SeeCalifornia.com

Photos bottom left, clockwise: Slides made of carved ice descend from a gigantic ice model of Queen Mary; four Chinese ice carvers from Harbin show pride on CHILL opening night; themes from The Nutcracker include toy soldiers, the Snow Queen, mice, and ice-carved archways guests walk through from one scene to the next; the World’s Biggest Rocking Horse; and The Bucking Reindeer ride.  (For further info, visit queenmary.com/chill.)

By C. MacDonald

The whole CHILL experience is “Large.” There’s just so much to see, starting with The Nutcracker Story, carved in 2 million pounds of ice inside a 14,000-square-foot igloo, The Ice Kingdom. More than 30 super-skilled ice sculptors from Harbin, China, hand-carved the unique art, which is enhanced with LED lighting and beautiful colors. Scenes include sugar-plum ferries, the Nutcracker, walk-through castles and a 30-foot high replica of the Queen Mary (complete with 3 ice slides). It’s absolutely sensational. Wearing loaned parkas in the 9-degree igloo helps you to enjoy the unique artwork even more. Some of the talented smiling Chinese carvers’ eyes light up as they watch you appreciate their labor intensive creations…read more>