Gaylord ice 2026 Expands to Eight Resorts with Harry Potter Home Alone and Nightmare Themes

Gaylord Hotels is taking ice!, its hand-carved Christmas ice attraction, to eight United States resorts for the 2026 holiday season. The national lineup adds three brand-new licensed themes and two debut cities while early bird packages and tickets are already on sale.

The traveler decision is city and theme first. Pick the story and resort you want, then book packages or timed tickets at SoMuchChristmas.com before popular November and December weekends fill.

What Marriott announced for the 2026 ice season

In a July 23 2026 PR Newswire release from Marriott International, Gaylord Hotels said ice! will run at eight destination resorts.

The company frames it as the largest ice! footprint to date.

The same release says guests can book special early bird packages or purchase tickets at SoMuchChristmas.com beginning with that announcement. Offerings vary by resort, and terms, conditions, and blackout dates apply.

Marriott describes ice! as a story-driven attraction with more than two million pounds of hand-carved ice.

More than 300 artisans from Harbin spend about 40 days carving roughly 60,000 ice blocks into multi-scene environments with slides and photo moments.

Guests wear signature blue parkas inside a space held at about 9 degrees Fahrenheit so the sculptures hold detail. That cold-room rule is part of planning for kids, mobility, and how long you want to stay inside.

Where each theme lands, with dates

Three brand-new themes headline the season. Home Alone opens at Gaylord Opryland in Nashville from November 6 2026 to January 2 2027.

Harry Potter opens at Gaylord Texan on Lake Grapevine from November 13 2026 to January 3 2027. Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas opens at Gaylord Rockies in Aurora from November 20 2026 to January 3 2027.

Two resorts debut ice! entirely. Gaylord Pacific in Chula Vista runs A Charlie Brown Christmas from November 20 2026 to January 3 2027.

JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge runs New Line Cinema’s Elf from November 18 2026 to January 3 2027.

Returning pairings fill out the map. Gaylord National in National Harbor keeps Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! from November 14 2026 to January 3 2027.

Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee returns The Polar Express from November 13 2026 to January 3 2027. JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country returns Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from November 23 2026 to January 3 2027.

Those dates are the planning skeleton. Exact ticket times, package inclusions, and blackout nights still sit on each resort’s booking path, so confirm the night you care about before you buy nonrefundable air.

How this differs from the Pacific Charlie Brown post

Deep Arrival already covered the single-property Pacific debut in Gaylord Pacific Debuts ice! Charlie Brown Christmas.

That post owns Charlie Brown at Chula Vista as a California resort story.

This article covers the national eight-resort map, the three new licensed themes, the Phoenix debut, and the shared booking path. Travelers comparing Nashville, Grapevine, Aurora, Kissimmee, National Harbor, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Chula Vista need the full matrix, not only the Pacific opening.

If you only care about Charlie Brown in California, the Pacific post remains the tighter page. If you are still choosing a city and theme, use this national lineup.

How to choose a city without overbuying

Start with the story your group actually wants. Home Alone, Harry Potter, and Nightmare Before Christmas are the new draws, while Grinch, Polar Express, Rudolph, Elf, and Charlie Brown remain strong for families who already know those titles.

Then match travel cost. Kissimmee pairs with a broader Orlando trip.

Deep Arrival’s things to do in Kissimmee guide and Orlando planning guide help test whether ice! is a one-night add-on or a full Central Florida holiday.

Grapevine travelers can stack ice! with other North Texas indoor plans.

The local market already has family indoor waterpark capacity at places covered in Deep Arrival’s Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine guide, which is useful when you need a warm-day plan beside the cold ice room.

Package math matters more than the ticket alone. Overnight early bird packages can bundle rooms with attraction access, while day tickets suit travelers who already hold a separate hotel.

Compare both paths on SoMuchChristmas.com before assuming the package is cheaper.

Independent coverage, including Attractions Magazine’s theme recap, has highlighted the same three new licensed titles and the expanded footprint. Still use the Marriott release dates and the official booking site for purchase decisions.

What else sits around ice! on property

Marriott’s release also points to the wider So Much Christmas resort program beyond the ice room. Guests can find themed character dining, ice tubing, scavenger hunts, live stage shows, pop-up Christmas villages, and Santa photo moments depending on the property.

Those extras change the stay length decision. A family that only wants a 45 minute ice walk may still want a full weekend if the atrium shows and outdoor tubing fill the rest of the day.

Conversely, a traveler who only needs the licensed ice theme can treat the attraction as a timed ticket and keep lodging elsewhere. That path is often cleaner for people already booked into a non-Gaylord hotel near the same metro.

Because every resort’s secondary lineup differs, do not copy a Nashville package checklist onto a Kissimmee weekend. Open the specific resort page under SoMuchChristmas.com after you pick the theme.

Also leave room for blackout nights and timed-entry slots. Peak Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks are the first to tighten, even when shoulder midweeks still look open on the calendar widget.

The clean next step is a shortlist of two resorts, not eight browser tabs. Choose the theme, confirm the published date window, then lock the package or ticket only when the rest of the trip still fits.