Ice Gator Remains at Blizzard Beach Following Refurbishment
Fans of the Ice Gator can take a deep breath! Blizzard Beach reopened today after an extensive refurbishment, and I can happily report that the Ice Gator is still there!
After months of speculation about whether the unique Disney character would be replaced as the mascot of the water park, it appears that these fears were unfounded.
Photo Credit: UndercoverTourist.com
Who is the Ice Gator?
For those of you who don’t know, the Ice Gator has served as Blizzard Beach’s official mascot since the water park opened in 1995. In fact, according to the park’s backstory, the Ice Gator was responsible for the idea of Blizzard Beach itself!
So here is the story:
Blizzard Beach’s history began on January 11, 1977, when a freak snowstorm hit Central Florida. Hoping to capitalize on the phenomenon, a ski resort was quickly constructed around a mountain of snow.
When the Florida climate returned to normal however, the snow began to melt, water-logging the ski jumps and chair lifts. Just when management was set to close down the park, they heard a loud yelling coming from the apex of the mountain.
Looking up, they saw Ice Gator sliding down the mountain at top speed and landing in the pool of melted snow below. With that thunderous splash, the idea of Blizzard Beach was born.
Photo: Disney
Slalom courses, bobsled and toboggan runs then became downhill waterslides. The creek of melted snow that formed at the base of the mountain became a relaxing tube ride. The chairlift carried swimmers instead of skiers. The ski jump became the tallest and fastest water slide in the world.
The ski resort then became known as Blizzard Beach, the most slushy, slippery, exhilarating water park anywhere!
Ice Gator would stick around the new park, serving as Blizzard Beach’s official mascot!
Where Can You Find the Ice Gator?
At Blizzard Beach, Ice Gator is hard to miss!
When visiting the water park, guests are welcomed by the happy go-lucky gator himself.
They can also visit the Ice Gator’s house, and see his invertible garden, when taking a ride on the Cross Country Creek lazy river.
Photo: TripAdvisor
And finally, when visiting the Beach Haus, you can see the exact spot where the lovable gator crashed into the building while attempting to ski down Mount Gushmore. Now that’s a real piece of Disney history!
Photo: themickeywiki
What Changed After the Refurbishment?
The only major Ice Gator related change to come to Blizzard Beach, has been the removal of the snow statues of Ice and the figures of the little gators in the Tike’s Peak water play area.
The gator statues have been replaced by new Frozen themed sculptures. Check them out!
Here’s what the play area previously looked like
So there you have it! Hopefully the Ice Gator will stay around for as long as Blizzard Beach is open! Now, if we could just get the Lagoona Gator back at Typhoon Lagoon. But that’s a story for another time.
