DENVER (KDVR) — Ice artisans have been working around the clock to create a 25-ton winter wonderland, and the hard work has paid off. Ice Castles will officially open before Christmas. The frozen attraction is returning to Colorado with two locations -- Cripple Creek and Eagle. On Friday morning, Ice Castles said the Cripple Creek location will officially open for the 2024-25 season on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. and the Eagle location will open Friday, Dec. 20 at 4 p.m. “For the first time in our company’s history, we are thrilled to open two Ice Castles locations inColorado before Christmas," said Kyle Standifird, CEO of Ice Castles. "Thanks to favorableweather this season, we’re excited to invite guests to experience the magic of Ice Castlesthroughout the holiday season.” Snowstangs resume services from Denver to four winter destinations in the I-70 Mountain Corridor Ice Castles is known for its tunnels, caverns, towers, fountains and slides built entirely from ice. The experience is elevated at night when the fortress is illuminated by color-changing LED lights embedded inside the walls of ice. This year, Ice Castles has a new addition. According to the attraction, there is a new frosty twist -- the Polar Pub Ice Bar. Guests can enjoy chilled beverages, comforting food and sweets inside a one-of-a-kind ice bar experience. Depending on traffic, the distance from Denver to either Eagle or Cripple Creek is similar at around a two-and-a-half-hour drive. Ice Castles will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. You can purchase tickets on the attraction's website. How artisans turn icicles into a 25-ton attraction  Since October, a team of 20 ice artisans have been constructing the massive frozen walls. Brent Christensen, founder of Ice Castles, said the castles take countless hours of planning and manual labor to create the finished product. Have broken holiday lights? Here’s how you can recycle them While the project each year includes chainsaws, ice picks and tons of ice, it all starts with single pieces of icicles on an “icicle farm.” Ice Castles told FOX31 that the icicles are created on special racks or forms that are eventually picked by hand and carried to the castle. Then, the team continues the process all over again, day after day, until the icicles grow into towers, which Christensen said can be up to 40 feet tall. You can read more about how the attraction constructs the fortress annually here.