Tickets are on sale for the Gaylord Texan Resort's next ICE! experience: a full Harry Potter takeover of the annual holiday attraction on Lake Grapevine.
The resort announced Wednesday, July 23, that "ice! featuring Harry Potter" will replace last year's "Elf" theme and run Friday, November 13, 2026, through Saturday, January 3, 2027, as part of the Lone Star Christmas celebration.
Tickets start at $33.32, according to Community Impact, and are available at ChristmasAtGaylordTexan.com.
Families who book by Monday, August 10, can save up to 30% on ice! packages that bundle a room with tickets, according to the resort's website.
What's inside
More than 300 master ice artisans from Harbin, China, will spend roughly 40 days hand-carving 60,000 blocks into 2 million pounds of ice spread across 10 themed rooms. Scenes include Hogsmeade Station, the Forbidden Forest, the Three Broomsticks, the Great Hall, and Hogwarts Castle, plus a towering sculpture of Hedwig.
Six two-story ice slides funnel visitors toward a Quidditch Pitch room that lights up in each Hogwarts house color. The attraction stays at 9 degrees Fahrenheit; the resort provides parkas and recommends hats, scarves, and gloves.
Outside the ice halls, the resort says it will display 2 million holiday lights, a 54-foot Christmas tree, miniature trains, and 25-foot-tall toy soldiers. Families can also watch live ice-carving demonstrations, skate on an ice rink, visit Santa Claus, or decorate gingerbread.
Background
Johann Krieger, regional vice president of Marriott International, which owns the Gaylord Texan, said in the July 23 announcement that the ICE! tradition has "welcomed tens of millions of guests over the years." The attraction at 1501 Gaylord Trail dates to 2002.
This marks the first time the resort has built its ice! experience around the Harry Potter franchise. HBO has also announced a "Harry Potter" television series expected to debut around the same period.
Upcoming Grapevine holiday events
- Thursday, Oct. 1 — Tickets go on sale for Santa's North Pole Express on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad
- Friday, Nov. 13 — ice! featuring Harry Potter opens at Gaylord Texan
- Monday, Nov. 23 — 38th Annual Carol of Lights on Historic Main Street kicks off Grapevine's Christmas Capital of Texas season (more than 1,400 events over 40 days)
- Thursday, Dec. 3 — 47th Annual Parade of Lights
Grapevine was voted Newsweek Reader's Choice Best Christmas Town in the U.S. in both 2024 and 2026, according to the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau.
