you'll be glad you brought your cold-weather gear, even if it's warmer outside than inside. If you forget a hat or gloves, they are available for purchase at the resort.

Make sure to include some downtime in your schedule.

After several holiday visits to Gaylord Ice!, we’ve gained insights that help shape our itinerary planning.

There’s so much to do that we filled nearly every moment of our first visit with the activities mentioned above. When our youngest son became too tired to swim at the indoor water park and dozed off in his stroller, I realized we should either scale back our plans or extend our stay by another night.

It’s also important to note that the vastness of most Gaylord resorts means you'll spend a lot of time traveling between your room and the various fun activities, which can make it feel like there’s no time to rest unless you intentionally schedule some downtime.

During our next visit, we planned for only two to three activities each day. We made sure to leave time in between to return to our hotel room for a snack or to snuggle in our beds and warm up after enjoying the Ice! walk-through.

Even if you're just visiting for the day and not staying overnight, I suggest selecting only a few activities rather than trying to fit everything in. Part of the joy of being at a Gaylord resort is wandering through the shops, eateries, and gardens that fill the stunning glass atriums — so be sure to leave ample time for spontaneous exploration.

If you’re staying on-site, I suggest taking an hour after check-in to explore the resort and familiarize yourself with the layout. This will help reduce the stress of making it to scheduled activities on time.

Hotel guests enjoy additional perks.

In addition to earning and redeeming your Marriott Bonvoy points and enjoying free night certificates at all Gaylord properties, overnight guests receive specific perks for Ice!. All overnight guests can take advantage of the "Chill Pass," which provides front-of-line access and shorter wait times at Ice!. This complimentary benefit is included with your stay, but you still need to purchase a ticket for Ice!.

Overnight guests can also benefit from the "Extra Cool Hour," which allows hotel guests to enter Ice! one hour before day guests. With fewer people around, this means shorter lines and more opportunities to enjoy the ice slide.

The simplest way to access the event during Extra Cool Hour is to book your room reservation before purchasing your Ice! tickets.

When buying your Ice! tickets, filter the ticket type to "Overnight Guests Only" and select your desired date and time. If you choose a time during the first hour of the day, you should receive a code in your prearrival confirmation email that can be entered during the purchase. Alternatively, you can opt for a room and Ice! ticket package, which will provide email instructions on how to reserve your visit date and time.

Since entry to Ice! is timed, it didn’t feel overcrowded during our visit at normal operating hours. However, as we approach the holidays or if you visit on weekends, the Chill Pass and Extra Cool Hour can be quite beneficial.

Consider booking a room with an atrium view.

The distinctive glass atrium design is what makes a stay at a Gaylord resort truly unique.

My family loves to wake up in the morning, swing open the balcony doors, and listen to the soothing sound of the waterfalls while enjoying the beautiful decor. We often have breakfast out there as well. As the sun sets and the atrium dims, the twinkling lights and sparkling decorations create a completely different and enchanting atmosphere.

Opting for an atrium-view room may cost between $70 to $100 more per night than a standard exterior-view room, but I secured it at no extra charge — and you can too.

As a Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite member, I qualify for a complimentary room upgrade when staying at a Marriott Bonvoy property, subject to availability. You can achieve Gold Elite status with 25 eligible stays each year, but it’s even quicker if you use a travel card that automatically grants you Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status (you’ll need to enroll online or contact your card’s customer service with your Marriott Bonvoy number), such as The Platinum Card® from American Express.

I took a chance and booked a room with an exterior view, hoping for an upgrade to an atrium view. While such upgrades can't usually be guaranteed until check-in, I thought it might be worth calling ahead to have them note my request. I chatted with a helpful customer service agent who documented my preference. To my surprise, when I checked the Marriott app later, my room type was updated to an atrium-view room.

I'm not typically a big gambler, but this bet paid off, saving me some money.

The takeaway

With five locations nationwide, chances are there's a Gaylord resort not too far from you.

During the holiday season, each resort is filled with festive activities, decorations, delicious treats, and warming drinks (a hot toddy is scientifically proven to help you thaw out after the cold) that create lasting memories and traditions, encouraging families to return to Gaylord year after year.