The beloved cartoon characters from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" come to life in a chilly 9 degrees at the Gaylord Palm’s "ICE!" exhibit.
So, what does it take to make this 20,000 square foot exhibit come life? We take you inside the exhibit with a dress code unfamiliar to Floridians: a parka jacket, hat, and gloves.
"We have been bringing 'ICE!' to life for over 10 years now," Director of Public Relations Chris Brumbaugh told News 6.
Brumbaugh told News 6 that "ICE!" has become a part of many families holiday traditions since it opened up, making this one of the busiest times of year.
Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee is one of the many Gaylord Hotels owned by the Marriott corporation, which includes Gaylord Opryland, Gaylord Palms, Gaylord Texan, Gaylord National and Gaylord Rockies.
Over the years, "ICE!" has evolved and every location has a different theme.
Artists bring the character to life
Creating a life-size version of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Sally, Schroeder, Linus and Snoopy is no small feat, and it takes a team of artisans to craft the 6,500 blocks of ice weighing in at 400 pounds.
“My favorite part is bringing the characters to life," artisan Liu Pingan said through an interpreter.
This is Pingan’s second time creating sculptures for the "ICE!" for Marriott Gaylord Hotels.
Pingan had never thought about becoming a carver, but after observing his uncle, he wanted to give it a try.
Pingan is one of the 40 artists that have traveled 7,000 miles to come to Kissimmee to carve the 20,000 square foot exhibit.
A favorite carving of his is the Linus character and a lot of the nativity scene.
“He did the three main characters in the scene, and that’s his favorite,” the interpreter said.
It took him two days to complete the characters in the nativity scene. Pingan’s time spent is just one of the over 10,000 hours it took to create the exhibit.
Pingan and his colleagues used their talent in each room of the exhibit. They used their expert craftsmanship to bring popular scenes to life, including Lucy offering counseling help for five cents, and Charlie Brown and Linus picking out a Christmas tree with Linus’ blanket in tow.
The history of the 'Peanuts' comic strip
The first "Peanuts" comic strip appeared in black and white nationwide on Oct. 2, 1950, in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Allentown Call-Chronicle, The Bethlehem Globe-Times, The Denver Post and The Seattle Times, according to the Charles M. Schulz museum.
The comic strip ran Monday through Saturday but was printed in color starting in Jan. 6, 1952, museum officials said.
The popular comic strip premiered on television on the CBS network in 1956 as "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and over 50 years later, the spirit of Christmas reigns true. As Charlie Brown’s quest to find the true meaning of Christmas, each sculpture in twelve rooms does just that.
Charles Shulz son, Craig Schulz, has a favorite part in the iconic movie that is brought to life. It is the scene where the characters sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."
“What those artists did to create these things.The sculpting is just amazing,” Schulz said.
“You really have to be here to get the full scope of it. It’s unbelievable. This brings the special to life in a whole different way,” Schulz continued.
There is still time to see "ICE!" featuring "A Charlie Brown Christmas." It runs until Jan. 1.