Christmas at Gaylord Palms Archives

Christmas at the Gaylord Palms 2021

This year during Christmas at Gaylord Palms, guests can explore acres of twinkling lights and decorations and more than 12 hours of exciting holiday activities, shows, and events from November 19, 2021, to January 2, 2022

Christmas at Gaylord Palms 2021 - Mission Save Christmas Buddy the Elf

Christmas is in trouble, and Santa needs your help!

For the first time this Christmas, guests will journey into Buddy the Elf’s world to help save the holiday in an all-new, multi-sensory experience!

Christmas at Gaylord Palms 2021 - Mission Save Christmas with Elf

Once inside the marquee experience, guests will need to conquer fun, interactive challenges alongside familiar friends like Mr. Narwhal to muster enough Christmas cheer to power the Kringle 3000 and Santa’s sleigh!

Live Entertainment

Live entertainment is the heart of Christmas at the Gaylord Palms, and this year’s lineup is full of new additions and holiday traditions.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms 2021 - Greatest Story

The Greatest Story Stage Show tells the story of the birth and life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of six international storytellers in a musical stage show and multicultural celebration of everlasting faith, hope, and love. Complimentary seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cirque: Spirit of Christmas, new for 2021, fills the St. Augustine atrium with dazzling acrobatics, feats of flexibility, and high-flying stunts nightly. Returning guests will want to note that this show is a ticketed event.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms 2021 - Atrium Christmas Tree

Brand new for 2021, the Shine Light Show will dazzle as thousands of dancing lights, synchronized to a high-energy, seasonal soundtrack, transform the atrium ceiling into a gleaming and glowing holiday spectacle.

Join the jolliest hostess for a batch of Santa’s favorite snack, songs, and stories during Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms 2021 - Sugar Plum Fairy

The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Prince are back in the Alpine Village Sweet Shop with Sugary Sweet Storytime – a celebration of sweets that retells the story of The Nutcracker in an interactive experience complete with holiday sing-alongs and lots of laughs.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms 2021 - Adventure Kids Wonders of Winter

Adventure Kids: Wonders of Winter is a (w)interactive show to educate and entertain Adventure Kids Club members during the chilliest of the seasons.

Cold Weather Fun in the Sunshine State

Snowball Build & Blast is your chance to build and toss real snowballs in the sunshine state! You’ll want to practice your aim to help your team earn points and power the Snow Factory.

Snow Flow Mountain is a mechanized, snow play space where guests will slide through factory conveyor belts that have frozen solid and ride tubes down a thrilling plummet slide or hilly ice coaster at Snow Factory.

Interactive Experiences

The best way to get into the holiday spirit is by immersing yourself in the interactive experiences during Christmas at Gaylord Palms!

Jack Frost is up to his yuletide tricks in the Naughty or Nice Escape Room! You only have a little time to solve all the puzzles and dash away before St. Nick returns, or you’ll be on the naughty list with a lump of coal in your stocking.

Inside the Gingerbread Decorating Corner Nutmeg, the Gaylord Palms gingerbread man, watches guests achieve confection perfection as they decorate gingerbread houses and cookies.

Learn the secrets of becoming one of Santa’s helpers from his top toy-maker and create a keepsake gift or craft for someone special at the Elf Training Academy.

Did you know that Santa has a secret Service? Only the most elite yuletide sleuths have what it takes to break the Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt code and earn their Santa’s Secret Service badge.

Make sure to take an ‘elfie’ as you take a stroll along the Christmas Tree Trail. This complimentary experience features eight elaborately decorated holiday trees throughout the 4.5-acre Everglades atrium.

Mailing a letter to the North Pole works, but nothing can beat a personal visit with Santa Claus for a photo while making sure you’re on the nice list.

Tickets and Packages

Christmas atChristmas at Gaylord Palms 2020 Gaylord Palms 2020

Tickets for Christmas at Gaylord Palms are available now and advance online reservations are required for all ticketed events.

If you are looking for a holiday staycation, Christmas at Gaylord Palms packages include entrance to Mission: Save Christmas featuring Elf as well as additional fan-favorite holiday activities.

As the safety of its guests and STARS (employees) is of paramount importance, the Christmas at Gaylord Palms programming has been developed in accordance with Marriott’s “Commitment to Clean” program and with enhanced protocols and social distancing measures. Programming will also operate in consideration of the latest local, state, and federal legislation.

To find out more about Christmas at Gaylord Palms, visit www.christmasatgaylordpalms.com!

Our Christmas at Gaylord Palms Adventure

Disclosure: I was invited by the Gaylord Palms Resort to experience Christmas at Gaylord Palms, but all opinions and overuse of exclamation points are all my own!!!

Christmas at Gaylord Palms has become a valued holiday tradition in my family over the years, and the holiday season begins for us when we walk through the revolving doors of the resort.

There’s a special magic to their larger-than-life celebrations!!!

And with it being 2020 we were nervous about what that would mean for our beloved tradition, but I’m BEYONDDDD excited to say that their magic is still there and even more joyful than before.

Commitment to Clean

The Gaylord Palms Resort STARS really have gone above and beyond when it comes to making their guests feel comfortable with enhanced cleaning procedures and new contact-less service options.

There’s absolutely NOTHING like waking up to this view…

Or taking a moment to sit on your atrium balcony at the end of your day.

See? That’s some holiday Magic right there!!!

I Love Christmas Movies

This year the new I Love Christmas Movies takes you through 17,000 square feet of holiday movie magic.

A Production assistant takes you and another party through iconic movie scenes from THE POLAR EXPRESS, A CHRISTMAS STORY, ELF, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, and THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS.

We had a great time enjoying the interactive elements, and went through several times during our stay!

It’s a unique experience chocked full of fun movie facts, movie replicas, special effects, and fun photo opportunities.

We had a great time, and our PA was awesome at helping us snap family photos!

Just make sure to hit your mark!

I do have to say that I was super excited to see the Nativity scene they created to keep the tradition going…

And for the return of ICE! in 2021!!!

Snow Factory

While the Snow Factory has looooong been a favorite stop for us, this year the area has been completely been redesigned.

Let’s start with the slides!!!

This year 6 slides made of REAL ice let guests can choose their thrill experience! There’s the speed slide for a race to the bottom or the opportunity to brave the “ice coaster” plummet.

Then our favorite…the Snowball Build & Blast lets families compete to see who can make the best snowballs out of ice AND how accurately they can throw them.

We are a SUPER competitive family, so we played as much as we could during our stay!!!

Explore the Alpine Village

The Alpine Village is really the heart of Christmas at Gaylord Palms, and this year the village has been designed with more room for social distancing with the same amount of fun!

Zoe was stoked for her annual visit to the Build A Bear Workshop! She always makes a special friend, and this year it was awesome to see costumes that tied to the movies in I Love Christmas Movies!

Why yes…that is a Cousin Eddie outfit for your Build A Bear!!!

And you can’t sleep on the outfits that are exclusive to the Gaylord Palms Resort!

Also tucked into the Alpine Village are fun, hands-on experiences.

We had a blast in the Elf Training Academy making ornaments.

You seriously aren’t shocked that I monogrammed mine…right?

And we created our annual Gingerbread house with Nutmeg the Gingerbread Man!

PRO-TIP: At the entrance to the Alpine Sweet Shop, you will find bags of candy to purchase. Our bag was less than $3 and having the extra options made the decorating process less stressful. It was AWESOME!!!

Help the Grinch

A staple of every event at the Gaylord Palms Resort is their scavenger hunt, and this year you get the explore the beautifully decorated resort to help The Grinch.

The Grinch’s Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt lets families solve puzzles together for a great prize.

Time together + holiday fun + the opportunity to walk-off and earn more holiday treats = Priceless

Amazing Entertainment

Christmas at Gaylord Palms has gone out of its way to maintain its fantastic entertainment schedule in a safe environment for performers and audience members.

Cirque Dreams Unwrapped is once again filling the St. Augustine Atrium Stage with thrilling acts several times a night.

The Greatest Story, a multicultural, musical journey celebrating the story of Christ, will fill your heart with the holiday spirit.

And you won’t want to miss the #LIT light show featuring thousands of sparkling lights, a larger-than-life Christmas Tree, and holiday music.

Tickets and Packages

Tickets and overnight Christmas packages including admission into the I Love Christmas Movies experience are available now at ChristmasatGaylordPalms.com and ILoveChristmasMoviesExperience.com.

Online advance reservations are required for all ticketed Christmas at Gaylord Palms events and face-coverings must be worn at all times during activities.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms 2020

The Gaylord Palms Resort, located in Kissimmee, Florida, has been inviting guests to enjoy their interactive and immersive holiday experiences for almost two decades, and this season Christmas at Gaylord Palms, happening daily from November 13, 2020, until January 3, 2021, includes a full line-up of new and returning favorites.

New Holiday Experiences Debut

For the 2020 holiday season, the marquee attraction is a new experience called I Love Christmas Movies, a multi-sensory pop-up exhibition created in collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Once inside of the exhibition, guests will find that they have stepped into 15 fully immersive scenes with replicas of film props, audio clips, and more from such beloved holiday movies as THE POLAR EXPRESS™, A CHRISTMAS STORY™, ELF™, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION™, and THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS™.

The Snow Factory will also be opening during Christmas at Gaylord Palms to transport guests into a winter wonderland filled with chilly fun including Snow Flow Mountain and the Snowball Build and Blast.

Returning Holiday Favorites

When guests return to Christmas at Gaylord Palms, in addition to the 4.5 acres of indoor atriums decorated for the holidays they will find many of their favorite holiday experiences.

Cirque Dreams Unwrapped will awe audiences multiple times a night with unique acts during their live performances on the St. Augustine Stage.

The Greatest Story, a multicultural, musical journey celebrating the story of Christ, will fill your heart with the holiday spirit.

The newly reopened Villa de Flora is home to breakfast with character…a mean, green one…The Grinch.

At the Elf Training Academy, kids will see if they have what it takes to be one of Santa’s helpers.

The St. Augustine atrium will be #LIT with a light show featuring sparkling lights, a larger-than-life Christmas Tree, and holiday music.

Join Nutmeg the Gingerbread Man in the Gingerbread Decorating Corner to create holiday-themed gingerbread cookies or a complete gingerbread house.

Get your list ready, because you can meet Santa in a redesigned space with photographers on-hand to capture the moment in a socially-distanced way.

Christmas classics and traditions are celebrated with the retelling of “Twas The Night Before Christmas,” an immersive Storytime with The Nutcracker’s Sugarplum Fairy, and Mrs. Claus’ Christmas Traditions, a holiday sing-along.

This year’s holiday-themed scavenger hunt, The Grinch’s Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt, will help the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes by showing him the meaning of the season.

The Christmas at Gaylord Palms season closes out with The Journey of Los Tres Reyes Magos live show taking place December 27, 2020, to January 3, 2021. Guests will join the Three Kings in a musical celebration as they retell the Christmas story and the celebrations surrounding it, including Las Posadas and el Día de Los Reyes.

Tickets and Packages

Tickets and overnight Christmas packages including admission into the I Love Christmas Movies experience are available now at ChristmasatGaylordPalms.com and ILoveChristmasMoviesExperience.com.

Online advance reservations are required for all ticketed Christmas at Gaylord Palms events.

For more information about the Gaylord Palms ‘Commitment to Clean’ program with enhanced protocols, visit gaylordhotelsclean.marriott.com.

Considering a stay at the Gaylord Palms Resort? You can find out more about our latest stay here.

ICE! at the Gaylord Palms Sneak Peek

DISCLOSURE: I was an invited guest of the Gaylord Palms Resort to find out about their holiday celebrations and to step inside the ICE! tent, but all opinions and overuse of exclamation points are all my own!!!

You know that the holidays are in full swing when the Gaylord Palms Resort welcomes a team of artisans from China to Kissimmee to begin the month-long carving for ICE! featuring The Polar Express.

Gaylord Palms team members gathered in the lobby to greet the artisans like celebrities with a standing ovation.

Welcoming ice artisans to Gaylord Palms 2019

The ICE! attraction is crafted each year onsite at Gaylord Palms by these artisans from Harbin, China, home of the world’s largest ice and snow sculpture festival, who travel more than 6,000 miles to Florida. They hand-carve more than two million pounds of colorful ice, creating larger-than-life sculptures.

This year, as guests explore the attraction, they will discover more than ten favorite scenes from “The Polar Express,” along with the event’s two-story ice slides and the popular Frostbite Factory live ice carving showcase. The ICE! experience concludes with a separate area dedicated to a traditional Nativity created with crystal clear ice.

And after we welcomed the artisans, it was time to put on our blue parkas and take our first steps inside the tent where ICE! is created!

It’s absolutely amazing to see how these ice artisans bring these giant blocks of ice to life, and I couldn’t think of a better holiday story to feature than the Polar Express!!!

ICE! and Christmas at Gaylord Palms opens on November 25 and runs daily until January 5, and you can find more information about the festivities here.