MOODY GARDENS IDEAL FOR FAMILY DAY TRIPS, welcomes Orange County for upcoming holidays
By Krista Salter
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Photos courtesy of Moody Gardens This holiday season, Moody Gardens welcomes Cirque Joyeux to its convention center, offering one-hour live cirque performances along with dinner. A ticket also includes admission to the Festival of Lights.
The holiday season is quickly barreling towards us, and Orange County, Texas is not exempt from all the end-of-the-year family fun, especially after the year of hard work the community has endured. Once all the fun to be had in Orange is crossed off the list, it doesn’t have to stop there. One of the best family-friendly adventures in Texas is well-within reach for families looking for a new holiday tradition, or planning something different this year. “Moody Gardens has so many things to appeal to everyone in the family,” said Alexis Shelly, public relations coordinator with Moody Gardens. This year, the park will celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. Exhibits designed to educate the young, and young-at-heart, continue year-round and include attractions like the aquarium and rainforest pyramids, interactive 3D theater experiences, a ropes course, zip line and a children’s discovery museum. “From the Aquarium and Rainforest Pyramids that are open year round to ICE LAND and the Festival of Lights open for the holiday season, I always say that if there are five people in the car, you can all pile out and go five different directions when you come to Moody Gardens,” Shelly said. In October, the gardens become ghostly as Skeletown, an opportunity to learn all about bones, takes over the Discovery Pyramid beginning Oct. 5. The Rainforest Pyramid transforms to the Reignforest of Terror Oct. 12, 19 and 26, a
theatrical haunted tour that highlights scary threats animals face in the wild. The Ghostly Gardens Film Festival and a showing of “Happy Family 4D” will run Oct. 12, 19 and 26 at the park’s theaters. On Nov. 16, showings of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – An Interactive Adventure” will begin in the Audience Recognition Theater. During the holiday season, Moody Gardens comes even more alive with eight additional holiday exhibits including photos with Santa, train rides, an arctic slide, ice skating, a festival of lights and theater experiences. Ice Land: Christmas Around the World will exhibit different Christmas celebrations around the world and will feature a “Live Ice Land Camera” to check in on Christmas globally. The 18th Annual Festival of Lights and ICE LAND: Christmas Around the World kick off simultaneously on Nov. 16 and run until Jan. 12. The festival is said to be the Gulf Coasts’ largest holiday lighting event, and includes Santa’s Workshop and possibly a visit from Santa himself.
“Moody Gardens is one of the things that turns Galveston into the ‘Winter Wonder Island,’” Shelly said. “It is a great place to come and visit with your family to get into the holiday spirit, whether that holiday is Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas.” Whether you enjoy taking the ferry or go around to avoid the hassle, Moody Gardens is an easy two-hour trip from Orange County. Shelly says the best way to make a day-trip to Moody Gardens from Orange County “worth it,” is to purchase a $70 one-day value pass so everyone on the trip gains admission to all of the attractions. Once in Galveston, families can stick solely to the Moody Gardens experience or wrap up the day trip with an early supper near the beach before heading home. Families have no chance of running out of fun things to do at Moody Gardens or on Galveston Island. Moody Gardens is open every single day of the year, with normal operating hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Located at One Hope Road in Galveston, Texas, Moody Gardens, a one-day value pass for one person costs $70 and includes admission to most exhibits. Individual passes may be purchased for specific exhibits, and two-day value passes are also available. Children under 3 are admitted for free.
October 2019 | 10 m
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