Christmas Comes Early as Gaylord Hotels' Holiday Lineup Is Announced

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- While record-setting summer temperatures are being set across the nation, Gaylord Hotels are starting to decorate the resorts for their annual Christmas celebrations.

Officials at the hotel brand announced this week that packages and tickets for Christmas at Gaylord Hotels, presented by Pepsi, are now on sale at www.ChristmasAtGaylordHotels.com.

Every year from mid-November through early January, each Gaylord Hotels resort offers excitement for all ages with over-the-top holiday celebrations featuring millions of holiday lights, breathtaking indoor gardens and waterfalls accented with towering Christmas trees, fantastic decorations, live entertainment, and one-of-a-kind attractions. Each is a destination unto itself with diverse restaurants, spas, pools and water attractions, recreation, shopping and more?all under one roof.

"It may only be July, but our teams have been planning for many months to create magical settings for families to create holiday memories," said Mike Stengel, senior vice president of Gaylord Hotels. "Our resorts are known for offering everything Christmas in one extraordinary place, and this year we're excited to introduce more exceptional events as well as new themes for our most popular holiday attraction, ICE!" 

Hand-carved by master ice artisans from Harbin, China, the brand's signature event ? ICE! ? is an interactive frozen fantasy world which is kept at a chilly nine degrees.  Master ice artisans travel to each resort from Harbin, China to produce brilliantly colored panoramas of hand-carved ice sculptures and multi-story ice slides for visitors to enjoy. This year presented by DEI, ICE! will feature A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schulz at Gaylord National; Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at Gaylord Opryland; A Christmas Story at Gaylord Palms; and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at Gaylord Texan.

Returning in 2018 is an exclusive Build-A-Bear Workshop® experience that lets guests make their very own furry winter friend?Snowburst, a cuddly, cute polar bear plush designed for Gaylord Hotels that can be personalized with cozy winter clothing and accessories.

At the Gingerbread Decorating Corner, guests can choose a delectable gingerbread kit and decorate to their hearts' content before visiting with a life-sized gingerbread man for heartwarming hugs and photo opportunities.

Additional entertainment and events throughout the resorts range from visits and photos with Santa, holiday kids' trains and character breakfasts to adventurous attractions like snow tubing, ice skating, scavenger hunts and enchanting live shows including Cirque Dreams Holidaze back by popular demand at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House and Cirque Dreams Unwrapped inside Gaylord Palms' sprawling atrium.

The full lineup of events at each location may be found on each resort's holiday website:

• Gaylord National Resort (National Harbor, Maryland) ? www.ChristmasOnThePotomac.com
• Gaylord Opryland Resort (Nashville, Tennessee) ? www.ChristmasAtGaylordOpryland.com
• Gaylord Palms Resort (Kissimmee, Florida) ? www.ChristmasAtGaylordPalms.com
• Gaylord Texan Resort (Grapevine, Texas) ? www.ChristmasAtGaylordTexan.com

About Gaylord Hotels
Gaylord Hotels, part of the Marriott portfolio of brands, offers extraordinary environments with everything in one place?diverse dining options, full-service spas, pools, top-notch entertainment, shopping and more. Locations include Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee; Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Florida; Gaylord Texan on Lake Grapevine, Texas; Gaylord National on the Potomac in National Harbor, Maryland; Gaylord Rockies, opening late 2018 in Aurora, CO; and The Inn at Opryland in Nashville. For more information, connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @gaylordhotels or visit www.ChristmasatGaylordHotels.com.

About Marriott International, Inc.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 6,500 properties in 30 leading hotel brands spanning 127 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

By the Numbers

Across Gaylord Hotels' four resorts, there are:

• 8,114 total guest rooms
• 7.2 million holiday lights that would stretch 262 miles if strung end-to-end
• 101,360 feet of garland
• 27,000+ poinsettia plants
• Over 2 million pounds of real snow on snow tubing hills
• 9.6 million pounds of ice used to carve the ICE! attraction

PEPSI, PEPSI-COLA and the Pepsi Globe are registered trademarks of PepsiCo, Inc.
Peanuts © 2018 Peanuts Worldwide LLC.
TM & © 2018 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved. 
A CHRISTMAS STORY and all related characters and elements © & tm Turner Entertainment Co. (s18)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and all related elements © & tm under license to Character Arts, LLC. All rights reserved.
© & ® Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.  Used with permission.  All rights reserved.

SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.