Grand Canyon/Las Vegas info , please!

[Claudia1]

I am trying to put together a vacation for our family of 5 (2 adults, a 17 yr old, a 11 yr old, and a 2 yr old) to see the Grand Canyon. We would also looooooove to see "O" at the Bellagio. We have been spoiled by WDW resorts and would like to have comparable lodging. Our family also likes to have things to do, not just sit around the pool all day, and it would be easiest for the toddler to stay in one place all of the trip.

I need help with putting together a package.

I've searched on the internet for hours and hours to find a combo that will suit us. I don't seem to find a really nice hotel near the Grand Canyon. The GC Squire Inn seems to be the best but there is not much around it. Vegas certainly has tons to offer but we don't want our kids to be smacked in the face with the adult atmosphere. (I know that some say Vegas is for kids but I don't entirely believe it.)

I'm thinking that 2 rooms at CircusCircus might be a compromise. We can keep the kids in a kid-friendly atmosphere for most of the time. While the hotel may not be the best in Vegas, it may be the best value for my family. We could easily get to "O" and also take a day trip or two to the Grand Canyon area.

What else am I missing? Any other places to stay that would be good? What else is there to do that could include a toddler?

We want to go around July 29th or 30th.

Ideas, please!

 

[mommytotwo]

How about the Excalibur hotel?

As for activities to do with your kids-
*Tournament of Kinds at the Excalibur. They have a dinner show set in a jousting arena of the Medival Period.

*Wet n'Wild Water Park

*NASCAR Cafe at Sahara

 

[my3kids]

At the Grand Canyon, there are no true deluxe accomodations. El Tovar, the old, historic Grand Canyon hotel is considered their flagship. While the building is beautiful, and you can not beat the location, views, and restaurant, the actual rooms are antiquated and decorated in what looks like leftover surplus furniture. But, I'd stay there again because you absolutley can't beat walking out your door and being right on the rim trail.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by Claudia1
.....(I know that some say Vegas is for kids but I don't entirely believe it.)...

So very true, Claudia, and even less in the past couple years as the 'kid/family friendly experiment' seemed to fall flat on profitability. It is most definitely adult. It is spectacular, no doubt about it, impressive, but not to kid friendly. Hoover Dam is a nice side trip for a half day. And yes, -O- is all is it said to be, a great Cirque show, as is Mystere. The Forum is nice also, at Caesar's. Enjoy.

 

[Dizkneenurse]

Be prepared for a long drive..it is about 4 hours between Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Dh and I did the trip about 3 years ago.

We really shoud have stayed by the Grand Canyon...didn't get back to Vegas till 3am!

I think the Lied Children's museum is suppose to be wonderful in Vegas. You can do a search for it.

I suggest you look into the Flamingo on the strip..very reasonable and SUPER pool area..almost like Disney kinda pool. It is just a much nicer part of the strip to be on. It is right in the center of the strip.

While I feel that I would not take my kids to Vegas (cuz it is really not a "kid" place by any means) I know many people who have and have had no problem.

Just be aware..don't let the kids take any handbills of the street as they push them at you..they are naked pic of escorts. And the "porn slappers" are out at all times of the day! Yikes, so anoying!

The Bellagio does not allow any children in the hotel ( unless the parents are staying there) and they were really strict on this last time I was there. They say "no stollers" at all! Just an FYI!



The little town outside the Grand Canyon South rim entrance is called Tusayana..there is really NOTHING around there. A few hotels and even fewer resturants.
However, go to see the IMAX grand canyon movie in town..it is really AWESOME! I was just there last year!

If you want any more info you can PM me!

heidi

 

[Kitty 34]

When we went to Vegas we stayed at the Monte Carlo. I would highly recommend this hotel. It's smaller and easier to navigate thru esp with your 2 yr old. The pool area is very nice with a small wave pool and an awesome lazy river. There's a Food court of sorts for differeing tastes, Szbaros to McD's.

Gameworks is right across the street which was a lot of fun for my boys.

New York NewYork is right next door and there is a roller coaster there.

Excalibur is on the other side of NYNY which has a huge arcade.

We didn't go to the Grand Canyon so I can't help you out there.

 

[jel0511]

As noted Bellatio doesn't allow any children into their hotel unless you're staying there. Also, O has a rule that no children under the age of 5 are allowed in the showroom. When we stayed at Bellagio in February, we saw many families turned away at the doors by security. Circus Circus is a great family hotel, but don't expect Disney standard here. The rooms are old, worn and basically icky, IMO. The best family resorts IMO are MGM Grand and Luxor. They're both family friendly and located on the strip. As noted, it's a long drive from the Grand Canyon to Vegas, and that's from the North Rim. The more know and photographed rim is the South Rim, which is even a farther drive from Vegas.

Edited to add: Here is the restrictions on people under the age of 18 from Bellagio's website.

You must be 18 years of age or a registered hotel guest to enter Bellagio.

The following exceptions apply to minors who are at least 5 years of age and accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age:

Restaurant reservations for Aqua, Circo, Jasmine, Le Cirque, Picasso, Shintaro or Prime
Attending a wedding in our Wedding Chapels
Attending a convention function
Attending a performance of "O"
Gallery of Fine Art
Children of hotel guests and non-hotel guests are allowed if accompanied by an adult. Non-hotel guests with children must have their tickets in hand prior to arriving to Bellagio.
Visiting a Via Bellagio shop by appointment only.

Strollers allowed for hotel guests only.

 

[Claudia1]

I just read that "O" does not allow kids 5 and under. That torpedos our main reason for the Vegas connection!

Ok, change of question.

If you were to suggest a vacation plan for the Grand Canyon (we would be willing to take an short airplane trip to get there there), where would you suggest to stay? Somewhere in Arizona? Any great place there that would be more than golf or tennis or a spa? What else can we reasonably do in a week that would not be too hectic for a toddler, too much travel time to get there, and still leave some pool time at a resort.

I've been pouring over the AZ travel websites but don't have a good/accurate understanding of proximities or family-friendly resorts.

As for the resort, scenery is great but not a top priority. My family will appreciate the view for a while but play and fun top the list.

(We are trying to come up with a vacation that will encompass all that we love about Disney. Not much luck so far!)

 

[Claudia1]

Thanks, jel0511. Looks like we were posting at the same time!

 

[mickeyfan1]

DH was in Vegas 2 weeks ago on business. He stayed at the MGM Grand and said it was overrun with families, lots of kids in strollers, and all over the casino, which is a big no no. And smoking is allowed all over, watch out for the cigarettes in the adults hands, they might not see a little one.

Honestly, I don't see Vegas as a place to take kids. Go to Phoenix and stay at a resort with a water park pool, Drive up to the Grand Canyon and stay overnight. It is a 5 hour drive or so, but again, Vegas is really not a place I would ever bring a child. I think I would be OK with my DS (27) but younger than 17 or so, I wouldn't do it.

 

[Gaspode]

Claudia1 - Looks like you may be kicking the Vegas idea which I certainly think is a good thing to do, esp. since you have such a young child, Vegas is **not** a place for kids, in my opinion anyways, esp because of what Dizkneenurse said - the amount of porn, at any time of day or night, that you come 'face-to-face' with from pushers on the street is dreadful - that, and us being robbed (a whole other story) is the main reason my DBF and I will never return there out of necessity.

If you do go however, don't stay at the Stratosphere, not only a dull hotel (esp. compared to the others!) but totally at the wrong end of the strip.

I'm with mickeyfan1, go to Phoenix, or Scottsdale, much nicer places

The Grand Canyon is amazing, enjoy your time there!
Gaspode

 

[Dan Murphy]

I always say the highlight of any necessary Vegas trip for me is the ride to the airport to leave, LOL. As mentioned several times already, the 'porn slappers' (good term, Heidi) are nauseatingly every step of the way (no exaggerating) as you try to navigate the strip. It is truly amazing. The few times I have been there I can't wait to get out of there.

 

[hercamore]

Not to be a downer here, but be prepaared for the incredible heat in that area in midsummer, the driving distances are long between attractions and cities. The scenery is incredibly beautiful to make up for both of those negatives.

We have taken month long camping trips out west in the summer, and I have to says the heat in Las Vegas was worse than any other part of the country we've been in. It's like a wall that hits you.

herc.

 

[Bumbles]

If you're used to quality WDW hotels, Circus Circus will come across as a bit of a dump..and quite frankly, Excalibur's not that much better

If I had kids, I'd stay at the Mirage

 

[my3kids]

I LOVE Phoenix/Scottsdale. I find it easy to navigate and even the heat in the summer was not a problem. We're used to muggy east coast heat, so even 100+ was refreshing to us! We have stayed at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and loved it. Plenty of pools and a little pond where the kids can even fish. We also love the Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch. Again, lots of pools, beautiful landscaping and family friendly. A third place is The Arizona Biltmore. We saw lots of kids there as well. Pools are scattered around the resort and they have life size checkers and chess as well as a mini putting course on site.

I would not go to Las Vegas with children. A neighbor went recently with children so they could enjoy all the larger than life decor. They hated it. It was not family friendly. To see hotels there was an incredible amount of walking. The pool at the hotel was a nightmare, they reported. It opened at 7 am and well beofre that time there would be a line of people waiting to get into the pool. Once t opened it was so crowded they never were able to actually get in.

Sedona is a few hours closer to the Grand Canyon than Phoenix/Scottsdale. Amazing scenery, a natural rock waterslide, great hiking, and not as hot as Phoenix in the summer. There are indian ruins and small western/historic/gunfight kind of towns that school age kids would enjoy.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

Here's a website a friend (who lives just outside Las Vegas with 2 little kids) gave me:

http://www.lasvegaskids.com/

I went to Vegas about 7 years ago (I was 18) and loved it. At the time, I would definitely have brought a child. I heard it's changing into more of an adult atmosphere though.

 

[dizagain]

Hi - my famiily had an early July Grand Canyon trip planned, but we had to move it to Thanksgiving. We originally looked into the Las Vegas thing, but I just couldn't find anything worthwhile for the kids. DH just got back from his first business trip there and said "no way" to the kids going there - mainly for the porn influence EVERYWHERE.

Anyway, our plan is to stay at first in Williams, about 45 minutes away from Southern Rim. We're taking a train to the Grand Canyon and then staying overnight there. I, too, am concerned about rustic lodging, but that's the only choice it seems! My girls have never been on a train (neither have I), so I think that will be kind of neat. It's called the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, AZ.
I think we'll go home through Carlsbad, NM and see the caverns and the bats.

Good luck planning and have a great trip! I'd love to hear about it since we're going later now!

 

[Bumbles]

dizagain..I did that and stayed at the Fray Marcos......I thought it was a great place for kids.

We found the accomodations to be fairly basic, but comfy enough. And the staff was very nice to boot

 

[CEDmom]

We just got back from Vegas. We were there for a family reunion and had DD with us. We stayed at The Flamingo and had a good time. I do agree that it's not really a family place although there are fun things and free things to do with children. We didn't worry much about DD seeing things because we knew we wouldn't be out late with her and she's too young to pick up on most of the undesireable stuff.

I really would recommend The Flamingo. It's right in the middle of the strip and was very easy to get to all kinds of things. Our room was very nice. The Bellagio is right across the street. The hotel has a great pool complex and although I'm not much for sitting around the pool I actually really enjoyed it.

We were going to do the Grand Canyon as well but decided against it due to the long drive. There is a much smaller canyon (Red Rock) just outside Vegas as well as Hoover Dam. You can actually rent bike and ride out to Red Rock Canyon.

 

[Dizkneenurse]

Also Zion National Park in Utah is only about 2.5 hours away...just breath-taking there!

Just another thought..if you don't want to drive to the Grand

Have a fabulous vacation where ever you choose!

heidi