Best of Florida Christmas

Our Best of Florida Christmas season has concluded... and oh, what a wonderful celebration it was!

Guests of all ages donned bright blue parkas and enjoyed their “holiday road trip” through our ICE! attraction – TWO MILLION pounds of ice hand-carved into an incredible winter wonderland… kept at a chilly 9 degrees. Everyone loved walking through the new candy house, and were in awe of the giant ice cream sundae – all made completely of ice!

Many a child’s fantasy came true as they walked through the giant Frostproof Express locomotive.

And, what about those slides! WOW... the tallest and longest slides we’ve ever had. We’re not sure who enjoyed flying down the icy slides more… the kids, the adults or the seniors! What a great experience… and just the thing to put you into the Chrismas spirit!

And that was just the beginning!

This year we introduced a rockin’ new live stage show – Luminescence, A Christmas Fantasy – that had our guests talking! One guest noted that this was “one of the coolest and most unique Christmas shows” he had ever seen. And unique it was… with Christmas music performed live in the tradition of Trans Siberian Orchestra, a spectacular synchronized light show that included laser lights; an incredible aerial acrobat and a finale that included an awesome aerial drummer…all against the backdrop of our Majestic Christmas Tree!

What’s cooler than ICE! ? You got it... outdoor ICE! Skating. Our larger rink was a real WOW this year! For some visitors, this was their very first time ice skating!

Of course, Santa was on hand to visit with the children; and his “better half” was the glorious host of Brunch with Mrs. Claus. There were wreaths to be seen from counties all around the state of Florida… and gnomes to be found. We were pleased to once again host the Hidden Holiday Gnome Hunt in cooperation with Travelocity – challenging guests to find 20 gnomes hidden in precarious locations throughout the resort. The Roaming Gnome really is a clever little fellow! (Check out his blog about his great adventure at Gaylord Palms at www.myspace.com/roaminggnome – click on “My trip to Florida”).

Overnight package guests – the VIPs of our holiday celebration – enjoyed the opportunity to participate in several exclusive Christmas experiences that surely created long lasting, cherished family memories! Families came together and, with the assistance of our amazing culinary team, created their own gingerbread house masterpieces. Such incredible creativity!

And, imagine the smiles on the faces of those children who had a special bedtime visit from Mrs. Claus! Surely every child’s dream come true!

It’s always sad to see Christmas come to an end… it’s such a magical time of year! But don’t worry… we’re already working on plans for our Best of Florida Christmas celebration for 2008! After all, Gaylord Palms Resort is the Orlando host to the Christmas season. We just love Christmas… and we love sharing it with all of you!
Be sure to bookmark this page, and return for a visit in August, when we’ll announce all of our Christmas plans for the coming season!

Happy New Year to all!