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Behind-The-Scenes, Carving, Cool Stuff, Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Media, Orlando News |
28 October, 2008
Breaking Orlando News:
COLD WEATHER IN ORLANDO IS BLAMED ON GAYLORD PALMS RESORT
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Oct. 28) — Central Florida residents woke up this morning to a burst of cold air that is being blamed on, of all things, an Osceola county resort. According to news wire reports, the cause of this morning's cool weather has been traced to Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, where a new holiday attraction is currently under construction.
The attraction, which is called ICE!, is currently being carved from 2 million pounds of ice by a group of 40 artisans from China. The temperature began falling when the elaborate refrigeration system used to cool the 18,000-square-foot attraction to 9 degrees began to malfunction.
"Essentially, they've created a 9-degree winter-like environment in the middle of sunny Florida," said an Osceola county official who asked not to be identified. "What they didn't count on was the accidental cooling of the entire region to 40-some degrees."
The attraction, which is nearly complete, will debut Nov. 17. The attraction will be open to the public through Jan. 4.
In its sixth season, ICE! will reflect the theme "Santa's Arctic Blast," featuring several scenes that star "Jolly Cold Saint Nicholas" himself. One such scene is a colossal Santa Claus photo opportunity, carved in an oversized scale. Visitors who sit on his knee will be dwarfed in the photo. Other scenese include Candy Land, a magical destination reminiscent of America’s favorite children’s board game. The ICE! castle and slides have been re-designed to celebrate Santa's Christmas Eve flight… reindeer and all.
According to Gaylord Palms spokesman Keith Salwoski, the situation is under control.
"Our attraction is still 9 degrees, and by afternoon, Orlando temperatures will be back near 70 degrees," he said. "So, in the mean time, we welcome local residents to, um, chill out!"
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For further updates on Orlando Christmas, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, or Christmas at Orlando theme parks, visit ChristmasInOrlando.com
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Event Update, Orlando News |
23 October, 2008
You'll find Polar Bear Clubs in cities all over the frozen North. Members of these organizations gather every year to "take the plunge" into frozen waters… just for the thrill (and chill!) of it. I guess it's one of those experiences that can't be explained. If you're meant to participate… you just kinda know!
Some of the clubs — like the Coney Island Polar Bear Club — have been hosting cold-water swims for more than one hundred years!
We've just learned that Orlando will be the newest city to have its own branch of the famed Polar Bear Club. Yes, as in Sunny Orlando.
The details are still a secret, but organizers have released a date for their official debut – Friday, Nov. 28. Watch this blog for further updates.
If you are not familar with Polar Bear Clubs, check out this video:
While we don't know where Orlando's polar plunge will be held, we can assume it won't be at the following Orlando landmarks:
5. Kissimmee's Lake Tohopekaliga
4. Disney's Blizzard Beach
3. SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium
2. South Beach Pool at Gaylord Palms Resort
1. Gatorland
Stay tuned…
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Behind-The-Scenes, Best of Florida Christmas, Carving, Christmas, Cool Stuff, Design Chatter, Event Update, Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Orlando News |
20 October, 2008
Although Orlando's ICE! attraction won't open for several weeks, Gaylord Palms is giving a "sneak peek" of this cool holiday spectacle, thanks to two cool web cams that are already feeding live images to fans.
Web Cam One: Winter Wonderland ICE Bridge
Winter Wonderland is currently under construction inside the ICE! attraction at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando. This romantic scene will feature a romantic winterscape, including a large bridge made completely from ice. When complete, ICE! visitors will be able to walk across the bridge, and take advantage of several photo opportunities, before moving on to the Hall of Ornaments, a colorful new ICE! scene.
Artisans from China are currently at work inside the 9-degree attraction. When the attraction opens, this scene will be home to the ICE! Proposals program, a unique place to propose marriage in Orlando.
To see the progress, click on the web cam link at ChristmasinOrlando.com, found on the right-hand column of the page.
Web Cam Two: Santa's Magic Flight
Santa's Magic Flight is also under construction inside the ICE! attraction. This newly-engineered scene is created from nearly 1 million pounds of ice, and features ice slides for children and adults.
When it opens on Nov. 17, the web cam will catch visitors to the attraction as they slide down the scene's four slides.
To see the progress, click on the web cam link at ChristmasinOrlando.com, found on the right-hand column of the page.
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Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Orlando News |
20 October, 2008
The folks at Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee are sponsoring a hilarious contest for YouTube junkies called "The Boss Said Get Us on YouTube" Competition.
In short, they are offering a $99 "prize" to finance a fun YouTube video filmed inside the resort's 9-degree holiday ICE! attraction. [Our tip: You'll need mittens. However, you may want to cut off the fingertips to give you better control of the camera's buttons!]
Pull out the video camera, and check out the details here.
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Behind-The-Scenes, Best of Florida Christmas, Carving, Christmas, Design Chatter, Disney news, Event Update, Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Orlando News |
1 October, 2008
If you'd like to be a "fly on the wall" during the construction of ICE!, Gaylord Palms is using Twitter to provide periodic updates.
Twitter is a popular online service that allows users to share bite-sized messages (or “tweets”) of up to 140 characters long.
To follow Gaylord Palms on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/gaylordpalms
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Christmas, Disney news, Event Update, Uncategorized |
1 October, 2008
Suit up! It was just announced that Neil Patrick Harris, the Emmy Award-nominated star of the hit television series “How I Met Your Mother” and former star of the hit series “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” will return to Epcot as guest narrator for the Candlelight Processional Dec. 1-3, 2008.
Presented in the World Showcase America Gardens Theatre at 5, 6:45 & 8:15 p.m., the event is one of the most beloved holiday traditions at Walt Disney World, featuring a joyous retelling of the Christmas story by a celebrity narrator — accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and a glorious mass choir.
For more information about the program, including a complete celebrity line-up, visit the Epcot 2008 Candlelight Processional page of ChristmasInOrlando.com.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Oct. 28) — Central Florida residents woke up this morning to a burst of cold air that is being blamed on, of all things, an Osceola county resort. According to news wire reports, the cause of this morning's cool weather has been traced to Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, where a new holiday attraction is currently under construction. 
