Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens Captures the Spirit of the Holiday Season With Majestic New Display
Transforming into a glistening winter wonderland, Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens unveils its spectacular holiday display featuring picture-perfect botanical creations, a stately 42-foot-tall White Fir tree dripping with bright ornaments and a glamorous ice queen.
Bellagio Conservatory Holiday 2018
Now through January 6, 2019, visitors to the Conservatory will voyage through the arctic with an elegant ice queen as she travels on her horse-drawn carriage to a dramatic castle. Along the way, joyful elves, polar bear guardians and toy soldiers greet the ice queen. The holiday display, titled “Majestic Holiday Magic,” was designed by Ed Libby and the Bellagio Horticulture team, drawing inspiration from royal weddings.
Bellagio Conservatory South Garden Holiday 2018
In the center of it all, a magnificent holiday tree sends gazes soaring while musical sounds and seasonal colors evoke the holiday spirit. Decorated with 7,000 warm white lights and 2,500 ornaments, the 42-foot White Fir stands as the Conservatory’s focal point. A whimsical five-car toy train, equipped with a live camera, whirls on its tracks around the base of the tree. Guests will marvel at the glamorous ice queen dressed in a couture-inspired gown made from preserved red and white roses, silver palmetto leaves, fresh hydrangeas and Phalaenopsis orchids. Escorted by guardian polar bears, the queen brings gifts of joy and prosperity to guests from near and far.
Visitors continue their journey in the East Garden making their way through a European-themed carriage decorated with vintage lanterns, stylish draperies and a crystal chandelier. Luxurious red velvet upholstery and gilded embellishments complete the interior while tapioca pearls and other botanical materials cover the exterior. Two 12-foot herald trumpeters mark the entrance to the coach, which is pulled by four 12-foot-tall white horses dressed in their finest regalia. Two pearl-curtained windows present a perfect photo opportunity to capture precious holiday memories.
In the North Garden, the ice queen’s destination is a 28-foot opulent Gothic castle, which is surrounded by a moat and connected with a passageway inspired by New York’s Central Park Gothic Bridge. Standing guard at each corner of the bridge are four animated toy soldiers. Nearby, a pair of playful floral elves wave hello and stand among hundreds of colorful Poinsettias.
In the South Garden guests will find a polar bear family in its new glistening arctic environment, a gift from the queen for their service and loyalty. Tugging on the heartstrings of visitors young and old, two baby polar bears frolic among the icebergs as a third baby pops out of a box. Papa bear with a coat made of thousands of white hydrangeas watches with affection. To complete the seasonal theme, glimmering stars, an illuminated moon and red and green Polonaise tree toppers hang from the Conservatory’s all-glass ceiling, visible from every vantage point.
Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is complimentary to the public and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Holiday Display By the Numbers
- 34,000: Total number of flowers on display for the duration of the exhibit
- 28,000: Number of Poinsettias
- 12,000: Number of hydrangeas used to create the papa polar bear
- 7,000: Number of LED lights found on the holiday tree
- 2,500: Number of ornaments found on the holiday tree
- 2,500: Number of white carnations and hydrangeas to create each baby polar bear
- 1,000: Number of pounds of tapioca pearls found on the carriage
- 322: Tufts of red velvet with crystal buttons inside the carriage
- 180: Number of pounds of black lentils coating the fenders on the carriage
- 125: Team members who participate in the display’s assembly
- 120: Number of pounds of golden flax seed and brown flax seed covering the wheels
- 42 feet: Height of the White Fir holiday tree
- 25: Number of Silver Tip Fir trees
- 17: Number of hanging glimmering stars
- 6: Number of polar bears
- 4: Number of horses
- 4: Number of toy soldiers
- 2: Number of elves