Please Tell Me Everything About Vegas.

[luvindisneyworld]

We are trying to plan a huge get together next May for abou 5 nights and we all have decided we would like to try Vegas.
So tell me everything .I have been looking at the Luxor hotel,anyone have any experience here?
Tell me where we should stay and what to see and do.

TIA,I look forward to reading all your imput.

Misty

 

[S. C.]

I've never been to vegas yet. But if and when i go i want to see Danny Gans.

 

[Tracey1974]

You will have fun fun fun!!!! Luxor is almost at the very beginning of the strip- I know a few friends who have stayed there and have had no complaints. We stayed last year around this time at the Mirage for our last trip before baby making. What a fun place Vegas is! We rented a Honda S2000 convertible for the day and drove to Hoover Dam. We stayed 4 nights and it was about right. The weather was great for me- there was 0 humidity and my hair stayed straight and perfect the whole time!!! Drinks are plentiful and pretty cheap. We drank almost all day at the Casino Royale and had $1 margaritas! : Mmmmm.......I can't wait to go back someday!

ps- there are slot machines EVERYWHERE!! Even in the airport the minute you get off the plane- they are right there in the terminal!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Take in one or all the great Cirque shows, -O-, Mystere and KA. I was just out there for a quick business trip, took in KA, as spectacular as all the others.

 

[CherCrazy]

We stayed at the Luxor several times! We love it. It is a very modern hotel, with lots of places to explore. It has some nice restaurants, make sure to try the really TALL drinks at the Mexican restaurant upstairs.

But remember the fun of Las Vegas is in visiting all the hotels and seeing all the incredible things that LV has to offer. Walking LV Blvd is like walking down Main St USA at Disney (ok, in an adult sort of way). There are things to do and see on both sides of the strip and people walk it at all hours of the day or night. The outdoor roller coaster at NYNY, the water show at the Bellagio, the pirate ships at Treasure Island, the mini Eiffel Tower at Paris, and so much more. Just like WDW, each hotel has a unique theme .... worth walking thru them to check them out.

Hoover Dam is just 1/2 an hour away too.

 

[Tracey1974]

But it does involve a lot of walking! The hotels are not as close together as they look!

 

[Pugdog007]

Luxor location is ok but I like to stay more central. Aladdin, Paris, Treasure Island are all in good locations. In addition to Cirque shows, Blue Man Group is a lot of fun too.

 

[luvindisneyworld]

Give me some good hotels to look at.
Also where will I find the best deals for planning this trip?

TIA

 

[Tracey1974]

Mirage, MGM, New York, NY, Paris, Venetian, Aladdin, Bellagio

Depends on your budget, there are a bunch of hotels right on the strip. I booked my trip on Expedia.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Monte Carlo and New York New York are both nice and more towards the middle of the strip. The Luxor and Excalibur are connected.

Sunday brunch at the Bellagio is amazing and reasonable (for a fancy brunch).
Wall the "streets" of Venice in the Venietian (sp) and you can go on gondola rides as well.
Yard Margarittas almost anywhere are a great deal
The Star Trek Experiences over in the Hilton are fun

There is so much to do without spending a lot of money. And there is enough to do without spending a dime on gambling if you don't want to.

My personal Vegas rule is to not do anything I can do at home. That means no visiting shops, eating at restaurants etc.. if I can do it at home.

Also, Vegas is different during the day and at night. I love it at night but during the day I think it looks dingy.

 

[Papa Deuce]

may I suggest:

I love Vegas! And this is a pretty good consolidation of stuff.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Give me some good hotels to look at.
Also where will I find the best deals for planning this trip?

TIA

www.cheapovegas.com

 

[Mandabella]

Even with low humidty, it was still hot as hell during the day and didn't cool off too much at night. We went in early September two years ago. I now laugh when people tell me "it's a DRY heat."

I liked this website when we were planning:
http://cheapovegas.com/index.php


We're not fans of Circque du Soleil, so I can't really recommend the shows. However if you enjoy these shows, get your tickets ahead of time. I bought tickets for O 5 weeks before and we could only get the very last row.

Have fun!

I know people rave about the various buffets, but I want to mention the one in the Aladdin. It was pretty good, but doesn't seem to get the attention that the one at the Bellagio or the Rio.

 

[reddfrogg]

Stay at the Aladdin, Paris, MGM, or Flamingo!!!!! (In this order) Remember that alcohol is only cheap downtown!!! Most of the Casinos charge alot for drinks if U R not playing!!! ie. wife gets 2 Coronas at Mandalay Bay in a deli they R $15!!!!yes... $15 ( the sandwiches were cheaper!!! $13 for 2).

try each hotels website. Depending on the time of year they have some good deals!!! Remember staying on a Friday and Saturday night the rates triple...yes I said triple!!!!!!! People from LA fly-in just for the weekends, so the price jumps. The best time is Sun. thru Thurs.

It's a blast!!!!! Have fun!!!!!

P.S. I LUV the CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!!!!!!!! All of them R great!!!!!

There R hundreds of good to great places 2 eat!!!! U just have 2 try different casinos everybodys tastes R different!!!

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

The heat is something else. Bring lotion, chapstick, sunblock, nasal spray if you are prone to nasal allergies. Did I say bring lotion and chapstick?

It hardly cools down at night.

 

[muffy0110]

here are my three things

1) have been 4 times-Luxor is fine-nice hotel

2) you MUST see the "O" show-expensive but a must-can/should book 3
months in advance

3) Bellagio's buffet on Fri or Sat night-everything and I mean everything is
on that buffet-a nice cheaper but big buffet is at the Rio

 

[cuterlt]

DH and I love staying at Paris or ballys - they are connected and on the monorail line, and are in mid-strip, which is perfect for us. They are also across from the Bellagio, which I love to go to and watch the fountains.
If you're in that area, try the Paris breakfast buffet. very good. And not too terribly expensive - $14.95 I think.
If you have star trek fans, you have to make it down to the Las Vegas hilton. It's on the monorail line, and easy to get to that way. Very fun, but expensive. You can get cheap tickets (1/2 price plus a service fee) at some of those half-price ticket shops (lol, it's too early, I can't remember the name of them). Or just go eat at Quarks Restaurant - they have klingons and ferengi milling about.
www.lvtalk.com is another good website to visit for hints, although they can be a little impatient with newbies.
What do you want out of your hotel? Good pool, good food, nice rooms, close to things to do, in the middle of it all?
that's what you have to figure out first. Then plan!
There are lots of people on the DIS who have great info too.

 

[Gymbomom]

We just got back from our 1st trip to Vegas....we had a great time!!! I would have to say, it just kept me thinking about getting ready for our trip to WDW in Jan. (don't tell hubby though)

We booked with Dillards travel with MGM Vacations on Airtran for $419 a person for 4 nights/5 days. We stayed at the Mirage hotel standard/deluxe room. I put a $20 on the counter (hadn't given it to her yet..) and asked for a volcano strip upgrade...got one and gave her the $20. Had an AWESOME view of strip...yes standard view DOES suck, I looked out from a friends and it was for the parking lot. Only downside the volcano didn't seem to be errupting very often as their was high winds every day we were there.
The MIrage pool is fantastic, almost along the lines of a pool in Mexico: waterfalls, connecting, slides, etc. HUGE!!!
The pluses of staying Mid Strip would be: Central location, you are right in the middle of the action...within walking distance to Ceasars (which is INCREDIBLE), TI, Wynn, Bellagio.
Also, there are some nice lower end casinos (Harrah's, O'Shea's, Casino Royale) right across the street, we had great $5 tables, when the Mirage was more expensive and the drink service was great too over at the smaller places.
I liked gambling at Mirage in the morning as the tables were cheaper and we seemes to have better luck then too. But, we were sure to lose money, most people in VEgas do... so I like the cheaper tables so I could enjoy myself for a longer time...and get drinks longer too..

Our last day we walked all the way to MGM and NYNY at the other end of the strip. Taxi from mid strip was $9, but we went in and out of each hotel/casino/shops. That was our favorite day and had a blast at the Monte Carlo, they have $2 craps for 2 hours starting around 11:00am after their craps class.
We got tickets for a show by MGM called Tickets 2 Nite, which is a 1/2 price ticket place... Saw a show for $65 a couple.

My favorite things were, the Piano bar in NYNY (you have to get there at a decent time to get a table)...this was by far the BEST free entertainment. Also, Harrah's has a piano bar, that isn't so popular, but is still a ton of fun.
Gambling at NYNY, we won quite a bit after we were "toasted" from the piano bar....made up about $400 we had lost in the week. NYNY pizza...YUM!!!
Actually this hotel is really neat!! If it wasn't for the pool at the Mirage I would opt for this hotel. I was the only one who used the pool out of my party, so I know the others would have preferred to stay at NYNY.
We had lunch at Maggiano's LIttle Italy, this is a chain I know, but we ahd a great time, had a beautiful view of the strip (floor to ceiling windows), this is across from the Wynn.
We had dinner at Battista's hole in the wall (Italian food) this was pretty good as well.
The shops at ceasar's were TO DIE FOR!!! Simply amazing...

Well, excuse my typos...my body clock is stilll WAY off from getting back....

 

[Nite0wl71]

We went in August for the first time and had a great time. We stayed at the Flamingo, it is smaller but very nice and right in the middle of the strip. We had a standard room that looked out over the pool and fountain. We walked the entire strip, we went one way each day.

You also have to go to Freemont Street, there are 24 hour buses on the strip that take you there it is only a few miles. They have an incredible light show over the street. The casinos are small but the whole atmosphere seems cozy. It's what they call Old Vegas.

We stayed for 3 nights, we could have stayed 2 more, never made it to Hoover Dam. So I guess we will have to go back.

 

[vacanut]

We went in April 2004 and are going back next month, Thanksgiving week. We go for 7 days, Sat-Sat, it is a 5-6 hr plane ride so I feel its worth it to stay 7 days. We went to the Grand Canyon one day and the Hoover Dam another day. We also went horseback riding another day to break up the week. We stayed at Mandalay Bay, but wouldn't stay there again due to their location. We are staying at TI next month its more centrally located and reasonably priced. I'd book directly with the hotel and they send you promotional deals via email every so often. There are so many things to do, I'd recommend getting a Vegas Guide book for starters to see what you are interested in. I also check lasvegastalk.com and tripadvisor for information. We saw Mystere last year, going to see "O" this year. If you can make it to Rio (At Harrah's you can pick up a shuttle) we were impressed they have a parade in the sky every hour and really like the atmosphere. I wouldn't make plans for every day there, leave a few days open to explore! Any questions, PM me!