Ideas or tips for our family visit to Vegas?

[MemoriesintheMaking]

Hello

We are going to be in Vegas for 2-3 days for a business conference for DH. We are working the Vegas stop into a road trip that will also include the California coast and Disneyland.

My DH has been to Las Vegas a couple of times previously for work, but I have never been, so I am trying to collect info on things to do with the kids while we are there. Are shows like Love appropriate for kids? My kids love the Beatles. I don't want to take them around any of the flat-out craziness, but would love ideas on either what to avoid or what to plan on. I'm at a loss!

We're planning on staying off the strip, at the Staybridge Suites, which has a basic pool, and hopefully will be a relatively calm place to stay.

Any recommendations for family-friendly restaurants we shouldn't miss?

Since we will have a car, are there any easy-to-find nearby state parks the kids would enjoy? We will be there in the spring, the first week of May.

We are excited to see Las Vegas, but hoping for the kids to not *see* too much of it...

Any tips or suggestions would be wonderful...Thank you!!

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Vegas is really, really wild on the weekends so if it's a weekday conference most of those worries should be tempered somewhat.

Love is a GREAT, FANTASTIC show. My daughter, now in college absolutely loves it!

Other fam friendly things, Hoover Damn is breathtaking. Horseback riding the local mountains is really fun. The coasters and whatnot at the top of the Stratosphere are well received if you're a daredevil family.

Though you didn't ask, seriously consider the Hearst Castle tours while on the central California coast.

 

[low-key]

I think there should be a special place in Heaven for any parent who lives thru taking there kids to Vegas, it could be a pain in the butt

 

[MemoriesintheMaking]

Vegas is really, really wild on the weekends so if it's a weekday conference most of those worries should be tempered somewhat.

Love is a GREAT, FANTASTIC show. My daughter, now in college absolutely loves it!

Other fam friendly things, Hoover Damn is breathtaking. Horseback riding the local mountains is really fun. The coasters and whatnot at the top of the Stratosphere are well received if you're a daredevil family.

Though you didn't ask, seriously consider the Hearst Castle tours while on the central California coast.

We will be there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning. If we go see a show, maybe we will plan on that for Thursday evening, before the weekend hits. Love really looks great, and I think we would all enjoy it.

I completely forgot about the Hoover Dam... That would be cool to see.

I was just reading about Hearst Castle yesterday, and I am definitely planning a stop there. It looks amazing!

Thanks!!

I think there should be a special place in Heaven for any parent who lives thru taking there kids to Vegas, it could be a pain in the butt

Ha! I know, I know...Oh well, we'll make the best of it and have Disneyland to look forward to.

 

[Judy from Boise]

For family fun restaurants I would plan on walking through NYNY, they have little restaurants in their themed city area, also Excalibur has a family friendly dinner show, MGM has a Rainforest Cafe.

 

[bcla]

OK - a little bit late to the show but...

Frankly most of the buffets are extremely kid friendly. The exception would be the entirety of the Bellagio. They have policies that children under five aren't allowed at all and children under 18 aren't allowed except for dinner reservations and a few other places (weddings, show) unless parents are hotel guests. I understand that enforcement is spotty, but I just wanted to put it out there. Their buffets don't have child pricing, and theoretically only kids of hotel guests would be allowed.

http://www.bellagio.com/under21policy/

Under 21 Policy - Bellagio

You must be 21 years of age to enter the Bellagio casino or any gaming areas.
Guests must be at least 21 years of age to gamble in the resort.
You must be at least 18 years of age or a registered hotel guest to enter the Bellagio resort.

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 Circo, FIX, Jasmine, Le Cirque, Michael Mina, Picasso, Prime, Sensi or Yellowtail
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 are allowed for hotel guests only.

As for state parks:

http://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park/

Of course there is the dolphin and big cats place at the Mirage. That's extremely kid friendly, although the prices are steep. It costs more than going to a zoo. However, the dolphin areas are stellar. Anyone can get really close to the edge, and it's not like the majority of aquatic animal parks where you're at a further distance. I took our kid who is still under three, but I'm thinking it can get pretty pricey if the entire family goes along. They do have special admission packages where you can get something like three attractions for one price.

http://www.mirage.com/attractions/secret-garden.aspx
http://www.miragehabitat.com

The other thing is to avoid the timeshare pitches like the plague. Our "90 minute presentation" turned into more like four hours after the transportation, stalling by the salesman, secondary pitch by the closer, stalling yet again by the closer, final receipt of the gifts, and wait while the bus filled up (and transfer to yet another bus). Overall I think I'd rather have paid double for our tickets and had the four hours back. I think I lost a little bit of my soul there too.

 

[jetskigrl]

I took my two kids (9 and 14) for a weekend trip to see Elton John. While we were there, we went to the Secret Garden at the Mirage (both kids really enjoyed being up close to the dolphins and seeing the tigers). Then the next day we went to the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor. My DS loves Titanic history so it was primarily for him, but all three of us ended up really enjoying it.

Other than that, the kids enjoyed seeing the Fountains at the Bellagio and just walking through the lobbys of the hotels to see the themes, going to the M&M store, etc. We did go Downtown one night but they did not care for it...it was a bit too crazy for them on a Friday night. We stayed to see the show and then left.

I probably wouldn't have taken my kids to Vegas at this age but they have both been raised listening to Elton John music and I wanted them to see him up close and personal. And the Vegas venue is perfect for that
It was made even more special when DD and I receive a high-five from Elton and DS received a handshake from him and a drumstick from the percussionist.

 

[MemoriesintheMaking]

For family fun restaurants I would plan on walking through NYNY, they have little restaurants in their themed city area, also Excalibur has a family friendly dinner show, MGM has a Rainforest Cafe.

Thank you - I think we're now staying nearby NYNY, so we will definitely check out that area.

OK - a little bit late to the show but...

Frankly most of the buffets are extremely kid friendly. The exception would be the entirety of the Bellagio. They have policies that children under five aren't allowed at all and children under 18 aren't allowed except for dinner reservations and a few other places (weddings, show) unless parents are hotel guests. I understand that enforcement is spotty, but I just wanted to put it out there. Their buffets don't have child pricing, and theoretically only kids of hotel guests would be allowed.

http://www.bellagio.com/under21policy/



As for state parks:

http://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park/

Of course there is the dolphin and big cats place at the Mirage. That's extremely kid friendly, although the prices are steep. It costs more than going to a zoo. However, the dolphin areas are stellar. Anyone can get really close to the edge, and it's not like the majority of aquatic animal parks where you're at a further distance. I took our kid who is still under three, but I'm thinking it can get pretty pricey if the entire family goes along. They do have special admission packages where you can get something like three attractions for one price.

http://www.mirage.com/attractions/secret-garden.aspx
http://www.miragehabitat.com

The other thing is to avoid the timeshare pitches like the plague. Our "90 minute presentation" turned into more like four hours after the transportation, stalling by the salesman, secondary pitch by the closer, stalling yet again by the closer, final receipt of the gifts, and wait while the bus filled up (and transfer to yet another bus). Overall I think I'd rather have paid double for our tickets and had the four hours back. I think I lost a little bit of my soul there too.

Oh, the thought of timeshare presentations gives me hives. I can't stand sales pitches. We'll definitely avoid those!

The dolphins sound really neat. I'll keep it on the possibilities list. I also appreciate the heads up on the Bellagio's kid policy. Thank you for all of the info!

I took my two kids (9 and 14) for a weekend trip to see Elton John. While we were there, we went to the Secret Garden at the Mirage (both kids really enjoyed being up close to the dolphins and seeing the tigers). Then the next day we went to the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor. My DS loves Titanic history so it was primarily for him, but all three of us ended up really enjoying it.

Other than that, the kids enjoyed seeing the Fountains at the Bellagio and just walking through the lobbys of the hotels to see the themes, going to the M&M store, etc. We did go Downtown one night but they did not care for it...it was a bit too crazy for them on a Friday night. We stayed to see the show and then left.

I probably wouldn't have taken my kids to Vegas at this age but they have both been raised listening to Elton John music and I wanted them to see him up close and personal. And the Vegas venue is perfect for that
It was made even more special when DD and I receive a high-five from Elton and DS received a handshake from him and a drumstick from the percussionist.

Wow, what a special memory for your kids! That sounds amazing!
The M&M store is on the short list, for sure! We are looking forward to seeing the Bellagio fountain, and just seeing the different themes in the hotels. Thanks for the tips!

 

[jetskigrl]

Thank you - I think we're now staying nearby NYNY, so we will definitely check out that area.



Oh, the thought of timeshare presentations gives me hives. I can't stand sales pitches. We'll definitely avoid those!

The dolphins sound really neat. I'll keep it on the possibilities list. I also appreciate the heads up on the Bellagio's kid policy. Thank you for all of the info!



Wow, what a special memory for your kids! That sounds amazing!
The M&M store is on the short list, for sure! We are looking forward to seeing the Bellagio fountain, and just seeing the different themes in the hotels. Thanks for the tips!

Thanks It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us (I can't afford to buy seats up front again anytime soon )

If you end up in NYNY during the evening, there is a great dueling piano bar right near all the food places. I know a lot of people that work there so we are in there all the time. But my kids wanted to see it too and while they couldn't go inside, it was fun to grab pizza and sit at one of the tables right across from there so they could listen to the music.

I hope you enjoy your trip!! I'm headed back to Vegas next week for my mom's getaway (with my Mom and sister). I can't wait

 

[bcla]

Thanks It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us (I can't afford to buy seats up front again anytime soon )

If you end up in NYNY during the evening, there is a great dueling piano bar right near all the food places. I know a lot of people that work there so we are in there all the time. But my kids wanted to see it too and while they couldn't go inside, it was fun to grab pizza and sit at one of the tables right across from there so they could listen to the music.

I hope you enjoy your trip!! I'm headed back to Vegas next week for my mom's getaway (with my Mom and sister). I can't wait

They have one of those at Paris. I know the place is kitchy (we are talking about Las Vegas) but kids might enjoy the theme park take on France.

http://www.parislasvegas.com/shows/napoleans-dueling-piano-lounge.html

 

[jlima]

If you have enough time, you may want to consider a raft trip on the Colorado river rather than a Hoover Dam tour. Since you will have a car, you can drive to the Hacienda hotel in Boulder City; and you ride a shuttle bus to the raft launch site which is just below the dam. At the end of the trip, their buses bring you back to the Hacienda. You would meet at the Hacienda hotel at 9:30; and the raft trip starts about 10:00. It's about a four hour float trip. They stop for a box lunch (turkey sandwich, apple, cookie, chips) on a sand bar; and it's about a 30 minute bus ride from Willow Beach in Arizona back to the Hacienda Hotel. You would be back at your hotel in Vegas by about 4pm. My kids LOVED it and so did DH. We saw big horn sheep and bald eagles. and it was well worth the price! Have fun planning your trip!

http://blackcanyonadventures.com/raft-tours/