So Much Christmas at Gaylord Palms with Kids

For the past 3 years, we have gone to So Much Christmas at Gaylord Palms. This is their Christmas event that includes light displays, festive activities, holiday shows, treats, and so much more! ICE! is their signature event and it features 2 million pounds of hand-crafted ice sculptures (and slides) in the shape of the scenes and characters from that year’s theme. Each year the theme rotates and very soon they will be announcing what this year’s theme is.

When to Go

The first year we went to this event, we stayed overnight to celebrate my son’s first birthday. We went on Saturday, December 16^th, so it is prime Christmas season time and a Saturday. We got there about 1 – 1:30 and it took a long time to go through valet. We had a reservation to decorate gingerbread houses at 2:30 and ended up missing that because we were waiting for our luggage in our room. We could not reschedule it but they will give you the materials that they provide you so you can decorate the gingerbread house at home. Our ICE! reservation was for that evening and when we got to the village it was so crowded. I had a stroller for my youngest with me and we ended up bringing that back to the room because it was too crowded to be able to push it around. The difference in crowd size from that evening to the following morning (we walked back up there at 10) was drastic. The next morning, we were able to walk around and take everything in.

For year 2, I decided to try something different because the crowd size was too much for me the year before. We went in the morning on Monday, December 22^ndand only went for the day, we were not doing an overnight this time. We had an 11am slot for ICE! but got there at 10 (when they open). Even though it was Monday, with it being so close to Christmas, I thought it would be busy. But the crowd size was manageable, and we had a great time.

For year 3, we were supposed to go on a similar day/time as we did the year before. But we ended up having to reschedule and we went the morning of December 26^th. The crowd size was very good, and we really enjoyed the day.

My Recommendation: If you are like me and want to avoid large crowds then I recommend doing the activities that are in the village in the morning. You can choose reservation times beginning at 10am or if you are staying overnight, you can enter the village at 9am. If you are an overnight guest, my preference would be to spend the evening walking around the atrium to see their Christmas tree displays, watch the light show in the main atrium, and maybe catch one of the other shows they do in the main atrium (if you think your kids would like it). Then in the morning, plan to take advantage of being able to get in at 9am and do the snow tubing. You will get a lot of snow tubing in before everything opens. Then start making reservations for the activities, beginning at 10am. One thing I didn’t know about my first year was how much time I needed in between activities if you wanted to do multiple. The answer is not much; everything is within close walking distance that is within the village. So, book the activities back-to-back if that is what you prefer. The only activity that you may want to allow time for is ICE! because you don’t know how long you will be in there. We have spent about 30-35 minutes there each time we went. If you are going from an activity in the village to one in the atrium, then you would want to allow time for walking. I’ll identify which ones are in the atrium in the activities section below.

Pricing

There are so many different activities that are part of So Much Christmas, you will not run out of things to do. I am going to outline individual pricing as we talk through each activity but they also offer packages. So, if you want to do multiple activities or if you want to stay overnight, these may be options you want to consider. They have the following packages:

Silver: You save up to 20% and you get to do ICE!, tubing, and scavenger hunt
Gold: You save up to 30% and it adds gingerbread decorating and snowball toss to the silver package
Ultimate Holi-DAY Pass: You save up to 40% and includes more activities and shows, it is their best value
Overnight Package: They have special overnight packages that include a room, ICE! tickets, and other activities.

They also do lots of specials so keep an eye out for that. Last year, we got our ICE! tickets for an excellent price. I paid as much for self-parking as I did for our ICE! tickets.

Holiday Activities

ICE!: This is the featured activity of So Much Christmas. It is 2 million pounds of ice sculpted into scenes and characters from that year’s theme. Gaylord rotates the themes among the different Gaylord resorts. Our first year was Charlie Brown, second year was Elf, and third year was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Our favorite theme so far was Elf, we loved it. And it is amazing to see the craftsmanship that goes into making it happen. They also have slides in the exhibit, and my kids love doing those each year.

Length: There is no time limit on how long you can be in there, it depends on you. It is cold in there though (at least for us Floridians) so by 30 minutes my kids are ready to go
Cost: $20-$40 last year but will update once posted by Gaylord. Children 3 and under are FREE.
Location: Alpine village
It is 9 degrees in there so bring a hat and gloves for your kids
I am a sucker for the photo package at the end; I always need them. But they are not cheap. I believe it is about $50 and comes with multiple prints plus a picture frame that has snow when you shake it. There are two packages, the cheaper one does not come with digital photos but the more expensive one does (if I remember right, it’s a $10 difference for the digital)
For my youngest on his first birthday, my husband wore him in a baby carrier and put the jacket on over the two of them (with his head out of course) and it worked perfect
The blue coats everyone is required to wear come in various sizes. The smallest size they have has been big on my youngest at the age of 2 and 3. I’m hoping this year it fits better. At 3, we were able to make it work, it was fine. But when he was 2, we ended up carrying him a lot because it was hard for him to walk.
If you are an overnight guest, there is a separate line you get to go in that goes faster. When we went that Saturday night, that was a very nice perk to have. But honestly, the other two years when we went in the morning, the crowd size was manageable, so I don’t think it was a big deal not having that park.

Below are my pictures from the past 3 years by theme.

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Elf

Charlie Brown

Snow Flow Mountain: This is the ice tubing activity and one that my kids were excited to finally be able to do this past year. They loved this.

Height Requirements: Must be 42” and able to carry your own tube up. Unfortunately, Gaylord Palms does not have the double tubes that I have seen at other Gaylord resorts, so you can’t go down with your kids. I wish they had that so my youngest was able to go down as well with me.
Cost: $25-$30 last year but will update once posted by Gaylord
Location: Alpine village

Snowball Build & Blast: In this activity, you get to build snowballs and then throw them at targets. If you’re from up north, this may not be that exciting for you. But for my kids who just saw snow for the first time this year, they love doing this.

Cost: $15-$20 last year but will update once posted by Gaylord
Location: Alpine village

Gingerbread Decorating Corner: In here, you get to decorate a gingerbread house. There are tables you can all sit at and the kit comes with everything you need to decorate.

Cost: Will update once posted by Gaylord
Location: Alpine village

Mrs. Claus Christmas Traditions: Spend time with Mrs. Claus reading a story, doing sing-a-longs, and having milk and cookies.

Cost: Will update once posted by Gaylord
Location: Alpine village

Photos with Santa: We did this our first year. I chose the 10am slot for the Sunday morning of our stay and we were the first in line to meet him. We had a good experience, and we got some cute photos plus a video.

Cost: Will update once posted by Gaylord
Location: Alpine village

Scavenger Hunt: They have a scavenger hunt that you can complete, taking you through the village and the atrium. At the end, you receive a prize.

Cost: Will update once posted by Gaylord
Location: Alpine village and atrium

Pomp, Snow, and CIRQUEumstance: This is a cirque holiday show that the whole family can enjoy.

Cost: Will update once posted by Gaylord
Location: Main atrium

Christmas Tree Trail: Throughout the atrium, they have Christmas trees set up with different themes. Our favorite is the Florida themed one by the St. Augustine and Key West atriums. And in the main atrium is a huge tree. They are beautiful any time of the day but at night they are lit up and so pretty (especially the big tree in the main atrium). So, make sure to check them all out if you’re an overnight guest.

Cost: Free
Location: Atrium

Light Show: In the main atrium where the big Christmas tree is, they do a light show at 9pm each night. We have not gotten to watch this show because we have only stayed overnight one year and we did not make it out at that time to see it. We could not see it from our balcony (we were in the Everglades atrium, below is a picture from our balcony) and it made me wish we had gone for the main atrium view room so we could watch it on the balcony while some of the kids were asleep. So, if you have little ones that you don’t think will make it that late to watch, you may want to consider splurging for the main atrium view room.

Cost: Free
Location: Main atrium

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Character Breakfast: The year before we started going, it was the Grinch theme and they had a breakfast you could do with the Grinch. Our first year, they had a character breakfast with the Charlie Brown characters. I did not know about it so we didn’t go. But we happen to catch them at Moor restaurant while they were getting set up and got to say hi.

There are a few additional things you can see and do in alpine village as well. There is a corner that blasts out fake snow every so often and my kids love this. They have reconfigured that area since our first year and it is much better now. It allows room for plenty of kids to run around and enjoy the snow. They have Christmas music playing too throughout the village, so they love dancing in this corner as well. Right next to this area is a bar that serves both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. And then on the other side of the village, there is Market Square with toys and souvenirs. I get a Christmas ornament every year from here and I let the kids get one of the light-up toys. There is also a build-a-bear in this area if you are interested.

Overall Feedback & Tips

Overall, we love going to ICE! at Gaylord Palms. My kids ask to go every year now so I’m already planning to keep an eye out on deals this year to get our tickets. The crowd size made a big difference the past two years and I will plan to go in the morning again this year. Staying overnight though would be great as well because you get to see the Christmas trees lit up and the light show.

If you are staying overnight, my recommendation is to do the Christmas trees and light show the night that you check in. You could also do the scavenger hunt or reading with Mrs. Claus if you wanted to tack another activity on. Or, if the weather is nice (and it is very possible it will be), go to the pool! Their waterpark is amazing and they may even be doing a movie by the pool that night. The next morning, schedule the majority of the activities you want to do and take advantage of being able to get in at 9am. Enter at 9, do the snow tubing first and then schedule your activities back to back from there.

This post focused on So Much Christmas but if you are interested in more information on Gaylord Palms, check out my post Gaylord Palms Resort with Kids (Orlando, FL)

I have a few tips that I have learned along the way and have shared throughout this post but wanted to gather them all here as well:

Bring a hat and gloves for your kids if you go to ICE!
If you are going into Alpine Village on a weekend night (like we did our first time), skip the stroller and wear your child in a carrier instead if you can
Even the smallest blue coat that you are required to wear for ICE! is too big for small kids. When our youngest was 1, we wore him in the carrier and that worked perfectly. My husband’s coat went around the two of them. When he was 2, the coat was too big so we ended up carrying him most of the time so that was not ideal. By the time he was 3, it was still big but he was able to walk and it was much better than the year before.
If you want to see the light show at 9pm and you have small children that you’re worried about whether they will make it, splurge for the main atrium view room if you can. If they end up falling asleep, now you have a date night on the balcony to look at the Christmas tree and watch the show.
High floor rooms in the main atrium are a premium because you get the best view of the light show, tree, and activities. However, I like the first-floor rooms because I think they have the best balconies. Some of the high floor rooms have good balconies too but not all.
For any activities in Alpine village, there is no need to give yourself time to walk to activities in between booking them. Everything is close. I made this mistake our first year and gave ourselves time. It wasn’t needed and my kids got antsy in between. However, now that they are old enough to ride the snow tubes, we could go down it as we have time. You pay for the day with that versus a timeslot.
Do self-parking, if all guests in your party are able to walk that distance, and skip valet. Our first year we did valet and it took so long to get up there (granted it was a Saturday afternoon) and then it took a long time to wait to get our car back the next day.
Self-parking is $40 and valet is $55, so make sure to plan for that added cost when you go