Make sure you try to purchase these tickets at least 2 days in advance otherwise it's always sold out. And for the love of God, make sure you purchase pre-paid parking online or you're looking at a $5-$20 up-charge for parking. Mornings and nights are the cheapest but I recommend going in the earlier mornings (9am-10am) time slots so it's not as crowded and you can spend more time taking photos. Tickets per person are a tad cheaper ($46 vs $52). Personally I think the ICE! shows aren't as good as they used to be. The displays are shorter, the jackets are worn out, and you no longer get mittens. AND i got a rash after wearing the jackets. A photo package costs $60 and each additional photo with the Gaylord Frame costs $15. Enjoy the holiday madness! read more

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Well. Let me start out by saying this is a really cool experience and the technique of these artists is truly something to admire. Everything else I have to say is bad. I purchased tickets on sale and it was about $60 for both of us. It mentioned parking was not included but never in my life did I expect it to be $40 plus tax to park and I feel that should have been more transparent. Additionally, the signage at the Gaylord grounds is terrible and unclear, especially at night. We drove around in circles to eventually find the parking lot where there was no indication of handicap parking location anywhere either. All the entrances are automated boxes so you can't find anyone to ask. We had a slot at 7:15 and the line was forever.. we were in line longer than we were in the event. I'm not a fan of cold but I came prepared with a down jacket, sweater, gloves, Ugg boots, and hat and I only started feeling cold on my hands towards the end where the slides are. The jackets they provide do NOT have pockets so keep that in mind as you are required to wear it. We finally got out and I was excited to check out the little market stores (Kendra Scott!) but they had all just closed at ~8:30. Very disappointing. read more

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Great winter friendly experience Pros: + Creative sculptures + Crowds everywhere + Family friendly event for the winter holidays Cons: - Terrible parking - Long waits - Pricey $25-45 dollars per ticket IG: QueenOfAdventureNYC read more

Ya'll stop beating this place up, c'mon, it's at the Gaylord Texan. Did ya'll expect "free admission with the purchase of a chicken wing basket"? Get outta here! Yes, for parking and admission for a family of 4 (almost sitting at $100), it's pricey. Would I rather endure another excruciating Mickey Rourke film instead of feeling like my toes were falling off, one by one? You bet your bottom dollar, but the endless smiles on my 4 and 3 year olds' faces were absolutely priceless and dissipated my selfishness. If you're under 10 years old it's a pretty cool experience. Charlie Brown and his crew came to town, which was highly anticipated in my household. Parkas are provided, but I'd advise bringing your own coat and pair of UGG boots. Your toes will thank you later. Not sure if I'd go every year, but I DO believe everyone should go at least once. You'll have a pretty good time and "the wow effect" will hit you pretty hard at first, but will go away after several minutes.... read more

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Steer clear from this event. It's an absolute waste of your time, money and nerves. We've attended the past few years and it was nothing like this year. It seemed like they let thousands of people attend without putting a cap on the daily maximum. Not only was there a line or someone less than an inch from you, anywhere you went, but it was so crowded we couldn't even enjoy the ice sculptures. There were a bunch of people blocking the sculptures anywhere we went. Prior to even entering they had an extremely long line just waiting inside the venue. Please keep reading because it gets worse. Parking? What parking? They made people wait over 30 min to enter a parking lot where an employee was telling everyone the parking was full so we had to exit. Why wouldn't they simply place a sign outside (prior to entering the line) to not waste the attendees time? Inside the hotel was an absolute horror too. Just way too many people, making me think they exceeded the maximum occupancy allowed. All in all, it was one horrible experience and definitely not worth our money. Will not be returning again! read more

The parking was a horrible experience from the very beginning. Asked an employee if this was the only place to park and he said, it's the only lot open. It took about 30 mins to get in the parking lot and find parking. I wish they had signs that would say where to go but I just pulled up a map. We followed it and eventually got to the place of the event. After going inside and getting our tickets scanned, there was a line. We were in line for a while, but once we were inside..I was so disappointed. There were people everywhere. We were all bunched up like penguins. For the price of the tickets, I would have preferred to go somewhere else. We didn't enjoy it at all. I couldn't see much of anything because of the people. I thought since the tickets had a time slot then it wouldn't be packed inside. There wasn't much to see or do. Overall it was lame. It's a waste of of time and money. Do not recommend going, 0/10 we lasted way more time parking and waiting than inside. Also, the parking was $27. A complete ripoff. We took forever to get out. I'm sure if there wasn't as many people going to the event, then it would have been much better. Also, if there were more rooms for the ICE event, there were 6 rooms in total. Not enough to hold the amount of people that were there. read more

ICE! - Bear - Amusement Parks Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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I think it's awesome they have this display at the Gaylord but it's costly and soooooo cold! You have to pay for parking on top of the ticket price and then have to wait in a long line (even with booking a specific time slot). If you're gonna go, be smart and get the fast pass which will allow you to bypass the entire line and go right to the front. I heard they really don't check the timeslots on your tickets so you can probably get in whenever. Now, the coats.....they were horrible. Very lightweight and mine had a few snap-buttons missing so I couldn't close it all the way. Being a Colorado, I like to think I can sustain the cold temps and even with a coat under the coat they provide plus a hat and gloves, was freezing and had to rush out since I couldn't feel my fingers and felt lightheaded. Props to them for having concessions afterwards like hot chocolate, cupcakes and popcorn! read more

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Since we were already in Dallas, it was recommended that we went to see ICE! It was pretty crowded but it seemed like they put a lot of work into the entire event. $32.99/person for peak rates which was 5pm to close. Pretty pricey for the experience and I personally don't think it was worth it but each to their own. You buy your tickets and get in a line where it takes you to another room. In that room, you are greeted by a host and then you view a 7min video on how ICE! came about. From there, you walk to get your parka to enter the exhibit. Tip: Bring gloves, scarves, and a beanie! They require you to wear their parka because it's 9 degrees in the walk through. It's extremely cold to maintain the sculptures. The sculptures were beautiful and it was a pretty long walk through. In the middle, there was an area where you can slide down the ice. You don't go very fast but hey, if you're paying $32.99, get your butt down that slide. There is a bar area in the walkthrough if you pay extra. After the exhibit, there is an area for tubing...if you pay extra. Overall, it is definitely a kid friendly event but if your kid wants to do more than walk through, be ready to pay a lot of extra. read more

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Get ready to be charged for parking!! Not everything is free in life LOL. 17$ for an hr or two. You don't even need to stay that long since the whole run through of the ICE! experience lasted around 30 minutes. You can stay as long as you'd like if you like to have frozen hands. Be prepared by having some gloves and ear muffs because its 9 degrees inside. Additional activities provided such as tube sliding and the carousel but don't forget it comes for a price! Was it worth the first time experience? Yes! Seeing all the ice sculptures was an absolute must! Detailed and carved beautifully scenery. But for the price, ifffy. Tickets 22$ per adult plus self-parking 17$. Estimated 70$ for whole experience. read more

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Went here on 12/1/14 with Brian P. and his family. It was a Monday at 11 AM and there was NO line. While this place is not cheap, it is totally worth the cost! AMAZING. My favorite part of the exhibit was the fact that no strollers are allowed. Yay! I hate it when people try to use their strollers as a battering ram with their screaming kids. Speaking of kids, if your kids are little, don't bring them here. It's 9°F and babies, toddlers and the infirm won't do well in here. Elementary aged kids and older would be appropriate and would enjoy this exhibit. (All of us were 20+ years old) That being said, please discount all the reviews of people complaining that their toddler had nothing to do at this show because... uhhhh yeah, it's not age appropriate to bring babies to an ice carving exhibit. Also disregard reviewers who complain because god forbid they're shown a short video showing how the exhibit is put together so that people aren't asking the poor people working the exhibit the same questions and potentially blocking the exhibit. All a bunch of entitled hyenas who are expecting to breeze right through with concierge level service for the price of a Shake&Bake coupon. According to my bf's translation of one of the carvers who was working on a dragon sculpture, 40 workers carved everything over the course of a month and they're flown in from Harbin, China. Obviously, beside the materials and the utilities to keep this place up, it's a costly exhibit to put together, hence the price. Again, totally worth it. We were inside for over an hour as my bf's mom and brother went down the ice slide in the exhibit a bunch and we all took TONS of pictures. So much fun! If you aren't interested in the story, or taking pictures, well I guess technically you could run though this, but why would you? Absolutely loved the ice nativity at the end. I was really impressed by this exhibit and would love to visit again next year. Also, use common sense - just like the grocery store is busy right after people get off of work, as well as on weekends and the day before a holiday, don't go on a peak day or time unless you have to. Should you go on a peak day and/or time, don't complain about it being busy. read more

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Where do I even begin? Such a disappointment in all areas except ICE. Let's start with the melting ice rink. Absolutely no employee supervising the area of the rink to make sure that rules are followed. Spoke with a Caucasian male named Nathan who says he is head honcho over there and he said he could not and would not help me when I asked for his assistance to ask people hanging at the exit and on the ice rink rail to allow skaters to use the rail for safety. NOPE, Big FAT NO HE SAID. Then went to ICE Box office and asked to speak with someone in charge. Spoke with an African American male named Brandon and plead my case about the safety issues and that my child fell due to the issues I was trying to prevent. This place does not rent out helmets for skaters and it's YOUR ON YOUR OWN! Brandon asked me what I wanted as if he could give me free tickets to something. I said I don't want anything but for the issue to be fixed and agreed with me and said he was going to go down to the rink to sort it out. Stood back and watched Brandon for 30 minutes from another part of the room and he went no where. An hour later I went to the rink and still the same issue. Needless to say it was a big F.U. So I will be writing a formal letter to the corporation. read more

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This is such a fun place to go. Especially at Christmas. Buy your tickets a head of time so you don't have to wait in line. The sculptures are always amazing I particularly liked it this last time because they showed step by step how the sculpting was done. It was fun but also educational with all the informational pieces they had set out. My only complaint was that it was such a short show compsred to others id seen there. If you walk slow it can take you maybe 15-20 minutes. That's without going down the ice slide. It had too long of a line. Overall I'd definitely return. It's a fun experience for the whole family read more

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This was my first year going and I couldn't have been more excited. I've always wanted to go. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas is this year's theme. It's 9 degrees inside with 2 million pounds of ice used for all the displays. They provide parkas for you, adult and kid sizes. You may want to bring additional winter wear. As for the exhibit, it was beautiful. I felt like a wide-eyed kid walking in a dream, a frigidly cold beautiful dream. What stood out for me was the colorful sculpture of Santa in his sleigh with all his reindeers and the nativity scene which was done in all clear glass and it just took my breath away. Lots of photo ops from family photos to selfies. Be cool. Most people were very cooperative and even took photos for fellow event goers. There's an ice slide towards the end of the exhibit. That was fun for the kiddos. I hope to make this an annual tradition! I did not opt for the additional cost for the ice bar as I was with my niece. It doesn't appeal to me anyway to have a drink at such events. There's a concession stand at the exit of the exhibit. Dunkin' Donuts and Gigi's cupcakes were there. Bring $$! The kiddos will want that hot chocolate that costs $3.50 lol. Tips: Groupon has a deal for $20/person. Parking is $15 so bring cash. We parked and walked through the hotel to the convention center side. Go during an off-peak time (before 5:00). I went on the second day of the event at 4:00 pm. No lines at all except for maybe 5 minutes getting our parkas. It was not crowded inside either. Be nice to the staff! People were literally throwing their parkas at the lady working the return counter. C'mon people! It's a holiday event! :-))) read more

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We go to see ICE! Every year! Our kids love it and we get the tickets at a discounted rate from Groupon! Definitely try to go during the week, in the morning! There's no line and the kids can slide over and over! We look forward to making many more great memories here!!! read more

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I consider this a yearly Christmas tradition since 2009. I absolutely love how they change the theme each year and am always excited to know what the new one is. The exhibit has grown bigger and bigger each year. This year I was blown away by all the extra stuff you can do besides the actual ICE exhibit. Since I am 31, I decided to just stick to the main event as usual. We paid to park in the garage but they do have remote parking with a shuttle. It was cold and rainy so I didn't wanna deal with all that. Upon walking in, it is a bit hectic and confusing on where to go since the place is huge. Once we figured out it was easy to follow the signs. The time on your ticket doesn't seem to matter. They just want to scan your ticket. Make sure you get it on your phone or print in advance so you don't have to wait in the crazy line to buy tickets! I know in the past they played a movie explaining the whole process of making the beautiful creations but I didn't get to see that this time which was disappointing. It was extremely crowded but it was the Friday before Christmas. The ice was beautiful as always. We were freezing though since we forgot to wear gloves. They give you a huge jacket with a hood but it doesn't have any pockets. They have a bar made of ice where you can get your drink on which I've done in the past & is a fun experience. You can get through the whole ice exhibit in about 10 minutes but you can spend as much time as you like (too cold for me to stay longer). Overall, make sure you buy tickets in advance!! The exhibit is short but worth it for all the photo opps and it will get you into the Christmas spirit. I wouldn't recommend the tubing because the lines looked insane!! BRING GLOVES! Make sure you walk around the Gaylord after for all the amazing Christmas decor :) read more

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It's the holiday season! I'd never been to an ice event before, and wasn't sure I'd be able to withstand the temperatures. I booked my tickets for this event in a package with our hotel room. I called a day before reserving a time. I recommend: 1. Buy tickets online 2. make sure to ask them to send you the tickets in a PDF or you'll have to fall in line with everyone buying tickets. 3. Time didn't seem to matter. I reserved to go at 7, but all they cared about was whether or not you had a ticket. Don't get hung up on that. The entire walkthrough took us about 10 minutes and that's with stopping for a few photos. It's amazing to think of all that went into this. It's unbelievable! After going through, I was surprised I didn't die through going in (I hate the cold). Their coat really helps and kept me warm. read more

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So we used the 50% off coupon for the early part of the season (thank God we didn't pay full price) and man were we disappointed!! We had ticket line time for 9pm and finally made it to the annoying girl that greets you before you go in around 10pm. We literally would have watched the video over and over or stood in silence rather than had to listen to her! So we get inside and it lasted maybe like 15-20 minutes at most. I would ONLY recommend it for people with kids like 6yrs old and under. If they are above that or you are an adult save yourself the money and wasted time and don't even bother. The best part about the entire thing was seeing the Gaylord lobby decorated. It was beautiful. read more

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This place is AWESOME!!! The entire exhibit is carved from giant ice blocks made a whole year in advance and shipped cross-country! About 40 artisan carvers are flown in from Harbin, China, for just this location alone, and it still takes them one month to carve everything in the exhibit. I'm sure the manufacturing/shipping of the ice blocks and travel costs alone cost them a forture, not to mention how much it costs daily to keep this entire place at a freezing temp of 9 degrees fahrenheit! So stop complaining about the cost because there is tremendous overhead in bringing such an intricate exhibit to Texas! Upon admission you are handed a huge blue coat and are led into a standing room only auditorium to watch a brief intro film about the exhibit. Because it is literally below freezing inside, if you're prone to cold I'd suggest wearing extra layers and possibly also bringing gloves and/or a scarf. Me? I love the cold so I just wore the coat unbuttoned over my hoodie. Also because of the extreme temperature, I would also suggest NOT bringing small children or the elderly...this would not be an appropriate exhibit or climate for them...Do people not realize this when they complain that it was too harsh for their infant/toddler/baby? They have a different theme annually and this year's theme was Frosty on Ice! Each room has characters and scenes from the original Frosty the Snowman movie! I had never seen the movie before, but this visit made me want to go home and immediately watch it! There is also a room with a giant Frosty themed ice slide, completely carved out of ice! Rides on this one are FREE, unlike the other supplemental rides and attractions they try to sell you at the box office! Towards the end, there is an artist doing a live carving demonstration - this time it was a dragon. The artist was surprisingly friendly when we started asking him questions and he even stopped carving to talk to us. So if you speak Mandarin and have questions you'd like answered feel free to field them to the artists themselves! It does get a little crowded on the weekends, which are considered peak times for them. If you can, I'd recommend a weekday morning where you'll experience less crowds and even save a few bucks taking advantage of the off-peak day pricing. We came on a Monday at 11 am and there was only a small line at the beginning to enter the exhibit. Overall, even at the steep pricing of around 30 bucks per adult, this place is totally worth the cost and I would not hesitate to return in future years if I happen to be in town! read more

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Waste of time and money. Overly packed and a huge line for everything. Not worth it at all

We went on Sunday, 12/3/17, at 2:00 PM. I'm glad I read the reviews after purchasing my tickets. I read so many bad reviews about long lines that I was prepared to wait in line for 2 hours. I also expected it to be extremely cold so I took a tote bag with our own coats for under their blue coats, hats, gloves and scarves. Due to an accident that my son had on the way there we arrived at the Gaylord right at 2:00. Parking was crowded but we found a spot not too far from the elevator. Then we walked. My older son asked me, "Mom, did you mean it was going to be a two hour wait in line once we got there or a two hour walk?" I don't know how far of a walk it was, but it probably took us a good half an hour with the crowd to get to the ice exhibit. I was carrying all the coats and winter gear since it was 70-something degrees outside. There was no way we were wearing all of that. We got to the line and there were a few people but not many at all. No long line that I was expecting. No wait at all in the first room. The second room had a movie playing but we didn't watch it. We expected to get to the long line soon. Come into the third room and they were handing out blue coats. I was thinking, "Wow! We are already this far?" Line steadily kept moving. I hardly had time to stop and get my kids bundled with our own gear. Next thing we know we were getting our picture taken. I didn't even have my coat on in the picture because we were moving so fast. (I wouldn't have put it on yet anyways because I would have died from getting overheated.) After a quick picture we were just minutes away from actually entering the Ice exhibit. Once we actually stepped into the ice room it felt amazing because we were all burning up. No one was behind us so we stopped for a second and put on our gloves, coats, hats and scarves. I would recommend taking your own hat at the least just to be cautious to avoid head lice. It was cold in there but we expected it. 9 degrees. I had long underwear for my kids but never a chance for them to put them on because the line never stopped moving. The sculptures were amazing. My soon-to-be six year old was in awe. He loves ice for some reason. Even the stuff that comes out of our freezer at home and he's never seen ice sculptures. He had to take off his gloves and touch it. He just stood at looked at every display in awe. My older son and friends son, 10 & 11 years old, loved playing in the different sculptures they had set up to get your photo in or whatnot. We took our time going through. I took my glove off to take photos with my phone. Even though my gloves have the smart phone tips it, they weren't cooperating! By the time we were almost to the end my 10 year old said he was getting cold. Mostly his face. He didn't have a scarf on like my youngest so I would definitely take a scarf for everyone if sensitive to the cold. The kids enjoyed the ice slide but once down was enough for them. Me and my six year old couldn't have stayed in there for a while longer but my 10 year old had enough so we exited. The hand that didn't have the glove on felt frozen! Definitely wear gloves! When we exited there was a stand with hot chocolate and Gigi's cupcakes. The kids all had a hot chocolate and shared a four pack of mini cupcakes. They also have the photos that were taken at the beginning there to purchase. They were $25 for a digital copy or $30 for 3 prints. There is a gift shop that we really didn't browse through. We just exited through there. Once you exit the gift shop you are then in the area with the tubing, build a bear, snowball throw and I'm not sure what else was in that room. The kids had snow tubing passes. They got their wrist bands and headed off to tube. There was a slight line but they made it through in less than 10 min. After you tube down the first hill you go to a second hill without having to go back through the line. After the second hill you go back through the line. They mark off how many times you go on your wristband. I think they said you can go 12 times. The kids went 4 times and were good. This area is not too cold. The kids didn't have any winter gear on in here. Just regular clothes. We then left and made the trek back to the car. The hotel was less crowded and the walk to the car didn't seem to take near as long. Our parking came out to $16 and some change. It was a pretty expensive day. I would try to look for as many deals as possible. I used my Marriott Rewards for our adult tickets and purchased combo tickets for the kids. We enjoyed it so much that we are going to go again. read more

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Over priced in general, but the ice skating is an utter nightmare!! Super narrow ice ribbon that makes it miserable for brand new and experienced skaters alike. I don't honestly know how they sleep at night, after charging people actual money to endure that. Just. Awful. And oh Lord, don't get me started on the theft that is cookie decorating. $20 for TWO ugly sweater cookies?? Come on!! Holidaze was good and thank God for year-round swimming. read more

I've been bringing the family to ICE the last 3-4 years. It's really amazing what they do with ice! Yes the price could be better, but I've yet to find anyone that wanting to stay in those temps more than 20 mins so not sure why people are complaining about price and time. I surely DONT think is deserves one star; come on folks. Plan ahead if you can. We went today at 2:30p with our 5 year old and it was perfect. No lines anywhere and plenty of time for pics. I will say the prices for food and gifts are ridiculously high. TGT really needs to address this for next year. Not everybody has the means and so if you are pricing your tickets on the high side, (which there are considering the time you can actually spend inside before starting to freeze :) give the consumer a break on the nick nacks and snacks. read more

ICE! - Nativity... - Amusement Parks Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

Bought tickets early on....that means a few days prior to Thanksgiving and I got 50% off admissions. I don't think it's worth paying full price. I had to buy tickets the day before because even for a Tuesday night before Thanksgiving admission, tickets were sold out if you bought it on the same day. We got in around 6.50pm because I bought tickets for 6.30pm. Yes, we had to wait in line for 40-45 minutes before actually going into the exhibit. Had to line up to get parkas, so many folks waiting in line. We were inside the exhibit for 20 min. The inside was ok. Nothing too impressive, but that's because I'd been to Harbin China where it's home to annual Ice and Snow Festival. Their Ice festival? Filled with ice sculptures and the park was as big as a football field or maybe bigger. Winter temperature could get as low as -40F, so it's held outdoor. They even build a life-sized ice castle that patrons can climb. They put gold fish in chunks of solid ice and put lights on ice blocks. Their Snow festival? Same as ice festival, they hardened the snow and make snow sculptures for display in a football field. So for me to see ICE exhibit, "Ugh I am not impressed". In case you didn't know, Gaylord hires 40 Chinese ice artists to carve ICE every year. They fly the Chinese directly from China. For my kids, though, they like it. They especially like the ice slide. In the end, Kid 2 asked me, "Can you please take me to Harbin, China?" read more

Get ready to spend!! It doesn't stop with the tickets. They're literally looking to get your money at every turn. The ice sculptures are neat but not really that neat. It's merely a vessel to draw you in to get you to spend as much as possible. Despite 2 jackets, 2 pairs of socks, gloves, a scarf and a hat, my 8 year old was done about half way through because she was so cold. read more

NOT WORTH IT!!! I don't know why they changed things but they have made the experience horrible. Parking prices went up to $15 and they make you park a mile away and get bussed in rather than parking in the garage. The wait for the bus was 20 min in the cold! Then the line to get into the event took about 45 min.... I have been to this event every year and never have had them oversell and charge so much for an event that takes 10-15 min to go through. It was much better when you could walk to the event through the hotel to see all the decorations and then only wait 10 min to get in.... won't be found this again! read more

11 years ago I went to the first Ice exhibit and it was an amazing experience. Last week we went there and we felt it was a rip off. You pay for parking lot in addition to the expensive exhibit and everthing seems so comercial these days. The exhibt itself was a let down. I was expecting to see all the scuptures in clear ice. They painted all the ice, with the exception of the last piece. The painted ice looked like plastic. The last piece was the nativity scene and the angel. Those were made in clear ice and they were beautiful. Too bad they were the only ones. Expect lines and lots of things to buy along the way. Not going back there any time soon. read more

ICE! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

2 hr lines with 15 min of ice! Over crowded. Not a place you want to bring your toddlers and babies. You will be in line a very long time. $15 parking $40 photo at the end. $$$ sugar and carousel I do not ever want to do this again. Ever. read more

Ok, I am as big of a fan of the holidays as anyone, but ICE has some things left to be desired. Here is my list... 1) Rediculously long lines that are not managed very well. 2) Rediculously high prices, then you are nickle and dimed for everything once you are their captive audience. 3) So many people taking pictures of their friends/families in front of the exhibit that you can't pause for a moment to appreciate the exhibits, even after paying 120.00 bucks for four of us to see them. 4) And just in case you have not been charged enough, they will get you for another 10 to 20 dollars for your parking. That being said, the sculptures are well done and magnificent in their creation. read more

ICE! - Advice...Buy tickets ahead of time - Amusement Parks Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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Sculptures themselves were amazing. Make sure you don't pay full price. The promo code "MAGIC" will usually save you 50% on tickets. Choosing a "time" for the "show" is completely pointless as you will be waiting in line an hour or more. It's 9 degrees inside, so dress accordingly. If you don't have the gear, they do pass out parkas for free. Incredibly busy/crowded. Parking is about $15 plus tax. After the exhibit, it dumps you out in the food court/gift shop. We went Dec 31st so gift shop was 50% off everything which was cool but picked over already. They take a photo of your family before the exhibit and you can purchase afterward for way too much money, I think about $25 each. read more

Not sure why I keep coming back for ICE!, I guess just because it's something different to do around the holidays. I brought a friend that had never been. I only go when the theme sounds decent, and sometimes it doesn't (Madagascar anyone?). Christmases around the world sounded okay.. and it was, okay. We bought our tickets online and printed them out, which you SHOULD DO! There were really long lines in both the ticket purchase and ticket pick-up line that were unnecessary and we just walked right past. Once inside the main entrance area with the big screen showing how the sculptures are made, you can purchase a ticket to the Ice Bar for $15. We asked the right questions and learned that if you don't buy your ticket here, you can't get drinks at the Ice Bar because there is no method for taking payment inside. Just a guy pouring drinks. The price included three drink samples and one regular size drink in your own light-up souvenir cup! We took the bait and each bought a ticket. We were told we could line up on either side of the big screen, so we went to the left. Everyone else seemed to go to the right so we ended up ahead of a good number of people and almost went right up to the area to get our parkas. I felt some dirty looks but we were legitimately in a line, so we just smiled back! You're handed a parka and you try to tell yourself it was surely cleaned after the last person used it (probably not). But you're going to need it. Don't be that naive family being the only ones standing there without parkas, you'll regret it. The line to get into the ICE! area wasn't too bad, maybe 10-15 minutes as they move you through pretty quickly. Yes you take a cheesy flash photo that is going to cost an arm & a leg which you probably won't buy. Once you get inside, it's colder than you expected, I assure you (unless you've lived in places like Chicago). The cold hits your face like a brick and takes your breath away. Put your gloves on! I kept one glove off to take photos and kind of regretted it myself. It was a little too crowded inside in my opinion. I think they could sell a few less tickets per hour. When you buy tickets online they are timed but it didn't look like anyone paid attention to this. The Ice Bar was right at the entrance to the second room and we wandered in. It was much smaller than expected and just had a few ice tables and the ice bar with bartender. It was cool though! We were given a sample of a vodka/cranberry/apple drink that was delicious. Also a lager type beer followed by a peppermint mocha sample. Don't try to substitute something, it's not happening. Then you choose which you'd like as your full size drink. We got the vodka/cranberry/apple drink which we then noticed was heavy on the juice and light on the vodka. Oh well! Several things we noticed while in the Ice Bar - many people wandering in, wondering how to get drinks. They did not plan ahead and had not bought Ice Bar tickets beforehand, so they were SOL. Also saw LOTS of kids inside. It's a bar people, come on! Also, saw the parents without parkas inside getting their drinks and their little girl sans parka waiting outside the Ice Bar. Are you people nuts? Anyway, overall, the sculptures were okay, lots of cartoony figures dressed in cultural clothing. I wasn't super impressed. The slides looked boring, as did the snow tubing at the end. It was expensive and geared toward children as well. Photos were way overpriced and did not turn out well with the flash. And the gift shop prices were laughable. To the people complaining about how cold it was -- did you not know you were going into an area with huge ice sculptures? I'm pretty sure I read that it was 9 degrees well before I got to the place to buy my tickets. If you didn't bring gloves/weren't prepared, that's your own fault! As an aside, the Starbucks near the entrance of the hotel was abysmal. The woman tried to tell me their hot chocolate is made with water when the menu clearly says with milk. Having experience ordering Starbucks' hot chocolate, when I pointed this out to her, she got an attitude and was pretty rude. Needless to say I decided not to patronize that establishment! read more

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I must say that I had a complete blast with the family while checking out ICE! at The Gaylord Resort. This is definitely a festive holiday adventure and it's VERY VERY IMPORTANT to note the cost to attend. At roughly $30 an adult and $17 for children this isn't an easy pill to swallow for most people; however, as a one time adventure to mark off your bucket list I highly recommend it. There are plenty of other activities featured at ICE! but note each activity is sold separately. There are set entry times you can select from which is probably to help manage the crowds maneuvering around in "A Christmas Story" Parka which are provided to you. It's about nine degrees in there so take the jacket and make sure to dress appropriately. Short shorts and a sweater is not going to cut it here. Ask the girl who was trying to be sexy for her date inside this ice winterland; she lasted for about five minutes. There are a few waiting rooms you'll need to wait around in; however, if you're lucky enough to be allowed into VIP like we were it was a great way to cut the wait time. The first room is a general information video room which explains how the concept originated and why it was brought to Texas. I personally loved it as I'm a nerd at heart and love having behind-the-scenes knowledge of places. ICE! is an annual tradition that is brought over from China and ICE! actually flies over these skilled artisans to create these winter wonderlands. Featuring over 2 million pounds of ice, you can expect to see plenty of details throughout the installations. This years theme is Around The World featuring children from all over! I personally loved the Nativity scene inside the closing room. Did I mention this is all made out of ice from the mega slide to the floating ornaments?! If you're interested you can also upgrade your ticket to experience the Ice Bar for an extra $15 which includes samplings and a full size cocktail in a souvenir glass. read more

One word...expensive!!!! This place was not worth $30/adult. I've heard of the ICE exhibit for a while and was very excited to finally see it. Before the tour, there was a 5 mins 4-D movie of how this was made. I really wish they didn't show what it was to keep the surprise going. We were also given a thick and long hideous jacket to wear. While this was optional, it was highly recommended since you're walking around in 9F weather. Make sure to wear really warm shoes, scarf, and gloves. Even though I wore double socks with my rainboots, my toes were still freezing. The exhibit was carved by 40 Chinese artists, so there's a random panda bear in there when the theme was a Nutcracker. I thought this place would wide open and spacious, but I was wrong. It was very narrow and cramped. We were bumming into other people and the story was not easy to follow. While the ice sculptures itself were splendid, the representation was lacking. The best part of the exhibit was the slide and the end part. I don't want to give away what it is for those of you who want to check it out. The whole thing took us less than 10 mins to walk around. If you do go, make sure to get tickets online because the line for tickets is really long. Also make sure to print your tickets because they don't accept it any other way. Parking was $10 with the show. It is really not worth the money. read more

I was so excited to take our daughter here for her second birthday. It seemed like such a kid-friendly place (ie the Shrek theme/ activities surrounding ICE and whatnot. Unfortunately, ICE failed to impress and was not worth the 60something dollars for me and my guy to get in (kids under 2 were free). First of all as I mentioned, we paid 60something dollars to get in. 60SOMETHING DOLLARS!! I was expecting to see Jesus Christ or something for that price. Like, real miraculous ish. We waked for what felt like forever (almost 20 minutes) to the back of the massive hotel where ICE was located. We got in a line and expected maybe a 15 minute wait. Psh, yea right. We waited over an hour and a half (!!!!!) in a chaotic, disorganized line for this. My feet (which were in heeled boots since I was expecting to wait for-ev-er in line) were bleeding by the time our group was up to go in. Then we had to watch an 8 minute video on its creation (my poor toes!) and then we were lead to another room where we had to wait in line to get parkas. Ugh that took another 10 minutes. When we finally got to the exhibit, we were rushed through it by workers who said not to stand and look for more than a couple seconds to "keep the line moving". Seriously? I went through allll of this just to get in the exhibit and have then tell me to hurry up? Ridiculous. After a less than 15 min walk through of ICE we got in yet ANOTHER line to exit. By the end of everything, my feet were numb as was my entire body and I was just angry. Oh yea, two year olds don't do so well in that type of exhibit for TWO hours. Double ugh. Don't get me wrong, the I've sculptures we're pretty frickin neat (hence the two stars as opposed to one) but should definitely be less expensive (maybe $15/person) and more organized! Will not be back... read more

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Very expensive, but beautiful. This year's theme is Madagascar (the cartoon) and it is very well done. Lots of ice sculptures portraying scenes from the holiday special. The kids LOVE it! Altogether it is not a huge exhibit, but it takes time to get through, especially if you or your kids want to use the slide half-way through. It's not something I would do several times a season, but something to splurge on once during the holiday season. Make sure to dress in layers. It'll be warm and humid in the Gaylord, but only 6 degrees Fahrenheit in the exhibit. They do give you coats, but you might want to bring gloves or, earmuffs etc. for kids or others who get cold easily. Also, the cold dries out skin quickly, so consider Vaseline for your kids' faces, it helps. read more

The ICE is nice, but the traffic was backed up an slow moving because the slides are in the middle and whoever was managing the process was clueless. It move terribly slow and it's all clogged up with people trying to get their photo opp. It's way too cold to have to wait 20 minutes. And adults, leave the kid sized ice slide for kids...cmon. There is no place to sit...anywhere in the Santaland area. Parking is high $$$ Long walk from parking garage to hotel and then hotel to exhibit area. I wished I had brought a big warm scarf for around my neck. It is very cold! read more

I had my first experience at ICE last week. We purchased tickets over the phone and went to will call to pick them up. I highly recommend doing that so you have guaranteed tickets and you don't have to wait in the long lines. We went to the 8:30pm show and once you get your tickets they take you into a room to watch a 5 minute clip on how the ice show comes together, I'm glad we got to see the video because it really makes you appreciate the show even more. After the video is complete you pick up your jacket and take pictures behind the green screen. They let everyone in to view the show and this year the theme was Madagascar (see pictures) and in my opinion it was way too crowded, we could not move around that much or take pictures like we wanted. At the end you can go down the ice slide which is fun but the lines are long. I would recommend taking hat and gloves because it is 9 degrees in there. I wouldn't go back next year just because experiencing it once is enough. After you finish the ice show you can purchase your pictures and they have a hot coco stand, the coco is $3 and cake balls are $2 read more

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I've got to go with 3 stars for ICE!, and I waited until after Christmas to say so because I don't want to be a Grinch! You know I'm a fan of all things festive, so ICE! is right up my alley. Christmas music and lights, the frigid air, the Christmas themed, gigantic, amazing ice-sculptures, the happy little children... this is all well and good, but the experience as a whole isn't spectacular for me. I can't say it's worth the price. I don't know about you, but I think $30 tickets for adults ($17 for kids) is nutso. You could go by yourself or on a nice date, but this is mostly a family attraction. That's a lot of money to drop for an activity when the "activity" is walking through a super cold exhibit for 20-30 minutes. No one is forcing you to leave once you've entered, but it's typically pretty crowded so you probably won't linger. Plus it's cold (about 9 degrees). Plus, when it comes down to it, there isn't anything extremely exciting to look at for an extended period of time. There's "snow" tubing outside the exhibit that looked pretty fun (except for the super long lines), but it costs extra. I can definitely appreciate the hard work and skill that goes into creating the ICE! exhibits, and I'll admit I was happy to see the Charlie Brown themed ICE! a few years ago. But still.... I think it's too costly for being not too exciting. And here's what bothers me the most... when you first enter the exhibit with your friends/family/date, you pose for a quick picture. When you leave, you're directed to some tables where you can see the photo. It's already printed out! But of course, it's $20 for the cheapest photo package (one 5X7), and you already paid WAY TOO MUCH to bring your family in the first place. So you decide to pass on purchasing the photo... and then what? They throw the print away!? What a waste. For the price you're paying to get in, and since the photos are already printed, there is no reason you shouldn't get to keep your picture. Pretty silly. After you're annoyed by the whole photo situation, you find yourself in a gift shop full of Christmas decor and ICE! sweatshirts, key-chains, and other souvenirs. It's all well and good, and some of the Christmas decorations are really cute, but again.... so expensive. I saw the cutest little reindeer; stuffed burlap, about 12 inches tall, not exactly detailed or finely crafted but still adorable. $45! Don't worry... there was a tiny ornament version for about $10. No thanks.... :( Despite paying at least $12 for parking, I do enjoy driving through the Gaylord property and walking through the atrium. It's beautifully decorated and festive and so cheery. So there's that! read more

This is really just a wait fest, we waited almost an hour to get out of the parking lot at non peak time, when we could see the gate from our car! The show itself is interesting but you do not get in until 30-45 minutes after your paid time, so maybe plan/pay for the 30 minute session prior to when you want to go. We waited to get in line, then to watch a show about the ICE show, which really ruined the surprise of the show! Then you wait to get a jacket, then wait again to get into the actual ice exhibit. I would not go back, even at the half off discount I had. We spent 3 hours for 15 minutes of show! read more

ICE! - Good directions from parking - Amusement Parks Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

I've heard so much about ICE! over the years and I was excited to finally get to visit this season. The theme is "Christmas Around the World". The ice sculptures have to be seen to be truly appreciated. Our visit was a late weekday afternoon so we did not have the crowd issues that some reviewers mentioned. I'm told that the temperature in the exhibit is maintained at a frosty 9 degrees, so I was quite appreciative of the parka they provided. Originally from Minnesota, I decided to forego the hood to show that I hadn't lost my Minnesota toughness. OK, I left Minnesota in 1977. After about five minutes the hood was up. I posted a few pics, but they really don't do it justice. This is a great venue for a nice family outing. Give it a try. read more

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Kids had fun, but not worth the money. Gaylord needs to incorporate it with other things.