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ICE at Nat'l Harbour

SofkaSofka
in D.C. Area Babies

We have never gone and the Our Kids review made it sound like it was more for the 4-5+ y.o. kids but kids 3 and under are free.  Would it be worth it with a 3 and a 1.5 yr olds??

Also, it says that the time of your ticket is not the time you actually enter, how much do you really wait? Is there stuff to do while you wait? Is parking free?

Thinking we could do this the week b/w Christmas and New Year, do you recommend that week or will everyone and their on-winter-break kid be there? It's that or the weekends, as both DH and I work F/T.  DD's daycare is closed the week b/w Christmas and New Year so I may be taking some days off.

TIA!

 

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Re: ICE at Nat'l Harbour

  • doggylovrdoggylovr
    we are going and DS is going to be 2 at the end of december.  with the theme of madagascar i know he will be into the animals and such.  I wasn't sure about the ticket time thing so i picked 11:00 on a sunday so we could be first in so any wait would be not as bad(or at least I'm thinking) I would be interested to hear from others who have been
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  • victoria1212victoria1212 member

    We are taking DD this year because I think she will love it. Parking is $10 (there is a coupon for ICE ticket holders) and when we went two years ago, there was not a huge wait but we tend to go at the slower times.

    There was an ice slide last time I went and I am hoping there is one this year. We did not go last year because DD had an issue with wearing coats and it is really cold in there. I am hoping this year the coat will not be an issue Big Smile

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  • UseonfireUseonfire
    We went the last 2 years.  Honestly, they were both "ok."  It is profoundly cold in there... sure that goes without saying, but honestly, it's really REALLY cold :) Last year, DS was barely 1 and he was shivering the whole time and didn't like it.  I can see him being more into it this year, but it's pricey for DH and I to go (even with military discount) and the whole walk through takes 10m or less.  It's not even something you'd want to take more than 10m with because it's so cold! What we've always enjoyed is going to the Gaylord afterward.  We get dinner, look at the lights and walk around.  That's always fun.  The first year, DS was like 4 weeks old and we had DH's family in town with a bunch of kids, so we were really going for them (they liked it). 
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  • belizeitornotbelizeitornot

    I went last year to the Grinch one (at 8.5 months pregnant!) and my just over 1 year old nephew went. I'm not sure how much of it he actually got, but he seemed to enjoy it. Some areas got really crowded though, which made having him in the stroller a royal PITA.

    As far as the timed ticket thing: I believe they actually used to honor the times, but when we went last year (day after Thanksgiving) they'd decided to completely abandon that and as long as you had a ticket for that day, you could get in at any time. Needless to say, We waited in a freaking insanely long line (2 hours long) to get in, and a large portion of that was actually outside. I was NOT pleased. If I ever decide to do it in the future, I will certainly call ahead and ask if they plan to pull that same stunt again on any given day.

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  • Hey JellisyHey Jellisy
    I got free tickets two years ago and we took DD when she was 9 months.  I carried her in the Ergo and got an extra large coat to go around both of us.  She was warm enough since she was completely bundled, but I was profoundly cold.  Cold enough that it will take some major cajoling on my children's part to go again.  We had about a 45 minute wait to get in.  You're sort of snaking through stations to get your coat and enter.  It was a cold day, and the outer tent isn't heated so we were chilled there too.  I can be a temperature wimp, but I think I read they keep it at 9 degrees in there, so be aware of your own inner thermostat.  We really enjoyed going to the Gaylord afterwards to warm up, drink cocoa, and see the decorations.  Last year we just went to the Gaylord to see the decor and that was a far more pleasant experience.  From my perspective, it's too much money for not enough entertainment.            
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    From December 29, 2011
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  • rubriderubride
    I took my 18 month old last year and we both loved it. We went in early/mid Dec on a Sunday evening and it wasn't too crowded. We did have to wait in line a bit to get in, but there was lots of signage, etc to read. Not helpful for the little ones, so you might want to bring some line entertainment. The slide room was the only part that seemed to have a ton of people (I've heard there are slides again) and the disappointment was that only one person could go on a slide at a time, so DD wasn't able to sit on my lap. I HATE the cold and I didn't think it was too bad in the exhibit (it was worse outside b/c of the COLD wind). We were really bundled up (heavy winter coat, uggs, sweaters and the parka provided). The only part of me which was cold toward the end was my face b/c it was exposed. You will need gloves! My mom forgot them and was hating life! I'm planning on taking DD again this year. Trying google for discount codes. I found one last year off DC Urban Moms.
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