'I think we nailed it': Lake Geneva's Winter Realms display adapts to warmer weather

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Warmer weather's got businesses that rely on the snow on guard. Last year, Lake Geneva's Ice Castles had to shut down early when sculptures melted beyond repair. This year, modifications seem to be working.

What a difference a year can make.

"At this time last year, it was not even a thought to try something like this after the challenging winter we had last year," said Wally Bullard, regional events manager, Winter Realms.

An unseasonably warm January 2023 forced Lake Geneva's Ice Castles to shut down after just three days. Creative heads spent nearly a year talking it out. The result, a better way of keeping those ice blocks intact.

"And I think we nailed it," said Bullard.

The fest has a new name, "Winter Realms," and a new way of doing things.

"In the evening or in the morning before we open we'll kind of tarp things that we want to make sure are protected from the sun," said Bullard.

And Winter Realms is using more snow than Ice Castles did. The darker white color covering one igloo fell from the sky.

"And then we have this whiter snow, snow that we made today. We didn't have any snow in the forecast, so we had to do what we could," said Bullard.

It's working for now, with some exceptions. One igloo's roped off, waiting to get more manufactured snow poured on it tomorrow. Another change: there is a bigger lit path to enjoy this year. There are eight igloos now that are wider, but shorter than last year's, and inside the castle, it's playtime.

Anyone over three feet tall can go down the ice slide, and of course the biggest and best part is you can race. 

"We do still have our traditional ice castles features - the slide, the cavern, tunnel, all that people are used," said Bullard. "And then we kind of added the snow village with these massive igloos. We're standing in one now, this one is eight feet across."

A thousand or more people walk through this winter wonderland seven days a week, hoping to make it last through the month of March.

"We were shocked it was gonna be open because it had been so warm lately, but it's kind of nice. Last time we came it was very bitter cold. So this is a beautiful temperature," said Kate Stockwell, visiting from Milwaukee.

Kate Stockwell's son, Roland, seems to like it. The four-year-old gave it two thumbs up.