Orlando Polar Bear Club |
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| Start Date: | December 05, 2009 |
| End Date: | December 05, 2009 |
| Location: | ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort |
| Street: | 6000 W Osceola Parkway |
| City: | Kissimmee |
| State: | FL |
| Description: | It's the premiere of Orlando Polar Bear Club!Here are details about Orlando's newest (and most bizarre) holiday tradition!
Orlando is the newest metropolis with a branch of the famed Polar Bear Club. This new organization -- based loosely on the traditions of its kooky Northern counterparts -- will give residents (and visitors) the opportunity to take their own cold-weather plunge through ICE! Orlando's 9-degree holiday attraction hand-carved from nearly two million pounds of ice. The attraction, carved by a team of 40 artisans from China, features a walk-through winter wonderland of ice sculptures and monuments, all intricately carved from ice. The highlight of the attraction -- four ice speed slides -- will provide a thrilling (and icy) "plunge" for Orlando members of the Polar Bear Club. The second annual plunge will be held Dec. 5 at 8:30 a.m. Tickets include the only opportunity this season to visit ICE! in a bathing suit. Participants will be named official members of the Orlando Polar Bear Club and will receive a special certificate to commemorate their plunge. A post-plunge warm-up reception will include coffee and cocoa. In addition, participants will be invited to return to the attraction later that morning while fully clothed to enjoy the artistry of ICE! But why would a person want to run through the 9-degree ICE attraction in a bathing suit? "The short answer is simple... 'just because'," said resort General Manager Kemp Gallineau. "Because it's fun and memorable -- something to laugh about, brag about and blog about." "And not everybody can go to Pamplona to run with the bulls," he continued. The special Orlando Polar Bear Club ticket is available for $21.99 plus tax. For every ticket sold, $7 will be donated to Special Olympics Florida. Overnight rates are available starting at $129 per night.
ChristmasInOrlando.com Tips:Polar Bear Clubs can be found in cities throughout the frozen North, and much of Canada. But it would be unusual to find such a club in a tropical city like Orlando. What is a polar bear club? Check out these videos:
ORLANDO POLAR BEAR CLUB LINKS
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For more than 100 years, members of Polar Bear Clubs around the world have gathered in their bathing suits to "take the plunge" into icy winter-chilled lakes and waterways. While its easy to chalk it up as an oddball Northern phenomenon, the very existence of such clubs have long distinguished Northern cities from Southern towns. Until today.
