DADE CITY ― Isaac Ruiz wasn’t sure what to expect before driving over to the new snow park that opened Friday in the heart of the Sunshine State.The 38-year-old from Wesley Chapel said he previously lived in New York and is familiar with snow. But this is Florida. And as he stood in line for Snowcat Ridge ― a 60-foot snow tubing hill ― with his wife and 10-year-old daughter, he was just hoping for some fun.“I didn’t actually know how they were going to make that happen but definitely figured that it’s something that we had to come see,” he said.Picture a large, man-made slope, like the wide slide with lanes at the state fair that thrill seekers fly down on a mat. But this one is iced and the mode of transport is a snow tube or raft. Prices vary but start at $24.95 for a two-hour pass.It didn’t disappoint, Ruiz said. Each of the family members said they enjoyed the slide, the closest thing to sledding in Florida.Dozens of visitors made the trek for the opening of winter-themed attraction, which is housed on the same property as Halloween destination Scream-A-Geddon. They traveled from around the state curious about how someone managed to open a snow tubing park in the deep south.The park operators spent over a million dollars researching the snow-making process, CEO Benjamin Nagengast told reporters. He jokingly referred to the snow as “two parts magic, one part water.” But Nagengast wouldn’t dive into the trade secrets, when pressed by reporters invited to opening day. He said it’s a process that would take hours to explain.He allowed that creating a snow park in Florida was not without its challenges. And that was before figuring out how to open with safety precautions needed to operate during a pandemic. And then there was Tropical Storm Eta, which swept through the Tampa Bay area last week, knocking out power needed to make snow and ice.Several factors determine the park’s ability to maintain the snow cover, beyond temperature, including humidity, dewpoint and cloud cover, Nagengast said.“This is around the top end of what we’re able to operate in,” Nagengast said on a balmy, sunny morning.Afternoon temperatures were in the high 70s Friday. While the hill was iced over, it did not yet have snow at the park’s opening.“A lot of it came down to temperatures,” said marketing manager Winston McDaniel. The park hopes to operate its technologies at full capacity by the end of the weekend. Building up snow and ice on the hill is an ongoing process, McDaniel explained.The park encouraged customers to dress in layers, but with the sun warming sledders, many skipped winter coats. And while there wasn’t snow yet on the ridge, riders still screamed as they rode inner tubes down individual lanes on an icy, slick hill and splashed into melted puddles as their ride came to an end.Though the hill itself did not yet have flurries, an Arctic Igloo offered families a chance to see the Florida-made snow. Visitors pushed their kids down the lanes of mini snow hills in the igloo and frolicked in an icy substance the consistency of a snow cone.At the bottom of the hill, in the park’s “Alpine Village,” vendors sold barbeque and other food. A gift shop was stocked with teddy bears, sunglasses and various wares. Christmas lights were twisted in pine garlands. The smell of wood fires drifted from smoky pits between the containers.Melanie Cubas, 23, drove two hours from Gainesville to check out the park she saw on Facebook.“I want to see some snow,” she said, while waiting to enter the park. She said she was most excited to see her 1-year-old son, Jay Nubin, play there.“I liked that he was able to go,” she said after taking her son down the slide.Ellen Benedict, 16, of Crystal River came to the park with her family, wearing an Olaf onesie from the character in Disney’s Frozen and an Up face mask. When Benedict heard about the park opening, she thought it was a crazy idea. Still she was excited.After going down the hill a few times, Benedict was pleasantly surprised.“It was actually better than I thought,” she said.