From the Candy Cane Forest to the Sea of Swirly Twirly Gumdrops, hotel painstakingly recreates iconic 'Elf' scenes

Elf may have been released in 2003, but the contemporary Christmas classic still feels fresh. This holiday season, Gaylord Hotels are making some North Pole magic of their own, recreating iconic scenes from the film — which stars Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf, a human raised by elves who travels to New York City to find his birth father and saves Christmas along the way — for any cotton-headed ninny muggins to explore.

In "Mission: Save Christmas," an interactive journey through recreated scenes from Elf, guests at four of Gaylord's hotels across the country can move through a series of rooms designed to look like a movie set. From making toys in Santa's workshop to dancing in a "shiny mailroom," the experience is truly just like walking into the film and participating in the same activities as Buddy, Jovie and Papa Elf.

Niko Nickolaou is director of special events and creative for Gaylord Hotels, and says he and his team watched Elf "enough times to lose count" as they planned out the exhibit, which replaced Gaylord's famous holiday Ice display because of restrictions on international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented artisans from traveling to create the large-scale ice sculptures.

Nickolaou says his team wanted Mission: Save Christmas to be an interactive retelling of the story of Elf that could be enjoyed by guests of all ages.

Upon entering Buddy's world, guests walk through the Candy Cane Forest, greeting Mr. Narwhal, Leon the snowman and the woodland creatures seen at the North Pole in the film. Then, it's time to make toys.

"In the first room — the workshop — you're spotting the difference in toys on interactive displays and you think, 'This is something Buddy would do and something that can drive Christmas spirit,'" Nickolaou tells Yahoo Entertainment. "Then you have the 'whack-a-clown' which is your traditional whack-a-mole but with a Jack-in-the-Box that scares Buddy. You're playing this game where you make light of that situation."

Inside Santa's workshop are tiny elf-sized workbenches and a sign displaying the full "code of the elves" from the film, right down to iconic quote, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

Quotes from the film can be found throughout the display, against Instagram-worthy backdrops designed to be photographed and shared.

"You can take pictures with, 'Smiling's my favorite,' as a neon glow sign," says Nickolaou. "It's one of the best photo ops in the entire experience."

There's a cookie workshop with sweet nods to the film like mini bottles of Buddy's beloved syrup on the countertop and elf and human-sized aprons emblazoned with names like "Buddy" and "Papa Elf" hanging on the wall.

"The kitchen is one of the best rooms," Nickolaou says. "You create your own [virtual] cookie and when you do, a cookie scent comes out."

Guests will find themselves in the middle of the toy department at Gimbels department store, right after Buddy spends an entire night preparing the space for Santa's arrival. And, in the mailroom, ’90s hit Whoomp! (There It Is) blasts from a jukebox while guests dance ... and find themselves on the big screen in the middle of the iconic scene.

In New York's Central Park, there's the chance to participate in an epic snowball fight. And, after composing some Christmas carols, guests can grab an "#elfie" with a replica of Santa's red sleigh.

But the most important part of the journey isn't reminiscing about Elf, it's boosting the Clausometer and saving Christmas.

"The whole premise is that the Clausometer has dropped to zero and you have to get it back to 100 percent to save Christmas," Nickolaou says. "You're helping Buddy all the way through this magical journey that starts in the Candy Cane Forest where you learn about your mission and ends up in Central Park in New York with a very photogenic sleigh."

Nickolaou offers a bit of advice on getting the most from a stroll through the exhibit.

"Let your senses take over," he says. "There are amazing scents, like in the Candy Cane Forest where there's a peppermint scent. One of the things I think everybody misses, is the story tied to it. If you go through each room, you hear the elves giving you encouragement and saying, 'Make sure you solve this and drive our Christmas spirit up.' There's just so much going on."

"I call [Gaylord Hotels] a Christmas theme park," he adds. "All the elements this year feel like they're creating a great Christmas souvenir for our families' memory banks and that's what it's all about for us."

The elfin magic is part of Gaylord Hotels' So. Much. Christmas. celebration, taking place through Jan. 2 at Gaylord properties in Nashville, Orlando, Denver and Dallas. Ticket prices to hang out with Buddy and friends vary by location.