First there was ICE, now the Gaylord Palms presents snow slides inside.
Across the center of Florida, chances are we won't have a white Christmas. Yet, one place has a fresh blanket of snow each morning, ready for sledding.
What appears to be an Alpine Village has a kick.
"We like to say it's a real arctic blast,” boasted Randolph Bordenm, the master planner of special events at the Gaylord Palms.
After a decade of creating ICE, the Gaylord Palms now can boast snow slides made fresh daily.
"At 4:30 a.m. in the morning, people sort of 'groggily' get here, and we begin to crush the ice to create the snow powder,” Randolph shared.
Standing 16 feet tall, Alpine Rush Snow Tubing gives Floridians a taste of Colorado.
"When you get up there, you have to sit exactly how I am sitting,” explained Genevieve Veenhof of Tampa.
“They have to push you, and you go really fast,” continued Genevieve while she and her father enjoyed a day together on the slopes. "It feels bumpy, because the ice is lumpy.”
Besides snow tubing, where it's 60 degrees, next door, you'll find the ICE slide where it's just 9 degrees.
"When you have the ICE,” Genevieve explained, “It's not as bumpy then when you go on these."
And new for this year, a full day package allows Florida residents to warm up at the Gaylord's resort pool as a day guest and enjoy a third slide.
"A lot of locals have said, 'Can we stay at your pool?’” Randolph explained.
Yet, Genevieve said, just don't forget your bathing suit.
"With your clothes on, you would get soaking wet. And your parents would be mad because you don't have a bathing suit and you don't have a towel," she said.
Sorry Mom!
Snow tubers must be 36 inches tall. The three slides of the Gaylord Palms will be open daily through Jan. 4.
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