So, you need about two million pounds of ice to create ICE!
Not just any ice... about 5,000 blocks made to your exact specifications, including ten different colors (above). And some of the ice has to be so clear it could mistaken for Waterford Crystal.
Where do you go?
You go to Cairo.
Wait... this cairo: Cairo, Georgia.
Right over the Florida border, you'll find M&M Ice and Cold Storage, the supplier of the namesake material for the Gaylord Palms attraction. Beginning mid-October, the ice makes the journey across the Sunshine State to Kissimmee via freezer trucks. Specifically, two truckloads a day for 15 days.
If you check out an old page from the M&M Ice website (from the first year of the attraction), you may get the impression these folks are pretty proud to be part of the project!
The specifications (and recipes) for the ice are exact:
White ice: To get this opaque ice, the blocks are frozen quickly, in about a day and a half. By freezing the block under these conditions, the water molecules don’t have time to line up, and freeze haphazardly, creating white ice. This is similar to what ice cubes at home might look like. In the attraction, it is often used to represent snow, like on top of these mountains in the new Penguin Pointe scene.
Clear ice: This ice is made of extremely pure water. In fact, the water is first de-ionized and is highly filtered, resulting in pure H20 without any additives whatsoever. This block is then frozen very slowly, over about 3 day's time. In addition, the temperature remains constant, just below 32 degrees F. This "perfect storm" allows the water molecules to line up perfectly and create pristine glass-like ice.
Colored ice: These giant popsicle-like blocks are made with simple food coloring that is added during the freezing process. Although it sounds simple, there's a catch. The water must be constantly stirred to ensure a consistent color throughout the block when it is cut.
When you visit ICE!, you'll now be able to marvel at its beauty AND know where the ice began!
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