ICE! at Gaylord Pacific 2026: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Chula Vista

November 20, 2026 through January 3, 2027. Gaylord’s frozen walk-through, a holiday staple in Nashville, Orlando and D.C. for two decades, makes its West Coast debut in Chula Vista. This year’s theme is A Charlie Brown Christmas, carved from more than two million pounds of ice and kept at 9 degrees.

What it is

Twelve walk-through scenes from the 1965 special, carved from about 6,000 blocks of ice: Snoopy’s doghouse, the sad little tree, Lucy’s booth, the whole gang. There are ice tunnels, live carvers at work, and two-story ice slides, plus a smaller one for little kids. You’ll wear a big blue parka. You’ll still be cold. That’s the point.

Worth it?

For San Diego kids who have never been genuinely cold, yes. Nine degrees is a novelty you can’t buy anywhere else in the county, and the slides are the part everyone remembers. For adults without kids, it’s a nice curiosity, not a destination. Pay for the timed slot, do the walk-through, then decide whether the rest of the resort earns more of your evening.

The rest of Christmas at Gaylord Pacific

ICE! headlines a bigger resort-wide program: ice tubing, Peanuts character dining, scavenger hunts, carolers, pop-up holiday shops, Santa photos, and enough lights and trees to keep the lobby busy. Some of it is ticketed separately; check the official site before you promise anyone tubing. Hotel guests get a Chill Pass for front-of-the-line ICE! entry, which is worth weighing if you’re comparing Christmas hotel stays.

Pair it with

Chula Vista is a straight shot down I-5 from downtown. Make it a South Bay day with the neighborhood light displays, or stack it against the other big-ticket kid nights: SeaWorld, Jungle Bells and LEGOLAND. More ideas on the family activities page.

Sources: Gaylord Hotels · KPBS · Chula Vista Today