Coloradans and visitors alike can now experience the magic of the festive season at Gaylord Rockies Resort with their annual Christmas celebration running through January 1, 2025! The festivities feature the return of the beloved ICE!, this year featuring The Polar Express, a mesmerizing Cirque: Frost show, and a variety of family-friendly activities. From the Gingerbread Decorating Corner to the Elf Training Workshop, there’s something for all ages to enjoy. There’s also the opportunity to meet Santa Claus himself, and most importantly to make memories with family or friends.
Thanks to an invitation to a media event and complimentary night stay, our family had the opportunity to once again kick off the holiday season in a place where Christmas comes to life. As you step in the doors of the resort, you are immersed in the Christmas spirit. From twinkling Christmas trees lining the hallways and lobby, to enormous ornaments adorning the great hall above floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to fire pits with the snow-capped mountains beyond, you have stepped into a joyful winter wonderland.
It is a winter wonderland, with so many holiday activities that one night won’t do it justice. As I told our son, we will just have to come back again soon to find time to play in one of our favorite Colorado waterparks, Arapahoe Springs Waterpark. Probably the only thing we would change about the resort is to keep the water park open later. We have most definitely closed the place down during a previous visit. But this visit, the Cirque: Frost the show took priority.
Insider Tip: Arapahoe Springs Waterpark, complete with hot tubs, heated pools, and a 720-foot heated lazy river is one of our favorite places to play in the water in Colorado year-round.
The last time our family experienced Christmas at Gaylord Rockies was four years ago. Returning four years later was a reminder of how it truly is something that all ages can appreciate. This time Cirque: Frost show was probably the highlight. The kids were old enough to truly appreciate the athleticism of the acrobats, while also being entertained.
After more than a decade of building Gingerbread houses in our own kitchen, this mom really appreciated the kids getting to decorate at Gingerbread Decorating Corner instead of home where she ends up cleaning up. And the fact that the gingerbread houses come pre-built is a deal maker.
Insider Tip: If you are also a fan of The Polar Express, you may want to actually take a ride on The Polar Express.
The Polar Express is one of our favorite stories and it was so fun to see it come to life in ICE! with a 17,000-square-foot display made from more than 2 million pounds of ice. While the ice slides didn’t seem quite as steep to our kids four years later, they were just as much fun. Mom even took a couple of whizzes down the ice in the big fluffy parka provided by Gaylord Rockies. Afterwards, the boys warmed up after with Cinnabon, while the girls shopped at the extensive gift shop.
Insider Tip: Use discount code ‘ICEPARTNER’ up to 25% off ICE! featuring The Polar Express™ and Cirque: Frost.
We didn’t have time to visit all of the new restaurants at Gaylord Rockies. But we did stumble upon the Ramen Shop upstairs at Mountain Pass Sports Bar. This was the perfect place for a family to grab a latish night meal. Comfy chairs overlook the big screen TVs below. And, games such as the original shuffleboard kept us all entertained during the short wait for our food.
We topped off the night with Campfire & S’mores. We picked up a S’mores kit from Rockies Marketplace which we then took to the large open area outside where we had our choice of several fire pits to choose from. The kit included the most delicious homemade marshmallows.
Colorado’s largest indoor frozen attraction is most definitely an excellent way to kick off the holiday season.
