Chill at the Queen Mary

Chill at the Queen Mary: A frozen holiday adventure

In LA Local, Travel by Portia StewartLeave a Comment

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Chill out at the Queen Mary!

I recently took a trip to Long Beach, California to experience Chill at the historic Queen Mary. Chill is SoCal’s only frozen holiday adventure open now until January 5, 2014, and it is sure to get you in the holiday mood.

There were tons of fun family attractions throughout the entire event. We walked through a Willy Wonka-esque Christmas candy land full of life-size lollipops and gumdrops. We found Santa Claus’ cabin and a cozy gingerbread house with charming holiday decor. The kids will enjoy taking a ride on the world’s biggest rocking horse, jumping in a giant snowman bounce house and getting inside a jumbo snow globe. There are many holiday celebrities making appearances including, the gingerbread man, toy soldiers and Mr. & Mrs. Claus.

Here are the highlights of Chill at the Queen Mary:

Ice Skating

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No holiday outing is complete without ice skating! Chill has a great 6,500 square-foot outdoor ice rink. It’s located right in front of the Queen Mary so you get an awesome view of the historic ship and city lights!

The Ice Kingdom

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Star of the show is ice

The star of Chill is The Ice Kingdom-a 13,000 square foot frozen igloo full of scenes from the Nutcracker, made entirely out of ice. Each of the sculptures were hand made and very intricate. Take a walk, scene by scene through this classic Christmas  story but remember to grab a parka before you enter. Note to the ladies: the inside of the Ice Kingdom is 9 degrees, so trade in the cute fall high heels for some fashionable winter boots. I opted for high heels during our visit and my toes nearly turned into icicles! Don’t forget to enjoy the ice slide located inside the The Ice Kingdom. All the ice sculptures were nothing short of magical!

 Ice Tubing

Slide down the Glacier Glid — -a two-story tall, 100 foot long mountain of ice. Take the trek up the ice mountain and speed down in a huge oversized tube. Two people can go ice tubing at the same time so a friendly race to the bottom may be in order.

Chill at the Queen Mary definitely got me in the Christmas mood, and I can’t wait to go back with my three-year-old. It is the most perfect holiday adventure for a family day or date night.  Many photo ops, and lots of fun! Oh and did I mention the artificial snow? The “snow” just adds to the already magical and enchanting experience of Chill.

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The Bonus

When you’re done enjoy in the holiday activities, you can also explore the Queen Mary. Present your ticket from Chill and you can access and explore the historical ship.

Chill at Queen Mary is open Nov. 22 through Jan. 5. Tickets start at $34.95 for adults, $14.95 for kids 4-11. Children 3 and under are free. If you are a guest of the Queen Mary hotel, you get two unlimited VIP passes to Chill.

Disclosure: A sample product/tickets was gifted for purposes of reviewing and writing this post. Opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

 

Meet the Author | Portia Stewart


Portia is owner and writer of Sugar Tot, a mom blog specializing in toddler tech and creative play. She is a mommy to a nonstop, sugar-filled two-year old, Baby D. Portia is always testing out the latest tech toys, apps and crafts. No stranger to exploring awesome cities, Portia is a San Francisco native turned Orange County transplant. You’ll find her discovering kid-friendly places all over Southern California on her blog.

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