HOUSTON – Saturday marks the debut of Moody Gardens’ "ICE LAND: Ice Sculptures, a Caribbean Christmas" attraction this holiday season.
This year, the attraction focuses on the marine life of the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast, complete with hundreds of sculptures of colorful coral, fish and other sea animals, and landscapes.
"You see the flower garden banks, and the beautiful coral garden and the color, you keep rounding the corner and seeing something new,” said Courtney Carr, a Moody Gardens spokesperson.
This year’s display will feature a bar made almost entirely of ice, which will serve cocktails to adult visitors.
Texas Tail vodka, locally crafted in Alvin, Texas, will be one of the beverages offered at this below freezing ice bar.
The CAA Harbin Ruijing carving team of master ice carvers from Harbin, China, worked to complete sculptures made of 2 million pounds of ice blocks.
"This year for 'ICE LAND: Ice Sculptures, a Caribbean Christmas,' we definitely took a more realistic approach,” Carr said. “So as families and guests are going through, they're able to see the actual wildlife of the Caribbean, of the Gulf Coast."
Each display has a placard of the animal the carvings represent with information about it and its habitat.
"ICE LAND" will offer a unique holiday experience for the entire family and will be open through Jan. 8, as Galveston makes its transition into the Winter Wonder Island.
Admission for adults is $26.95, $21.95 for seniors and $15.95 for children. A Value Days discount of $5 is available Sunday through Thursday, Nov. 15-Dec. 17 excluding Thanksgiving Day. Special packages are available for groups of 20 or more.
New this year, guests can go behind the scenes in "ICE LAND" as part of the "Ice Carver VIP Experience," which allows guests the chance to see the carving team in action in addition to having a Q&A session and authentic lunch with the team. It also includes a 45-minute "Penguin Encounter," during which guests will get to meet a real penguin at the Aquarium Pyramid. Tickets for this experience are available until >>Nov. 6;<<; the cost is $199 per person or $179 with a Moody Gardens membership.
For more information, call 1-800-582-4673.