Top 5 Reasons To Visit Gaylord Opryland This Holiday Season
Every year during the holiday season we take a roadtrip to Nashville. The city itself is gorgeous and full of things to do, but we never make it downtown. You’re probably wondering what are you doing in Nashville then…. Ever since I was a little girl, like many people, I absolutely adore Christmas. There is something about that Christmas magic that never gets old. Just a short drive of about 25 minutes from downtown Nashville and the airport you will find one of our favorite resorts, Gaylord Opryland. It is a beautiful place to visit year round but during the holidays it is beyond special. A few years back, we took my mom for the first time and she literally cried while we were walking through the resort because it was that gorgeous, yup tears of joy. If you adore Christmas you really need to check out this resort for yourself. If I haven’t convinced you already, let’s just get right into the top 5 reasons you need to visit Gaylord Opryland for Christmas 2022!
1.) SO MUCH CHRISTMAS! - This family friendly resort is loaded with holiday activities for the entire family to enjoy. No matter what your interests, I’m pretty confident you’ll find holiday activities that you’ll love participating in. Now through January 1st 2023 you can experience for yourself all that Gaylord Opryland has to offer! Outdoors you will find a beautiful ice skating rink along with a giant ice tubing hill, and you can even drive bumper cars on ice! Need to brush up on your ice skating skills or it’s your first time? Well, you’re in luck! They even offer private ice skating lessons. If you prefer to just watch others skate check out the Celebration on Ice Live Skating Show! While you enjoy your time outdoors you can often listen to and watch artists performing live music on the stage right near all of the activities. If you’re feeling playful, check out the Snowball Build & Blast. You’ll get your own bucket of snow to build snowballs and toss them at targets. If you hit them just right you might even get a fun surprise! We are from Chicago and see snow all of the time and my kids still loved this. I can only imagine how fun this would be to someone that doesn’t live in a climate where it snows regularly.
Inside the resort, you can find even more fun holiday activities! The Gingerbread Decorating Corner is a great spot for the family to gather and put together some fun treats. They have a variety of kits from pre-assembled gingerbread house to cookie decorating kits. You will even have an opportunity to interact with the gingerbread man himself and take photos! Another fun activity is the Reindeer Games Scavenger Hunt Featuring Rudolph and The Misfit Toys. Follow the clues and go on a little adventure throughout Gaylord Opryland, you’ll even get a prize at the end for completing it! If this is your first time at the resort, it is such a fun way to get acquainted with where things are located. If you haven’t made your annual visit with Santa yet, this is a great spot to check it off your list! Santa has a great location inside the resort for kids to sit down with him and tell him what they want for Christmas. Every year we snag one of the photo packages from here to commemorate our visit! There are so many great spots to dine at throughout the resort but for some festive fun I would recommend checking out Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Breakfast. Your kids will be delighted to dine with Rudolph and have a chance to meet his friend Clarice! This breakfast buffet offers an assortment of options from french toast sticks, donuts, and all of your standard breakfast foods like eggs, sausage, and bacon. They also have an omelette station where the chef will prepare your own creation. Frosty’s Pub is another fun dining spot to check out for the holidays. They have really fun seasonal decor and fun holiday themed cocktails on the menu! It definitely will put you in the Christmas spirit! Click here for a full schedule of events!
2.) Time To Relax Amongst The Hustle + Bustle of The Holidays - The holidays are full of so many fun activities and I think a lot of us tend to jam pack our schedules with so much to do. It’s no different at the resort, you’ll want to partake in all the fun stuff, but the nice thing is since everything is in one spot you’ll still have time for relaxation. Because you’re not wasting time driving around to different locations you’ll find yourself with a little extra time on your hands. Even with a busy day of activities, during our 3 day stay we found time ever single day to just relax and have down time in our resort room. So often, it feels like you need a vacation to recover from your actual vacation because it’s so busy but here it feels a little different. If some relaxation time at the spa is more your speed, they’ve got you covered to. Take a trip to the Relâche Spa where you can get a massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, + more! They also offer a 24-hour fitness center so you can still get your workout in while on vacation.
3.) SoundWaves - There's not many places where you can ice skate, ice-tubing, and more fun holiday activities and the later in the day go down waterslides, hang in the lazy river, and go swimming! But, at SoundWaves you can do all of that and more. This upscale water attraction is a must do on your trip to Gaylord Opryland. Pro Tip: Book the SoundWaves experience package to guarantee admission. It is the only guaranteed way to experience the attraction. The kids were beyond thrilled when we surprised them with a visit. They had no idea that amongst all of the holiday fun, we’d get to spend time doing what is typically a summer activity for us. Plus, at SoundWaves you’ll find some great food options to enjoy at Decibels. If you want some private space to relax cabana rentals are available. They have a really nice kiddie pool area that was perfect for our 2 year old. Our older kids really enjoyed the waterslides, lazy river, and the indoor surfing simulator!
4.) ICE Is Back - If you’ve ever had the opportunity to experience this attraction, I know you were just as excited as I was for this years return! This year the attraction features Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! you will see the classic holiday story come to life all through larger-than-life ice sculptures. They carve everything out of two million pounds of colorful ice, it really is such a unique experience! Here you can even slide down an actual ice slide. They have a special mini one for younger kids. This was nice to know that our 2 year old daughter could still safely experience the fun that our older kids got to have! At the end of the attraction you will enter a room filled with an ice carved nativity scene. It is nothing short of spectacular, truly a gorgeous sight to see.
5.) Beautiful Over The Top Christmas Decorations - I mean talk about a winter wonderland! You will literally find acres of amazing Christmas decorations at this resort. While you walk throughout the resort there is Christmas decor pretty much everywhere you look. That means you’ll find some pretty amazing photo opps too! We typically get all of our Christmas card photos out of the way during our annual holiday visit to Gaylord Opryland! The twinkling lights are both indoors and outdoors. Just outside the Magnolia lobby you will find the outdoors decked out for the holidays and can even take. a horse drawn carriage ride to enjoy the beauty. You’ll also find an outdoor nativity scene here. If you’re into Christmas trees, you’ll want to check out the parade of trees. it runs throughout the Garden Conservatory and Cascades atriums. here you can find trees decorated by country music superstars! It’s hosted by Universal Music Group Nashville to benefit First Responders Children’s Foundation and Children’s Miracle Network. You can donate for a chance to win some really amazing prizes! My favorite tree was Kacey Musgraves pink tree but there were some other pretty amazing one’s too. See trees decorated by Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and more! To learn more and see a full list of all of the activities click here. Speaking of gorgeous Christmas trees, near the Delta Riverboat Ride inside the resort, you will find one of the hugest Christmas trees I have ever seen. It is beautifully decorated and a perfect spot to take some pictures and just marvel at the sight. Make sure to check out the complimentary Christmas Fountain Shows offered daily. It’s in the Delta Atrium near several quick service food spots so it’s a great place to grab a snack and enjoy the show!
These are just 5 of the many reasons to visit Gaylord Opryland resort this holiday season. I honestly could talk about so much more! We started visiting over a decade ago before my husband and I had children. From that very first visit, we were hooked! I am constantly sharing the Christmas fun with our friends and family and have recommended for them to visit too. Only until they book that first visit for themselves, do they truly understand the beauty and magic of this resort! Photos don’t do it justice, you need to visit for yourself and just be immersed in all of the beauty and fun this resort has to offer! Let me know if you are planning a visit this year!
