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Behind-The-Scenes, Best of Florida Christmas, Carving, Christmas, ChristmasInOrlando.com, Cool Stuff, Event Update, Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Orlando News |
4 November, 2009
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: The Crystal Carousel
The Crystal Carousel is currently under construction inside the ICE! attraction at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando. This show-stopping scene will feature a full-sized "Christmas Carousel" made completely from ice. When complete, ICE! visitors will be able to step onto the carousel, and take advantage of several photo opportunities.
Artisans from China are currently at work inside the 9-degree attraction. To see the progress, click on the web cam link at ChristmasinOrlando.com, found on the left-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. 14, 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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Behind-The-Scenes, Carving, Christmas, Cool Stuff, Event Update, Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Orlando News |
19 October, 2009
A team of 38 artisans have arrived in Sunny Florida, after a trip half-way around the world, from Harbin, China!
The artisans are in town to dazzle Floridians again with their amazing artistry, as showcased at ICE!, a you-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it holiday attraction, just five minutes from Disney.
The attraction opens on Nov. 14, and it will take the artisans about 30 days to complete the elaborate walk-through "ice village."
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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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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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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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Behind-The-Scenes, Best of Florida Christmas, Carving, Christmas, Design Chatter, Event Update, Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Orlando News |
5 November, 2007
Frozen!, the official ICE! "behind the scenes" weblog, is now active.
One of the first posts is a new recap of this year's design and theme, "A Holiday Road Trip."
Other posts include information about the blocks of ice used for carving, and the history of ice carving in China.
Of course, you'll also find updates about ICE! at ChristmasinOrlando.com, including the only live web cams INSIDE the attraction!
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Behind-The-Scenes, Carving, Christmas, ChristmasInOrlando.com, Cool Stuff, Design Chatter, Event Update, Gaylord Palms, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Orlando News |
2 November, 2007
Although Orlando's ICE! attraction will not open for several weeks, Gaylord Palms is given a "sneak peek" into the attraction — a first for this cool holiday spectacle.
Web Cam One: Penguin Pointe
Penguin Pointe is currently under construction inside the ICE! attraction at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando. The scene is created from nearly 1 million pounds of ice, and features three ice slides for children and adults. One slide is the longest in the history of the attraction, measuring 5 feet taller and 30 feet longer than previous years!
Artisans from China are currently at work inside the 9-degree attraction. When it opens on Nov. 19, the web cam will catch visitors to the attraction as they slide down the scene's three slides.
To see the progress, click on the webcam link at ChristmasinOrlando.com
Web Cam Two: Frostproof Express
Frostproof Express is also under construction inside the ICE! attraction. The scene features an oversided train crafted from several colors of ice. When completed, ICE! visitors will be able to walk inside the train, and can take advantage of several photo opportunities, before moving on to Candy Land, a colorful new ICE! adventure.
To see the progress, click on the webcam link at ChristmasinOrlando.com
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Behind-The-Scenes, Best of Florida Christmas, Carving, Christmas, Cool Stuff, ICE! at Gaylord Palms, Media |
24 October, 2007
The Orlando Sentinel ran a great story in today's paper, featuring a "behind-the-scenes" look at the Chinese ice carvers and artisans who are responsible for the ICE! attraction at Gaylord Palms Resort.
The story can be found here.
A video of the construction can be found here.
A photo gallery, including photos of construction from 2006 and 2007, can be found here.
For more information, and for the latest updates on Christmas events in Orlando, visit ChristmasInOrlando.com.
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Behind-The-Scenes, Carving, Fun Facts, Uncategorized |
3 November, 2006
The following is a post from "Frozen!" the official behind-the-scenes blog for ICE! at Gaylord Palms:
The structures on display at ICE! are created by a team of artisans who also participate in the International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China. This event, held in January and February, is constructed by more than 3,000 professional artisans working with millions of pounds of ice (pictures can be found here and here). As part of the festival, more than 2,000 artisans carve a 100-acre walk-through Ice Park each year from blocks of ice taken from the Songhua River.
This annual festival starts in early January at Zhao Lin Park, which is named after a general buried in the park. Extremely popular among locals and tourists, the festival runs for two months. The "Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival" is one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.
From what did this amazing artistry evolve?
Ice Lantern Festivals can be traced back as far as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties of Imperial China. Five hundred years ago the far northern province of Heilongjiang had an indigenous population whose life was similar to the American Inuit with one large difference, where the Inuits are sea hunters, the people of Hailongjiang were forest hunters.
During long winter nights, getting lost in the forest was a real problem for the hunters. The frequently overcast skies obscured the stars, and without the compass, navigation was nearly impossible. So the clever Chinese came up with a novel solution. Allowing water to partially freeze in wooden buckets. Once overturned, this formed an ice block into which a candle would be placed in the center. The ice surrounding the candle sheltered the flame and acted as a type of lens magnifying the light from the candle –- creating an ice lantern. The hunters strung these
lanterns each night, leading from their homes to the hunt site.
In modern times, an Ice Lantern Festival has been held every winter in celebration of these brave hunters. As part of the Festival, citizens of Harbin, China cut blocks of ice out of the Songhua River to do some simple carving before placing them on display among intricately constructed ice lanterns. During the seven-month long winters, one of the highlights became informal competitions between families to see who could create the most impressive display of sculptures and carvings for the Festival. Sculptures of chickens, ducks and common household items soon grew into impressive displays of pigs, cows and barns.
In 1963, the Mayor of Harbin was so impressed by many of the amateur ice displays that he decided to create formal competition and encouraged adults and children to create more refined and extensive displays of ice for the following winter. The Mayor's goal was to stimulate the artistic and cultural natures of his populous during the long dark winters, a time otherwise of little activity. Organized in the public parks as a government sponsored event, the family-created displays of 40 years ago have now grown into mammoth creations.
If you are wondering why Harbin is so closely identified with ice and snow… consider this:
- Harbin is located in Northeast China, where it receives severe cold winter winds from Siberia.
- The average temperature in summer is 70 degrees (21 degrees Celsius), and about 2 degrees (-17 degrees Celsius) in winter. While sources differ by a few degrees (probably due to frozen thermometers), It can be as cold as -36 degrees (-38 degrees Celsius) in winter.
- Harbin stays below "freezing" for almost half of the year.
- You can imagine why Harbin has gotten the nickname "ice city." (Although its more prominent nicknames include "Oriental Moscow" and "Oriental Paris," after the city's Russian and European cultural influences.)
For more details about Orlando Christmas events, including Theme Park Christmas events, Orlando Shopping, a calendar of events, and Christmas at Disney, visit ChristmasInOrlando.com.
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Carving |
12 November, 2005
First the bad joke:
Q. What kind of glue is most popular in Alaska?
A. That’s easy: igloo.
Get it? Go ahead and groan.
Now, the neat trick:
Q. What kind of glue is most popular inside the ICE! attraction?
A. You’d be surprised to learn that it’s ordinary water! Yup… H20! Elmer’s has nothing on us! In the 9-degree Florida Fridge, that’s all it takes to get two pieces of ice to stick to one another.
Just one more reason why you shouldn’t lick the ice when visiting.
