While Coloradans will once again be able to escape to a colorful fantasyland this winter, the harsh realities of the COVID-19 pandemic still linger.

Ice Castles is set to return to the Summit County town of Dillon — “but the experience will be slightly different,” read a news release Tuesday.

Visitors will return to the soaring maze of ice imbedded with LED lights that flash every shade of the rainbow under the night sky. Popular among both kids and adults, the attraction typically draws about 10,000 to the lake-side town.

Advanced tickets sold online are quick to sell out. And this season, they’re expected to be harder to come by, as capacity will be cut to promote social distancing.

“We recommend reserving tickets as soon as they go on sale, which is usually about a week before we open,” spokeswoman Melissa Smuzynski told The Gazette. “Last season, most weekends through the entire season sold out within the first few days after tickets went on sale, and that was with full capacity available.”

Masks will be required, and tunnels and crawl spaces will be “clearly marked as one-way features to limit face-to-face exposure with other guests,” read Tuesday’s release.

Artisans are expected to begin growing and harvesting up to 10,000 icicles daily beginning later this week, the release said. The site is slated to open in late December.

While COVID-19 cases surge across Colorado, Dillon marketing and communications director Kerstin Anderson said the plan for Ice Castles was cleared by public health officials. 

“I think there’s a few things about Ice Castles that make it a really great attraction to move forward with, one of those being it’s outside in a wide open space,” Anderson said. “And another being that they already had a limit on the number of people allowed and a timed entry system in place.” 

Ice Castles also plans to open other locations in the company’s home state of Utah as well as Wisconsin and New Hampshire.