On November 20, Gaylord Pacific Resort opens ice! on the Chula Vista Bayfront. It's a walk-through attraction carved from 2 million pounds of ice, and it's the first holiday ice sculpture show the Gaylord chain has staged on the West Coast, as the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in July. Tickets start at $29.99 with fees included. Prepaid day parking in the resort garage costs $54 on each day of opening weekend.
So for a family driving over from Eastlake or Rancho del Rey, parking can cost more than a ticket. The resort runs the season for people staying the night, and if you live a few miles away, the way you get there makes a bigger difference than which add-ons you buy.
What's inside the tent
The show is housed in a temporary tent near the convention center loading dock, kept at a steady 9 degrees. The Union-Tribune reported that it's built from 6,000 ice blocks of 300 pounds each, carved into more than 100 sculptures by artisans who arrive 40 days ahead. This year's theme is "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and Linus appear across 12 walk-through scenes in a space of nearly 20,000 square feet, and there are two-story ice slides. Everyone gets a blue parka at the door. Adults can ride the slides too, as long as they're wearing the parka. Hot chocolate is sold separately.
The resort was open last Christmas, its first holiday season, but held ice! back a year. That makes this season the attraction's first run here. It runs through January 3, 2027.
The ticket is the smaller number
The official ticket site lists its paid activities at "starting at" prices. These are the published starting prices, plus the resort's posted parking rates:
| What you're paying for | Starting price |
|---|---|
| ice! admission | $29.99 |
| Snow tubing | $28.99 |
| Mrs. Claus' Christmas Traditions | $16.99 |
| Merry Snoopy scavenger hunt | $14.99 |
| Snowball Build & Blast | $14.99 |
| Gingerbread decorating, per kit | $49.99 |
| Santa photo package | $44.99 |
| Breakfast with Charlie Brown & Friends | $52 adults, $29 ages 3–12 |
| On-site self-parking | $15 per hour, $45 per day |
| Valet | $65 |
Parking tax is added on top of those rates. Day guests also pay each time they enter, because only overnight guests get in-and-out privileges. If you leave to eat in the Village or along Marina Parkway and come back for a later ice! time slot, you pay to park twice. Prepaid garage parking costs $54 from November 20 to 22 and again from November 27 to 29. It drops to $41 on November 23 to 26 and on November 30. The midweek dates around Thanksgiving cost less than the weekends on either side.
Breakfast with Charlie Brown includes two hours of parking validation for day guests who buy an entrée. That's the only parking break on the published list.
The resort's busiest days favor the people staying there
The resort's holiday FAQ says you don't need a room to buy tickets, and most holiday activities are open to day visitors. On peak dates, the same FAQ sets some limits:
- Garage and valet. Overnight guests have exclusive access to the resort parking garage and valet on all peak days, and the resort warns of traffic and parking delays at the entrance.
- Dinner. Overnight guests get priority seating, and on select peak evenings the restaurants serve hotel guests only.
- The ice! line. The Chill Pass gives overnight guests front-of-line access to ice!. It comes free with a room and isn't sold separately.
- Payment. The resort is cashless and takes only credit cards everywhere, parking included.
When the garage is full of hotel guests, day visitors park in the outside gravel lot across from the main entrance. The garage is on the back side of the property. For anyone who doesn't need a car to get there, all of this matters less.
The free way in starts at the trolley
The City of Chula Vista runs the Chula Vista Bayfront Shuttle. It's free and uses electric, ADA-equipped vans that link the shoreline with Downtown Chula Vista, Chula Vista Center, the Living Coast Discovery Center, nearby neighborhoods and the trolley stations. Here's how it works for an ice! trip:
- Take the Blue Line shuttle, which runs mainly between the bayfront and the E Street and H Street transit centers. The Green Line connects the bayfront with the neighborhoods next to it.
- Both lines run daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., about every 15 minutes, and the city's page has live tracking.
- Evening service runs only on the Green Line, until 9 p.m.
- The shuttle doesn't run on certain holidays, including Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
A daytime ice! slot works best with the shuttle, since the trolley connection stops at 6 p.m. A day visitor who comes by shuttle skips the $15 hourly rate, the per-entry charge and the garage line on a peak night.
Driving in has one more complication this year. Sandpiper Way's temporary east-west extension, built while Gaylord was under construction, is permanently closed and being turned into park space. The Port of San Diego tells park visitors to come in on H Street, go around the front of Gaylord and continue to G Street. Another option is F Street to Lagoon Drive, then south on Marina Parkway to G Street. A new park entrance is planned at the roundabout at the west end of H Street.
The free parts start inside the lobby
Not everything at the resort is ticketed. Seasonal carolers, Letters to Santa, strolling entertainment and holiday photo spots are listed as complimentary. The resort also advertises more than 3 million lights across the property. The North Star Christmas Shop and Build-A-Bear Workshop are free to walk into, though anything you buy is priced separately.
Outside the resort, the bayfront parks cost nothing. Harbor Park, formerly Bayside Park, has a new nautical-themed playground with slides, a rope-climb hill, shade structures and picnic areas. The Port plans to open a splash pad next to it in spring 2027. When the park is fully built out, its recreation area will double from 12 acres to about 25. North of the resort, the 39-acre Sweetwater Park has been open since April 2025. It's the Port's largest park and sits next to the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.
That gives a shuttle rider an easy afternoon plan. Ride in, let the kids burn off energy on the Harbor Park playground, walk through the lights and carolers, then use an ice! ticket while the Blue Line is still running.
Two weeks later, Third Avenue has its own tradition
On Saturday, December 5, the 62nd Annual Starlight Parade and Festival takes over Downtown Chula Vista and Memorial Park from 3 to 9 p.m. According to the KPBS event listing, the holiday market and Santa photos start at 3 p.m., the tree lighting is at 5:30 p.m., and the parade steps off at 6 p.m. along Third Avenue between E and H streets. This year's theme is "Where Traditions Shine Bright," and starlightparade.com has the latest updates.
The Bayfront Shuttle already serves Downtown Chula Vista and the E and H Street transit centers, so a household can see the ice tent one weekend and the floats the next on the same free daytime system.
If school break leaves the kids with free days, the Living Coast Discovery Center at 1000 Gunpowder Point Drive is running Winter Camp 2026 on December 21 to 23 and December 28 to 30. Families can reach its Education Department for details.
If you live near the bayfront and want to know whether the new resort, Harbor Park and Sweetwater Park show up in what your home is worth, The Joseph Realty Team can walk you through it. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll show you the local numbers.
