As part of Christmas on the Potomac, the Gaylord National Resort’s ICE! is a special holiday event in the Washington DC area we didn’t want to miss! The 2013 edition of ICE! features ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’, which brings the classic holiday poem to life in TWO-MILLION POUNDS of hand-carved ice. ICE! features an all-new bonus scene: “Christmas in New York City.” The attraction moves to a new location this year with access from inside the hotel’s 19-story atrium. Here is the Christmas tree carved from ice.
The entrance to ICE! is located in the resort’s lobby, where the admission tickets are checked and oversized jackets are offered to guests who dressed too lightly. It is only 9 degrees Fahrenheit inside of the tent with the ice sculptures.
We passed these cute penguin sculptures on the way to the tent.
The indoor, walk-through attraction is housed in an enormous 15,000 square feet structure (tent on the right) that is specially constructed and thickly insulated to help maintain its internal temperature of nine degrees.
Forty master artisans created Gaylord National’s ICE! They are brought to Washington DC from Harbin, China – a city in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province that is world-famous for its annual Harbin International Snow and Ice Festival. There are several rooms inside the tent. Entering the very first one.
Clement Clarke Moore (1779 – 1863) wrote the poem “Twas the night before Christmas” also called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1822. It is now the tradition in many American families to read the poem every Christmas Eve.
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The 2013 exhibit features beloved scenes such as Ma in her kerchief, Pa is his cap, the children nestled snug in their beds with visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads, and Saint Nick and his eight reindeer – all hand-carved in life-size ice sculptures.
Saint Nick and his reindeer are one of the highlights of ICE! 2013.
Each year at ICE! at the Gaylord National Resort, a slide is created that kids and adults can enjoy.
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
ICE 2013 includes a section featuring ice sculptures of icons of New York City.
The Statue of Liberty is dressed up for the holiday season.
NYC Times Square.
Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink.
NYC ice taxi.
NYC Radio City.
A beautiful life-sized Nativity scene in ice.
The ice sculptures are amazing! Each year, there is a new theme. Shrek was the theme for the 2012 ICE. In 2011, the DreamWorks’ Madagascar characters delighted kids of all ages in ICE! at the Gaylord National Resort. In 2010, the theme was How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
A breathtaking, life-sized Nativity scene with a 25-foot ice angel.
The Gaylord National Resort is absolutely stunning and has free nightly entertainment during the holiday season. Tree of Light – the centerpiece in the Gaylord’s Atrium is a tree made entirely of synthetic “candy” glass! This is 60-feet tall, weighs 7,000 pounds and is suspended from the center of the atrium.
A Christmas train for the kids.
Every evening, the atrium comes to life with a Tree Lighting Show and Indoor Snowfall. The 15-minute show features Christmas music, a light show, and a dancing fountain that shoots 60-feet high. Guests can listen to a heartwarming narration of the classic Christmas story and watch as choreographed water “dances” to the music. The show also features whimsical lighting.
An Outdoor Christmas Tree at National Harbor.
