ICE ~~ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Kissimmee, Florida

Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Florida hosts the ICE, a frozen winter wonderland of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The very first ICE! experience was presented more than two decades ago, in 2001, at Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn. ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort debuted in 2003. This year our daughter bought tickets for them and us to see the Grinch brought to life with colored ice. The drive up to Kissimmee from their house was a long 1-1/2 hours, then hauling all of our winter clothes into the hotel, and then standing in line for 45 minutes before actually getting into the show. The temperature inside the area was kept at 9 degrees, so we bundled up to withstand that temperature.

The 40 artisans came from from Harbin, China, used more than 10 million pounds of ice and took approximately six weeks to create each 19,000 square foot frozen attraction. That's approximately the weight of 250 African elephants, the world's largest land animal. The process of ICE! is precise and highly focused, using skills passed down from generation to generation, they followed a 300-page design book filled with sketches and blueprints to create each individual piece. 

The colored ice is created by a chemist who mixes a special food coloring to ensure it maintains its bright color for the entire season. Clear ice and LED lights are all used to create the sparkling spectacle, as the frosty fun bring classic Christmas stories and films to life.

300-pound ice blocks are delivered to the 9-degree environment using a state-of-the-art chilling system that maintains the attraction's chilly temperature. That's not far off from the all-time record low temperature for Florida: minus 2 degrees, which was set in Tallahassee way back in 1899.

Nearly 20,000 square feet of space is covered by the ICE! attraction and the air handlers that keep temperatures at 9 degrees Fahrenheit. That's about the size of four professional basketball courts.

Carvers will use chisels, chippers, tongs, handsaws, grinders and even chainsaws to bring the experience to life. It will take the team of artisans about six weeks to create the 20,000-square-foot frozen attraction. Artisans sculpt details out of ice that are as small as a coin, and scenes that soar 30 feet in height - as tall as most residential telephone poles.

Chainsaw

The chainsaw is the first step of the carving process; artists used the chainsaw to rough out an initial shape before refining their designs using the smaller, more precise hand tools.

Hand Saw

Hand saws are used to round, shape and shave ice. Variations are common in the material of the handle -- metal, bone, or even more modern materials like plastics and carbon fiber are popular choices for carvers.

Nail Board

A popular technique among ice sculptors utilizes nail boards to join two blocks of ice together. Artisans scratch the surfaces of both surfaces and flush the tops with water, which then freeze to bind the blocks.

Brush

An ice carver's work gets messy. The carving process begins with rough cuts and becomes more precise as the final structure emerges from the ice. Artisans use the brush to clean off extra shavings from their works of art.

Chisel

Depending on whether or not they are used for creating a flat, smooth surface, or short deep cuts to remove excess ice, chisels are made with either a wide or narrow blade. Flat chisels are best for detail work.

Carvers will use more than 6,700 massive blocks of ice to create ICE! If you stacked all of the 6,700 ice blocks used to create ICE!, they would reach higher than 17 Empire State Buildings.

Larger-than-life scenes and sculptures soaring up to 20-30 ft in height.

Also known as "Ice City," Harbin, China is home to the world's largest annual ice and snow sculpting festival in the world. Temperatures in Harbin fall dramatically to an average of only two degrees, sometimes plummeting to -36 degrees! Harbin stays below freezing for almost half the year.

In addition to seeing characters from the classic Christmas stories and movies, guests can also take slippery rides down two-story-tall ice slides, traverse through ice tunnels and arches, and visit Carver's Showcase to see live sculpting demonstrations.

Ice Slide

Sculpting new scenes

Nativity Scene -- The ICE! experience concludes in a separate area dedicated to a Nativity scene, meticulously carved, and shaped into a dramatic display of crystal-clear ice.