Tips for Making Your Visit to ICE! at Gaylord Texan Magical

Our family received complimentary media passes to visit ICE at Gaylord Texan in exchange for our honest opinion sharing our experience.

I love Christmas time. Our family gets so excited to explore all the Christmas decorations and lights all over the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We make it a mission to get out of the house and enjoy the holiday season as a family as much as possible. During the Thanksgiving week break, we took time to visit ICE at Gaylord Texan in Grapevine and it was magical.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Ice exhibit

Rudolph with glowing nose

ICE at Gaylord Texan

ICE at Gaylord Texan is a unique experience. It spans over 17,500 square feet, is made using 2,000,000+ lbs. of hand-carved ice and created by 40 ice carvers from Harbin, China. 

Before buying your tickets and going to the Gaylord for a day filled with holiday magic, read my tips for making your visit to the Ice exhibit the best for your family.

Gabby in Ice at Gaylord Texan exhibit

Dress in Layers

It is 9º inside the Ice exhibit. For us Texans, that is below any temperature we can imagine. Colder than cold. Even if you can imagine how cold 9 degrees feels, there are large fans circulating the air and blowing on the ice to keep the sculptures frozen and looking their best even with dozens of people gathered around. The fans make it feel even colder.

Beaux and Noah freezing inside the Ice at Gaylord Texan

Wear layers, your jacket is not enough. I wore jeans, an undershirt and a sweater with a vest and the heavy blue jacket that the Gaylord provides – I was still freezing. My legs went numb. I highly recommend wearing thermal leggings under your pants and layering your shirts/sweaters. Remember a winter beanie and scarf. Your face will thank you later.

The warmer you are, the longer you can enjoy the exhibit and take all of your photos.

Christmas at Gaylord Texan ice exhibit

Speaking of taking photos, you will want to wear gloves that have a touchscreen ability. I forgot and had to take my gloves off to take all my photos. My fingers were stiff by the time I left! But I couldn’t pass up capturing all the beauty of the Ice at Gaylord Texan and my iPhone camera wouldn’t work with gloves on.


Capture the Moment

There are so many photo opportunities at Gaylord Texan. We love visiting as a family each Christmas to take beautiful photos that I cherish throughout the year. In ICE at Gaylord Texan the exhibit design changes annually. This year is themed after Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer story with all of your favorite movie characters in larger-than-life ice sculptures. You will want to take your time going through and stop for photos. You may never see this again.

Rudolph the reindeer made of ice

Happy Holidays from Gaylord Ice

Enjoy the Market

After you exit ICE at Gaylord Texan, you’ll walk by a market filled with Christmas decor and unique items perfect for gifting. We enjoyed browsing and shopping while warming up from the 9 degrees exhibit. We bought some cinnamon rolls and a cup of hot cocoa to sip on while browsing. The hot cocoa is from Dunkin Donuts and is now our new favorite. It tasted amazing. 

Noah at snow tubing at Gaylord

Snow Tubing at Gaylord Texan

The kids spent time going down the snow-covered hills on an inner tube. Gaylord Texan has 12 long lanes covered in snow for some sledding fun. It is one price for unlimited tubing during the day of your visit. It was fun to watch the kids and take videos of them going down the hills. It is a rare experience for Texans to be able to sled down a snow hill.

Lone Star Christmas

Dwan and Andrew at Gaylord Ice

Ice! at Gaylord Texan
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Have you been to Ice at Gaylord Texan?

Listen to my #TravelTuesday podcast to hear more family-friendly Christmas events in the Dallas area.

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Ice at Gaylord Texan

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