13 yrs old dd doesn't think Vegas is for kids!

[SandraC]

Hi All ~ My 13 year old daughter thinks she'll be bored in Las Vegas. Can you please post all the awesome things for kids to do! I also have a 7 year old son. Thanks! Sandra

 

[jemilah]

Oh my , it may take a while, try vegaskids.com for ideas I may forget about. There is Circus circus rides and games , sigfried and Roys secret garden at the mirage , home of the white tigers and dolphin habitat. Shark reef at the Mandaley Bay. Madam Tussouds, I am sure I spelled that wrong, wax museam at the Venetian. Lance Burton has a great show for families , we saw it in December and he is great with kids! Roller coaster at the sahara and New York , New York. Lake Mead , but I don't advise swimming there , my sons went in last summer and one came down with PARASITES , and red rock has hiking and Bonnie Springs with a petting zoo and wild west town. Was that enough? Hope I was helpful!

 

[Judy from Boise]

Hey just for you I "stuck" our great thread on fab activities in LV. Happy reading!

 

[tracys2cents]

Don't miss the lion cubs at the MGM! The 7 year old will like the Natural History Museum, dinosaur exhibit!

 

[KayR]

Check out a show...

Blue Man Group / Cirque du Soleil are my favorites.

New York New York has the Coney Island area. MGM Grand has a games machine area. Indoor Sky diving, Go Karting, watch the fountains at Bellagio, treat her to a spa experience, ...just a few suggestions.

 

[Disney owl]

Just got back from Vegas & i agree with your DD that Vegas isn't for kids. We saw lots of bored & tired kids being dragged around by parents. IMHO

 

[hydster]

We do Vegas a LOT since we have a 45 min flight or 5 1/2-6 hr drive. I do have to somewhat agree with your child that Vegas isn't really for kids. Our kids like it for an hour or two but really get bored....now mom and dad...never! Here are a few suggestions I can come up with for you and your kids. I have a 13, 12 and 8 yr old

Bellagio ~ The fountains of course and if your kids like art at all the art museum is really great there as well. Don't know when you are going but now they are featuring the works of Ansel Adams. The Art Museum is an extra cost.

Caesars ~ The fountain and aquarium shows and the exotic cars *both free*

Circus Circus ~ The indoor circus of course *might be too young for your 13*
Adventuredome *fee*

Flamingo Hilton ~ Wildlife habitat *free*

LV Hilton ~ Star Trek many things there for a cost.

Luxor ~ Imax theatre, motion rides, King Tut's Tomb *fee*

Mandalay Bay ~ Shark Reef *fee*

MGM Grand ~ Lion Habitat and CBS TV Research Center*free*

Mirage ~ Volcano *free*, Tiger Habitat *free*, Dolphin and Secret Garden *Fee*

NYNY ~ Roller Coaster *fee* Coney Island themed arcade area *fee*

Paris ~ Eiffel Tower *fee*

Rio ~ Masquerade Village * free to watch..fee to participate*

Sahara ~ Speedway and Speed the ride *fee*

Showcase Mall ~ M&M world

Stratosphere ~ Rides on top of it all for a fee

Treasure Island ~ Sirens of TI *getting more raunchy but it's free*

Tropicana ~ Titanic Artifact Exhibit *Fee*

Venetian ~ Madame Tussauds Wax Museum *fee*, Guggenheim Art Gallery *fee* They are closed for 5 weeks starting 2-18 to get ready for next exhibit but I don't know what that will be. The Gondola's *fee*, LV Preview Studios *free*.

Otherwise depending on when you go and where you are planning on staying the pools are an option. Most of them have great pools.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Well, we went for a few hours with my kids before and after we drove out. They told me that "next time" they wanted to get to spend more time in Vegas.
We did Bellagio fountains, drove up and down the strip, did the downtown Freemont exhibit. They were twirling around taking it all in. They wanted to see "more more more". They loved all the lights and excitement. They wanted to see and do so much.
And, honestly, my kids would have fun in Vegas if all we had was a "neat pool", their number one requirement.
With your DD being 13 and DS 7, I'd be surprised if they'd be truly bored, as long as you planned family time to go and do things. When I was a teen, I went to Vegas with my family a few times, and I have to admit I was bored silly, but the adults in my party were more focused on gambling than they were at keeping me entertained. When they did take me out and about, I did find a bunch of things to interest me. Plus, there's now tons more stuff to see and do, in my opinion.

 

[Jigsaw]

i havnt been there in years!
but when I was younger I had fun...im not sure all what they have now but when I went they had the M&M store, Circus Circus, the white tigers (i forgot which place they are at), and they have that Wet and Wild water park

 

[Claire L]

i havnt been there in years!
but when I was younger I had fun...im not sure all what they have now but when I went they had the M&M store, Circus Circus, the white tigers (i forgot which place they are at), and they have that Wet and Wild water park

Wet and Wild closed a few years back but to be honest most of the hotels have nice pools anyway.

Claire

 

[queenarmadillo]

Unless you have a specific reason for wanting to be in vegas with your kids, then I wouldn't bother. Yes there are some kid friendly activities (as listed above) BUT your kids would probably get far more out of a trip to the zoo than the all the Vegas habitat experiences put together. If you take them to any kind of theme park for a day they will get far more rides / simulators than there are in vegas. My point is essentially that in vegas you will by trying to fill an entire vacation with such a small amount of activiites that if you went to a theme park for a daytrip and that was all they had, you would be disappointed.

The second point is: Vegas is about gambling. Its in your face all the time, and kids will want to watch (no loitering on the casino floor under 21) or join in. To go to vegas and not be allowed to participate in that would be like going to WDW and not being allowed in the Magic Kingdom. The other parks are fun, but youre missing out on the key thing.

Circus Circus was the only hotel where I saw any number of kids at all, and most of them looked bored.

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

I gotta agree with the 13/yo, while the resorts have tried to come up with some kid activities to placate the parents minds, the whole atmosphere (especially outside on the streets) is adult.

 

[chalee94]

i'd agree that you have a sharp 13 year old. maybe a few years back vegas was trying to market to families but now...not so much...

(BTW, check and make sure your resort has a nice pool if that is a factor, as many do not.)

 

[ticktock]

I gotta agree with the 13/yo, while the resorts have tried to come up with some kid activities to placate the parents minds, the whole atmosphere (especially outside on the streets) is adult.

I never understood why people take their kids there.

 

[grumpy.uncle]

It's not called Sin City for nothing. Vegas is an adult oriented amusement park. It is not suitable for children. Don't kid yourself into believing that you are going their for your kids. It's for you to have fun, not the kids. Not to mention, the weather is beastly. Unless you are inside in an air conditioned atmosphere, it really is too hot for comfort. After my last trip to Vegas where I witnessed oblivious parents w/ their children walking down sidewalks littered w/ massage and escort brochures, I felt so sorry for those kids. Unless you are planning on spending your entire vacation doing kid-friendly things w/them, I would choose another vacation local. Vegas is built around adult vices. Your children will have plenty of time to be exposed to that once they become adults and can choose whether they want to be exposed to it or not.

 

[lovevacations]

Well your kids could collect stripper cards from the people passing them out EVERYWHERE up and down the strip. There is NOTHING kid friendly about Vegas! But, I'm sure your mind is made up and you are going. In the end it will be fine, but your children may have some memories you wish they didn't!!

 

[dwelty]

Just got back from Vegas & i agree with your DD that Vegas isn't for kids. We saw lots of bored & tired kids being dragged around by parents. IMHO

I agree, Vegas is not for kids. Between the drunk people walking the streets and the soft porn handed out and strewn about the streets, I would never take my daughter there.

 

[NJBlackBerry]

Well your kids could collect stripper cards from the people passing them out EVERYWHERE up and down the strip. There is NOTHING kid friendly about Vegas! But, I'm sure your mind is made up and you are going. In the end it will be fine, but your children may have some memories you wish they didn't!!

Yes, DS10 (at the time) got quite the education. They tried to market Vegas as Family Friendly, but it was a joke. They gave up on it. Your daughter is smart. Vegas is not for kids. Not even close.

Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Except STDs...

 

[WDW_Paul]

Well, your 13 year old daughter is pretty much correct. There may be things for kids to do but it doesn't mean Las Vegas is a good place FOR KIDS. If you plan on gambling and having a couple of drinks, which I assume you are, I would hope you're not going to send the 13 and 7 year old out to find the roller coaster or something. They won't be allowed to just stand around in the casino.

If you are going to Vegas and taking the kids, you can't get mad at 'em if they start whining that they're bored or don't have anything to do. Just plan several family activities (I recommend the dolphin pool at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden or whatever it's called. They can pet dolphins. There are arcades at Luxor, NYNY, Excalibur, Circus-Circus and Circus Circus has the indoor amusement park, which is really not bad. It's not huge, though. NYNY has the Manhattan Express Roller coaster.
Tropicana has a nice pool area, if you stay there. Mandalay Bay is real fancy. Flamingo has a nice pool area. We got married there Aug of 2004.

You should eat at the now-Planet Hollywood Spice Market Buffet. I will only tell you once.

If you think the kids are daredevils, you could go up to the top of the Stratosphere tower and check out the view from up there.

Paul

 

[Mickeys_n_me]

I can see where people got confused. For a SHORT time Vegas tried to appeal to families, hoping that would increase the vaccationers. But when it failed miserably they went back to appealing to 20 somethings and the "What happens in vegas, stays in vegas" motto.

Yes, there is still some existing things for younger kids. Circus Circus, the roller coaster at NY,NY. The rides on top of the Stratisphere. But it is definatly NOT a kid friendly place to be, you need to walk through people drinking on the street, promoters handing out coupons for strip clubs and everything else you will find not appropriate for the under 18 crowd. Even Treasure Island changed their Pirate Show to a more risque type of show with bikini clad "Pirates".

The things you can do with a child is equal to a days worth of entertainment.