Las Vagas and Children

[thmar]

Good Suggestion...Babe...Glad you loved my state!

 

[Judy from Boise]

I really like vegas too, and consider it fairly mild as far as "sin" goes. The people handing out escort service flyer usually don;t even bother if they see a family group.The flyers themselves are milder than the average Cosmo magazine cover.

I am going to bump a few threads for you.

 

[wilderness01]

Judy from Boise wrote:

The flyers themselves are milder than the average Cosmo magazine cover.

I don't know what Cosmo magazines you are seeing, but we were there a few months ago and many, many of the cards they were handing out were of topless women. My friend said he was going to collect them for his teenage son. Now that would be some trading card for him huh? This last time we went the "hookers in the casinos" weren't as noticeable as the time before. It was making me mad when they would come, sit at a table, not gamble and take up a space. Who would want to sit on that chair after the hook left? Not me, that is for sure!

That all said, we love Vegas and can't wait to go back. The "sin" doesn't bother us and we truly enjoy the city/gambling/shows. Have fun.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I wonder if they recently changed some city ordinance, because i have never seen nudity on the marketing materials. Also don't gamble( usually there with a minor LOL)....so can't speak to that!

 

[Zoemakes5]

I've gone to Vegas numerous times with kids and as a kid. I think there's a lot to do in Vegas, no matter what the age of your kids. There is a guidebook out there called Vegas with kids. You will see kids all over.
When we went to DL last time, we flew in and out of Vegas because the flight and car combo was about $800 cheaper than flying in and out of LA. On the way out, we drove through town and on the way back we went and did some visiting, and my kids, ages 4, 9, and 11 at the time begged to go back again and "just come here" (ie. Las Vegas.)
ESPN Zone is loads of fun for bigger kids. Each time we've gone to see the Freemont experience downtown there've been a lot of kids. Bellagio, always see kids. Honestly, I think there's lots to do.
You could take a Hoover Dam tour, a helicopter tour, or a show if you wanted to spend money.
You could go to see the tigers, Bellagio fountains, Freemont experience, play in the pool, and just walk up and down the strip with all the lights, for free.
For somewhere in between, you could go to Circus Circus, Excaliber, get funny pictures taken (like dressed up like medieval figures at Excaliber), see the lazer light show at Ceasars, see art exhibit at Bellagio, go in the gondolas, go to a 3D movie, drive out and see hoover dam, go to the outlet malls...the list goes on.
And, every fun type restaurant is available here....Hard Rock, Nascar cafe, harley davidson cafe, planet hollywood, rainforest cafe, house of blues, the list goes on.
I'd go for sure with the kids again, particularly if it's a couple to three days added on to your trip.

 

[thmar]

I've gone to Vegas numerous times with kids and as a kid. I think there's a lot to do in Vegas, no matter what the age of your kids. There is a guidebook out there called Vegas with kids. You will see kids all over.
When we went to DL last time, we flew in and out of Vegas because the flight and car combo was about $800 cheaper than flying in and out of LA. On the way out, we drove through town and on the way back we went and did some visiting, and my kids, ages 4, 9, and 11 at the time begged to go back again and "just come here" (ie. Las Vegas.)
ESPN Zone is loads of fun for bigger kids. Each time we've gone to see the Freemont experience downtown there've been a lot of kids. Bellagio, always see kids. Honestly, I think there's lots to do.
You could take a Hoover Dam tour, a helicopter tour, or a show if you wanted to spend money.
You could go to see the tigers, Bellagio fountains, Freemont experience, play in the pool, and just walk up and down the strip with all the lights, for free.
For somewhere in between, you could go to Circus Circus, Excaliber, get funny pictures taken (like dressed up like medieval figures at Excaliber), see the lazer light show at Ceasars, see art exhibit at Bellagio, go in the gondolas, go to a 3D movie, drive out and see hoover dam, go to the outlet malls...the list goes on.
And, every fun type restaurant is available here....Hard Rock, Nascar cafe, harley davidson cafe, planet hollywood, rainforest cafe, house of blues, the list goes on.
I'd go for sure with the kids again, particularly if it's a couple to three days added on to your trip.

 

[woody73]

. . . I wonder if they recently changed some city ordinance, because i have never seen nudity on the marketing materials.

We visit L.V. regularly. In the evenings, you cannot walk a block on The Strip without six guys trying to hand you a card with a topless woman. It's so annoying.

Woody

 

[jemilah]

every year they try to get rid of the hooker cards being passed out , but they are covered under freedom of speech! It is gross , I know and so are the butts on the back of taxis, but we learn to live with it. the worst thing about the cards is the litter they cause, and they tried to use that as an excuse to get them off the streets too. They no longer allow picture ads here for "escort" services in the phone book , they were pretty graphic too.

 

[teentoddlermom]

I think it is completely wrong to take your kids to Vegas. I was there in 2003 and was astounded by the "what goes on here, stays here promotion" It is so seedy and depressing on the strip area. Billion dollar hotels ruined by constant cigarette smoking, trash all over the place, naked lady prostitution cards being forced in your face every 2 feet along the strip, and the constant alcohol consumption everywhere. Why would anyone bring children there? At least they weren't allowed in the casinos when we were there. Vegas is a sad and depressing place to me.

 

[mommaU4]

We used to live in So Cal and went to Vegas numerous times, both with and without the kids.
The longest we ever stayed with the kids was one week. They loved it and never got bored!

They loved seeing the magic shows, Shark Reef, the coasters, Hoover Dam, riding the gondolas, the buffets, the fountains, riding up to the Eiffel tower, etc. The list is long! lol

Oh! Another fun thing they enjoyed was GM-The Drive. It's down near Sahara, and you can test drive all kinds of cool sports cars, or types of Hummers. My DH took the kids in a Hummer over the small off-road course they had and the kids thought it was really cool!

And the nice thing about Vegas is you can make it into the kind of vacation you want it to be.
If you are with kids, you can do kid friendly activities.
If you are just going as a couple, you can make it more, ahem, adult oriented.

Here are some pics from our latest visit there, over the summer. BTW, we love it there so much, we will be moving there this June.

This was inside the Bellagio conservatory. They change it seasonally. This is of course a mini Bellagio and fountains.

DH and the two older kids in the Hummer. Below is part of the track you drive on. It's steeper than it looks in places and the kids were freakin out (in a fun way) cause the Hummer was tipped almost sideways!! lol

DS with some showgirls outside of the Tropicana waiting for a magic show to start.

 

[jemilah]

Well I guess I should run to all the schools here and rush to evacuate the poor kids! Vegas does have it's sleazy side , but so does every place I have ever been to. Many families have made Vegas our home and our children are not growing up to be hookers , strippers and pimps. We have many places to take our children , the whole town is not the strip. I am sure you don't take your kids to the bars in your town also.

 

[dwelty]

Well I guess I should run to all the schools here and rush to evacuate the poor kids! Vegas does have it's sleazy side , but so does every place I have ever been to. Many families have made Vegas our home and our children are not growing up to be hookers , strippers and pimps. We have many places to take our children , the whole town is not the strip. I am sure you don't take your kids to the bars in your town also.

Yeah, but I have never been any place that hands out porn on the streets like Vegas does.

 

[BeccaG]

Hi

usually go to Orlando

We are thinking of coming to the West coast and doing LA, with parks and San Diago. Would also like to go to Vagas and the Grand Canyon. we may as well do it all.

My questions is, are children allowed in the casion's to see shows etc, thinking out Cirque du sol...

What else is there for children to do in Las Vagas. We would only be staying for a few days.

Anyone recommend a good hotel also for kids. DS is 8.

My DHs family vacationed in Vegas for many years with kids. Most Cirque du solei shows would be great for kids (but NOT zoomanity!!!!) How long are you planning on staying? San Diego, the Grand Canyon Disneyland and Vegas would be a very packed couple of weeks! I would echo some earlier suggestion for Excalibur as a good hotel for kids. (I personally think it is cleaner than Circus.) They also have a "Me devil Times" type dinner show there and many hotels from the Stratosphere to MGM have amusement parks and arcades attached or nearby. I love the dolphin showcase at Mirage (you can get really close!!) and at MGM you can sometimes feed a baby lion! Oh and the previously mentioned fountain shows are way cool plus I love the Bellagio fountain and the "human statues" at the Paris. There are also some great smoke free time-shares in Vegas, I know Monarch Grand has one and you may be able to get a "free" vacation by listening to their spiel. As others mentioned, there can be issues with people handing out advertisements to strip joints etc, but its only an issue if you are walking the strip, and my DH just keeps his hands in his pockets when we do that !

 

[jemilah]

They don't hand it to kids, most kids get it from thier parents. Unfortunaly it is covered under free speach here, they have tried to stop it. Stay home, we have plenty of tourists, no one is forcing any one to come . A good parent can teach a child values any where...........we also have more churches per capita then most places. Some people I am sure a offended by hula dancers outfits in Hawaii.

 

[Judy from Boise]

As you can tell from my previous posts....the "handouts" sure aren't an issue for me!
1. Nudity doesen't freak me out to start with
2. Since my DD and i usually are there together, no one usually even bothers to hand us anything
3. If they do i smile and say "no thank you" and keep walking.