King Julien

Busch Gardens Premiers a Fun New Madagascar Live Show

20 May 2013 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

Last week a brand new live music show premiered at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Madagascar Live: Operation Vacation brings all your favorite Madagascar characters to the stage, with original high-energy songs and dance numbers. The show is held in the Stanleyville Theatre, right near the Sheikra coaster. When we saw it, the theatre was filled with school groups, who were super excited about the show and really enjoyed it. The songs are catchy and you can’t help but want to get up and dance, no matter what your age. Of course, King Julien’s signature number “I Like to Move It, Move It” is played as well, which makes the crowd go WILD (pun intended).

“We are thrilled to partner with DreamWorks Animation to bring the hugely popular Madagascar characters to Busch Gardens,” said park President Jim Dean. “Both Busch Gardens and DreamWorks share a core the mission to provide quality entertainment to audiences. This show is certain to have families engaged and amused and will round out the triple play of amazing shows, thrilling rides and unique animal encounters that our park delivers.”

The lively stage show encourages families to sing, clap and dance along to original songs and party favorites on a 20-minute musical adventure. Singers, dancers and a live band join the rollicking Madagascar characters as they amp up the party to full throttle. And as part of each show, guests can meet the characters following the performance in Stanleyville Theater, which has been renovated and is now an enclosed and air-conditioned theater.

Here is a gallery of show images to get you excited. Be sure to add Busch Gardens to your summer “must-do” list this year!

Busch Gardens is fast becoming one of my favorite parks to just hang out in. I’m not a huge coaster person, but there is still so much to do here from animal habitats to shows to sky rides and train tours. It’s a great place to make a day trip over to, and don’t forget Adventure Island water park next door to cool off!

It’s ICE ICE Baby! – Top 5 Favorite Scenes From Gaylord Palms Merry Madagascar

19 November 2012 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

One of my favorite parts of living in Orlando are the wonderful holiday events and happenings. Gaylord Palms is an absolutely gorgeous resort and it becomes a sparkling jewel for the holidays. My family and I love making ICE! an annual tradition, where over 2 million pounds of ice are carved by skilled Chinese artisans, with a new theme for each holiday season. This year, it’s “Merry Madagascar” and all of your favorites are there; King Julien, Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman, and of course, MORT! There are SO many amazing things to see at ICE!, I think I took over 100 photos. However, rather than show you everything, I want to share my top 5 scenes, and hopefully entice you to get over to Gaylord Palms and see the rest in person!

My Top 5 Favorite Scenes at Gaylord Palms ICE! – Merry Madagascar

5. Frozen Coconuts!

4. Sparkly Penguins!

3. Pink Eiffel Tower and pastel St. Basil’s!

2. Super Slides!

1. Frozen Waterfall!

But there is much more to the holidays at Gaylord Palms than just ICE! Within the ICE! area, there are also special character greeting photo ops and Gingy’s Gingerbread Decorating, as well as a huge selection of holiday and themed merchandise and a cafe serving holiday treats. In addition, the main atrium lobby has breathtaking Christmas decorations and a nightly Christmas show called Luminescence – featuring The Edge Effect, and the Polar Bear Pursuit Scavenger Hunt. Below is a gallery of some more highlights from Gaylord Palms holiday happenings – click any photo to view as a slideshow:

Gaylord Palms holiday lights — Such a beautiful resort all the time, even more so at the holidays!

Gaylord Palms Holiday decor — The lights and tree in the atrium lobby are just gorgeous. The holiday show is wonderful too.

Gaylord Palms ICE! — Gingy with two of my little Christmas elves.

You can see the rest of my photos on my ICE! 2012 flickr set.

The best way to see all of the wonderful holiday offerings is of course, to stay right at the Gaylord Palms. Guests seeking a complete Christmas experience can purchase special “Christmassy DreamWorks Experience” packages starting at $189.99 per room, per night (for a three night stay)! Packages include unlimited visits to ICE! and a number of other activities, including a ShrekFeast Interactive Character Meal, and more!

ICE! is open daily from Nov. 10, 2012 through Jan. 1, 2013, including holidays. Ticket prices for children start at $9.99, and adult ticket prices start at $18.99. Florida Residents — Save an extra $4 per ticket. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.christmasatgaylordpalms.com. ICE! is presented by Coca-Cola.

Disclosure: I was provided tickets to attend a media preview of ICE! but my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Move It Move It to Gaylord Palms this Winter for ICE! Featuring Merry Madagascar

18 July 2012 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

Madagascar characters at Gaylord Palms — King Julien, Gio – my 3 year-old, me, and Mort!

This morning we learned that the 2012 season of Gaylord Palms Resort’s ICE! will feature Alex, Marty, Gloria and the whole gang with a Merry Madagascar theme. Alex the Lion and King Julien were on hand last year with the Kung Fu Panda themed ICE!, for character greetings. Now in addition to Alex and Julien, there is a Mort and Gloria and penguins characters as well. Mort is simply adorable and my favorite, so I was excited to see him there.

ICE! is an amazing display of sculpted ice along with some play areas as well. Gaylord Palms will present ICE! from November 10, 2012 – January 1, 2013 and will be themed after the Dreamworks Animation holiday special Merry Madagascar. An interactive world of colorful ice sculptures and four two-story ice slides carved entirely from two million pounds of ice. It is truly breath-taking (and don’t worry, winter parkas are provided!).

Gingy’s Gingerbread Decorating will be back this year as well, where you can choose from two different options to create a gingerbread cookie family or a complete gingerbread house – don’t forget the gumdrop buttons! Gingy will be on-hand for photos after you finish your edible creations.

Gaylord Palms also offers amazing holiday decor throughout the sprawling Florida-themed resort. Holiday lights, trees and entertainment as well as scavenger hunts offer plenty to keep you in the Christmas spirit.

ICE! tickets start at $22.99 for adults and $13.99 for children – you can call 407-586-2000 or head to ChristmasAtGaylordPalms.com for more information. There are also special packages starting at $189 per night, where you can enjoy the beautifully renovated rooms and Cypress Springs Water Park within the resort grounds.

I can’t wait to Move It, Move It! in November!

Oh, and as a special treat – Gaylord Palms brought in Vanilla Ice to sing his hit “Ice Ice Baby” for this fun announcement. Vanilla Ice is back and better than ever! Check out the video of his performance below:

Experience Cold and Snow in Florida at Gaylord Palms ICE-Shrek the Halls!

16 November 2011 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

My family first visited the Gaylord Palms and its ICE! event back in 2007. We loved it back then and I’ve been lucky enough to attend the last two ICE openings at a media sneak peek. This year was the first time I brought my littlest guy, now 3, to experience the fun. I wondered what he’d think of the extreme cold temperatures, but despite his initial resistance to wearing the puffy blue parkas the hotel provides for ICE visitors, he was excited to see everything!

As you enter the Gaylord Palms convention center, you are greeted by the “Holiday Halls” where ICE!, Snow, Gingy’s Gingerbread Decorating, and the DreamWorks Experience are held. In addition to the free elements of the Gaylord Palms holidays, the special ticketed events include ICE! with over 16,000 square feet of 9-degree weather – quite the contrast to the 80 degree temperatures we are experiencing.

This year, ICE! is Shrek-themed with perfect representations of your favorite characters including Shrek, Fiona, Puss in Boots, Donkey and more. It is amazing how much the huge blocks of colored ice look like their animated counterparts. Also within the experience are the slides made entirely of ice, which my big kids (and my friend and I) loved sliding down! It’s such a fun way to experience winter in central Florida!

Shrek in Ice — Donkey, Puss in Boots and more in ICE!

Shrek characters in ICE — An overview of some of the characters from Shrek

ICE slide — This slide in ICE is so much fun (and cold!) to do!

Kung Fu Panda Awesome SNOW is another play area with a separate admission. Inside there are more slides and playground equipment and 130 tons of freshly made snow. No parkas are needed in here, it’s around 50 degrees, but snowball fights abound as you play in a courtyard themed to the Valley of Peace from Kung Fu Panda. The whole family loved making snowballs and playing in the snow – without the shoveling and scraping ice off your cars!

New this year is Gingy’s Gingerbread Decorating. This area was not open last night but will be now. There guests can purchase and decorated gingerbread houses, cookies or a tree ornament cookie and meet with Gingy himself!

The DreamWorks Animation 3D Theater Experience is also now open, where guests can walk the red carpet with Puss in Boots and enjoy gourmet theater food and beverages with Shrek and Princess Fiona before enjoying Puss In Boots on the big screen, in 3D!

Ticket prices vary by date and you can also look into a one or two-night DreamWorks Experience package to stay at the Gaylord Palms and get some amazing amenities, including interactive Character Meals, Meet & Greets and more. Check out pricing and more info at ChristmasAtGaylordPalms.com Be sure to check in on foursquare for a special treat too – free hot chocolate! Those on twitter can follow the action using the #GPICE hashtag and you can upload your photos to the group flickr account too. Speaking of flickr, for more photos from me check out my Gaylord Palms ICE set on flickr. As you can see below, photographers are on hand to capture your family’s experiences and allow you to bring home memories to last a lifetime.

ICE photo — Group shot of the family and Amanda Tinney's family too in our ICE! parkas!

Some of the free events within the hotel include Luminescence, a musical journey into the spirit of Christmas, Christmas Wonders and Majestic Christmas Tree Lighting and Visits with Santa. I can’t wait to bring the family back again and check out all of these beautiful events in person.

This Saturday, 11/19, Gaylord Palms is teaming up with the amazing local kids charity Give Kids the World, for 50% off admission to ICE! Be sure to use promo code: SEGKW when purchasing tickets!