Maple Grove’s Ice Castles Officially Opens
After months of preparation, the big day is finally here.
“Yeah we are really excited to be open today,” said Ice Castles CEO Kyle Standifird. “There’s tunnels and slides and caverns and places to get lost and explore.”
What was once a vacant piece of land across from the Maple Grove Life Time is now home to full-fledged ice castle.
“Our crews have worked tirelessly to bring it together and we’ve had a good cold snap for a little while and we’re finally, you know, here to open and to share the magic with the public,” said Standifird.
This attraction consists of a series of tunnels, along with plenty of other fun features made entirely out of ice.
“These are ice carving blocks. So you basically have to cut them into pieces, like basically puzzle pieces, and fuse them together into the general shape that you want to carve,” said Christian Denis, an ice sculptor.
You can’t have an ice castle without a throne, and Denis spent Wednesday putting the finishing touches on a seat fit for a king or queen.
“It’s always one of the favorites be able to sit in the giant ice throne,” Denis said. “And I’ve been working with ice castles for the last eight years and always seems to be a draw.”
Christian Denis carves an ice throne hours before the attraction opens. Ice Castles is located at 12500 82nd Ave N in Maple Grove.
A late start
The ultimate goal is to provide an experience that will make visitors feel like they’re in a winter wonderland, albeit weeks later than originally anticipated.
“Yeah it’s been incredibly frustrating,” Standifird said. “Our teams have worked so hard, and they’ve built it and it’s melted and built it and melted.”
When an attraction is dependent on the weather, there are some things you just can’t control.
But thanks to the recent cold burst, it’s finally come together, and Standifird says the crew on site plans to do maintenance checks every day to ensure the ice castles are as safe as possible for visitors.
“The safety, the aesthetic appeal, and just what the overall experience will be for our guest — we just have to manage that from day to day,” he said.
As for how many days the ice castles will be here remains to be seen. The hope is that people will enjoy it while it lasts.
If you’re planning to visit, the advice is to do it as soon as possible because the long-term forecast could be hit or miss.
For tickets, you can go to icecastles.com/Minnesota.
Related: Warm Weather Delays Construction of Maple Grove Ice Castles
