Las Vegas

Freyja

<font color=red>Formerly known as Sleepless in Den
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
We´re thinking of going to Las Vegas for approx. 3 nights during our april visit to Disneyland.

We are 2 adults and 4 kids. Any recomendations for places to stay, things to do/see etc?

Thanks
Freyja
 
A place to eat....whoa...lots of places to eat but I highly recommend Ellis Island. It's a small local casino on Koval Road (behind Ballys). There's a Super 8 motel attached to it. The restaurant inside is amazingly good and cheap. You can get a complete steak dinner (salad/soup, steak with potato and vegetables) for $4.99. Just ask for the steak special.

There is a website that has the top 10 Las Vegas values:
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/topten.cfm?CFID=1683&CFTOKEN=19465412
 
I live in Vegas so here are some ideas .............the pools at the Tropicana and Mandalay bay are great i am not sure about there rates . Circus Circus has games and a small theme park. There are many malls here and movie theaters. Many casinos have shopping in them such as Ceaser's palace the Alladin and the Venitian , all alot of fun. Red rock canyon is very pretty and Bonnie springs has a great petting zoo and old west town , maybe 20 minutes from the strip.
Buffets are great here stay away from Circus circus and excalibur cheap but not very good.
Stations casins have great ones. there are about 5 different ones all over town.
Lake mead is also nice but not great for swimming there are alot of rocks. But there is a marina where you can feed the fish popcorn or bread and the fish just about jump out of the water at you!
Let me know if you have more questions!
 
Wow, that´s great info. Thanks a lot. I´ll check into all of these and then see if I come up with any more questions.

Thanks again
Freyja
 


If you like Star Trek at all you must go the Hilton and do their two "experiences". See the Bellagio fountains and walk through their conservatory, see the mirage volcano and the TI "sirens show", At the MGM we look at the lions and eat at the Rainforest cafe.My DD and I can spend the day at the Ceasers shops, see the "god show" and eat at the Cheesecake factory.I think the best buffet is at the Alladin. We like to stay at the Tropicana because we like the location and pool. My second favorite is the Mirage for the same reasons.Actually the Mirage would be my first choice except it is more expensive.We also will start staying at the Hilton now that the monorail makes it so convienent.
 
I forgot one other great hing to do with kids , Sigfried and Roys secret garden at the Mirage , they have white tigers and dolphins and other animals there . It is a great thing for kids and educational. Also for free there are flamingos and penguins at the Flamingo Hilton !
 
Are the attractions at the hotels usually free for guests? How expensive are a few days in Vegas? Since we are travelling with 4 kids, we seem to need 2 rooms. Most hotels seem to be willing only to accomodate 4 people in 1 room. I´m trying to put a budget together, although finding it hard since I have no idea how much we will be spending there.

What´s the MGM Grand like? It seems to get mixed reviews. I´m looking for some really fun place to stay, especially for the kids, without spending a fortune.

Thanks again everyone.
 


Circus Circus and Excalibur are the best kid-themed hotels. In April, I recommend trying the Monte Carlo, since they have one of only two wave pools in town. Excalibur and Monte Carlo are well located, so you won't drive anywhere. Circus Circus is set off to one end of the Strip.

Don't miss the Fremont Street Experience one night. Free laser light shows in the street every hour.

Attractions (roller coasters, etc) are pretty expensive. Ride at DL instead.

Go to the top of the Stratosphere for the view. Try to time it for dusk---it's amazing.

If you have a car, go to Palace Station for a dinner buffet. Extremely cheap and excellent quality food.

Go to the Rio for the free Fantasy in the Sky shows.

Drive to any of the following, all within an hour of the Strip: Hoover Dam, Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park. All are walking/hiking events. BRING WATER!

Any other questions, let us know!
 
Let me add that while Circus Circus may seemed themed towards kids it's one of the worse icky hotels on the strip. It shows its age and tackyness. NEVER eat at the buffet there...the buffet should be condemend. . Ironically, it has one of the best steak restaurants in town though. So...maybe you can stay close by but not actually stay in it.

Any of the hotels on the strip can be pricey if you're attending at the same time as a major convention. When are you planning on going?

I've never stayed at MGM but it's huge and massive and a lot of people, I think, complain about how far they have to walk to get anywhere.

I'll have to defer to those who've been there with kids to comment more on the kid angle. LOL
 
Another person here who thinks Circus Circus is scary !All of the attractions i mentioned are free except the Star Trek ones. Look into the Tropicana. If you stay in the old tower it can be really cheap ( like $29 a night at off times)The decor is bad hawaiian condo with Mirrors over the beds. So tacky it is kind of fun. But , they have a fabulous pool and a great coffee shop. They also have free acrobatic shows in the casino at night that are excellent.
 
Just remember Vegas is very polarizing.....people either love it or hate it, think it is a great place for kids, or would NEVER bring them........My DD and I like it a touch better than my DH just because we love the shopping.
 
Judy from Boise said:
Just remember Vegas is very polarizing....

I agree. DW and I both love Vegas.. OTOH, I don't think I'd take my kids there. A little too adult themed for my tastes. Just my opinion, of course.

Vic
 
On our kids (10 & 12 at the time) first trip to Disneyland two years ago, we decided to make a side trip to LV for 2 days on our way home. The kids were absolutely blown away by Disneyland - it was a magical experience for all of us. Maybe if we had gone to DL after LV, it would have been a little different, DL is a tough act to follow. We also chose to stay at the Main Street downtown to save some $$ - BIG mistake! Downtown is not the place for children. We did end up moving to the Luxor the next night, which was lot nicer...but in all honesty we all agreed that we could have done without this leg of the trip. I wish we had gone to places like the Mirage, or NY-NY, or any of the newer mega hotels. We instead went to Circus-Circus, Excalibur, and the Luxor thinking that they would enjoy it more since it's geared towards children. Excalibur was all right, they weren't impressed with the others though. Circus-Circus definitely needs some renovation.
I guess it all depends on your children - my kids are not the shopping type so that wasn't very interesting to them. On our last DL trip we visted Yosemite before going to DL, they loved it there. Either way, you're going to Disneyland, YAY! Have a great time. :wave2:
 
I´d love to stay at the Mirage if I can find decent rates for it. MGM Grand is also an option and so is the Mandalay Bay. I don´t think we´ll want to be staying at Circus Circus or the Excalibur. We definately want to feel a "tiny" bit of luxary without spending $300 a night per room.
 
I forgot to ask: How many days/nights do we need for Vegas? We had planned on 3 or 4, is that enough/ too long?
 
pxlbarrel said:
Let me add that while Circus Circus may seemed themed towards kids it's one of the worse icky hotels on the strip. It shows its age and tackyness. NEVER eat at the buffet there...the buffet should be condemend. . Ironically, it has one of the best steak restaurants in town though. So...maybe you can stay close by but not actually stay in it.
That's funny - every time I watch National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, I think of Circus Circus - you know, that scene where Eddie's asking for "some of the blue stuff" and "some of the yellow stuff".

Judy from Boise said:
Another person here who thinks Circus Circus is scary !All of the attractions i mentioned are free except the Star Trek ones. Look into the Tropicana. If you stay in the old tower it can be really cheap ( like $29 a night at off times)The decor is bad hawaiian condo with Mirrors over the beds. So tacky it is kind of fun.
On the other hand, some of those cheap rooms have balconies overlooking the pool...

Freyja said:
I´d love to stay at the Mirage if I can find decent rates for it. MGM Grand is also an option and so is the Mandalay Bay
Look here http://www.fatwallet.com/t/63/483868/ for some discount codes
 
I love the themed hotels--we've stayed at several and never had a bad experience. But I have to say, one of the best hotels we stayed at was Bally's. It's not themed, but it's a perfect location right in the center of the strip, next to Paris and across from Caesar's. It tends to be a LOT cheaper than some of the nearby hotels.

About ten years ago Las Vegas was being marketed as a family destination. Fortunately they've backed off that, because it's not a great place for kids. The smoke is unavoidable, most kids are fascinated by the casinos and (of course) aren't allowed to play in them, stripper ads and magazines are EVERYWHERE, and the few kid-oriented activities tend to be on the expensive side.

My husband and I really enjoy Las Vegas but we go there WITHOUT our kids. Our trips are usually 3-5 days. If you're a first timer you'll need at least that much time to see all the hotels and get a good feel for the city.

Paris and the Venetian are my favorites. The fountains at the Bellagio are not to be missed. The Monte Carlo smells fabulous (sounds weird, I know, but it's true!). Excalibur has some entertaining shows. Personally, I hate Circus Circus--it IS very well represented in "Vegas Vacation"--trashy and stinky. The rides at the top of the Stratosphere are VERY overrated.

On our last trip there (about two years ago) I found penny slots and sat my butt down for hours there while my husband was at a conference. Cheapest entertainment EVER. :thumbsup2

--Jennifer
 
We had three nights in Vegas with our girls aged 9 and 6 and we all loved it.

We spent an entire day walking down "the Strip" and still didn't see everything.

We saw the Bellaggio fountains, the lions in MGM, tigers in Mirage and Volcano and the Gondolas at Venice, and the only thing we paid for was lunch and a ride on the Gondola (but we could see it for free).

We found people promoting the "adult" entertainment stayed away from us, and only approached me (dad) when I strayed too far from them, so I don't think you should be too worried about this.

We used our second day to take a tour to the Grand Canyon - you can take all day bus trips (which are about $60 but require 12 hours on a bus) or fly/bus trips.

But our kids thought the best thing was the buffet at Bellaggio - they loved being able to choose dozens of things to eat, and to keep going back. We went at lunch (which is cheaper than dinner), but got there late and stayed until 3, so that filled us all up until well into the night.

(Lucy, 6, rated the buffet the second best thing she did in America after Disneyland!)

We stayed at Luxor - (the pyramid) but found it a bit shabby, and a bit too far away - it also had a pool that was not very kid friendly.

Read our trip report on our day in Las Vegas here - http://www.ballofdirt.com/entries/5333/36755.html

Or check out www.cheapovegas.com for reviews of hotels, buffets, pools and free things in Vegas.
 
LucyKate said:
Or check out www.cheapovegas.com for reviews of hotels, buffets, pools and free things in Vegas.

I love that site. It's such a funny site to read yet the reviews are spot on. If you ever need a laugh and also need to find some information about Vegas, that's the site to go to.

Read their review on the infamous Circus Circus buffet. hehehehe

Oh...while I'm warning people off various food, do not go to the Imperial Palace buffet (I lasted half a plate of breakfast --how do you wreck breakfast -- before running to the bathroom :blush: ). Do not eat the cheap hot dogs at the Holiday Inn Boardwalk (we called it a spam dog...we're not entirely sure what it was made of).

We loved the buffet at the Aladdin. We even had champagne brunch there (Sunday mornings).

If you have a car, I would encourage you to visit Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire state park. They're beautiful and the kids can look for petroglyphs (Valley of Fire)
 
No problem with the Holiday Inn Boardwalk - it's closed :) For good. It's being torn down to put in something called City Center.
 

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