Chilling Out at The Queen Mary in Long Beach

CC at The Queen Mary in Long Beach

"SoCal" turned into "SoCold" for CC and me on Saturday, as we took a trip down to Long Beach to visit Chill at The Queen Mary, a kid-friendly wonderland with ice sculptures, ice skating and tubing.

Even if it wasn't exactly the Polar Vortex, temps in the dome next to the famous British-born ship, got down to a reported 9 degrees F -- chillier than any winter L.A. day.

Clara, from "The Nutcracker," carved out of ice.

Featuring an "Ice Kingdom" filled with ice sculptures of characters from The Nutcracker and a replica Queen Mary, complete with three ice slides, Chill is quite the event.

In addition to the icy, single-digit-degree kingdom, there's also ice skating, tubing and outdoor attractions, such as face painting and character meet-ups.

You can also visit The Queen Mary herself -- gratis with Chill admission.

While the events themselves are cool -- pardon the pun -- be prepared to wait ... and wait some more ... in lines. The timed Ice Kingdom tickets are helpful, but you still have to wait a bit once you arrive.

The Queen Mary made of ice, plus ice slides.

The tubing line is especially lengthy (we waited over an hour) -- but it's worth it. CC even said so. It's so fun flying down that iced-over slide on an inner tube! Plus, you get 5 turns on it.

Be sure to wear warm clothing, too!

We even squeezed in a trip to the Queen Mary ship, which CC loved! She even asked to visit again. We both enjoyed strolling down the long decks, checking out preserved sections that showed how the passenger ship once looked when it made trips across the ocean.

For a chilly staycation or day trip -- without the flight delays -- the Chill would make for a good one.

Chill at The Queen Mary
Through Jan. 12
Tickets: Adults ($19.95-$29.95 online); Children ($9.95-$19.95 online)