The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival is happening this week, and that means the Ice Palace is on full display.

However, access to the palace is weather-dependent, and while last year was a tough one, people are getting a chance to enjoy every note of it this year.

“I think it's pretty cool how big it is. And you know how they had to make it with the ice and, you know, very impressive,” Queensbury resident Bill Winters said.

“It feels like from ‘Frozen’ when they're getting the ice out of the lake, so it's really cool,” New Hartford’s Shea Gooldy said.

Every year, this unbelievable structure has a theme and this year it is music legends. There’s everything from the Grateful Dead and KISS to Run-D.M.C. and Elvis Presley.

“I'm glad nobody tried to, you know, stick their tongue on it, because that would have been pretty bad for some of these kids,” Eric Gooldy said.

And as people make their way through this ice palace — and even navigate a couple of mazes along the way — some wonder how it's created.

“In order to get it this high — the cubes are so symmetrical and such — it's really good engineering,” Gooldy added.

A year's worth of planning and those giant blocks of ice coming directly from the lake behind the palace.

“I just love being here and seeing all the people come in and they're in such [awe] at the palace, and when I tell them that I helped build it is even more ... it's so proud,” Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Board Member Elle Finocan said.

Last year, after workers finished building the palace, the weather took a turn for the warmer and for safety reasons, for a majority of the carnival, the Ice Palace was taped off and closed.

“It was very tough last year. It was unfortunate to all of us that worked so hard to put on Carnival, to have to rope it off and keep people from accessing it,” Board Member Nancy LaBombard added.

This year’s Winter Carnival wraps up Sunday, but not before a parade and fireworks show over the palace Saturday night. The palace will remain up as long as weather allows.