I have 2 kids and have a allergy to gluten ( wheat) I think staying near the strip near the big casinos would be great. I'm hoping they have gluten free food.
Is the food prices at restaurants $$$$ at the big casinos? I might have to do a few sit down meal to get GF meals. .
How did you find the food costs? Did you see any supermarkets? If we stay at a hotel with a kitchen do they charge much for parking? I know at Anaheim they charge a bit to park you car there.
as we have only stayed at the tropicana, i can only speak to our experience there... we didn't have a car, so no issues with parking, but from memory the parking was included in the 'resort fee'. there are supermarkets (not huge like costco or walgreens, but local ABC markets with a good variety of things) very nearby, and there are a few within the shopping centres on the strip. in the hotel, there was a local mini mart which we used for breakfast goods (fresh milk in the mornings, cereal, juice, fresh fruit etc). prices seemed remarkably cheap, and there was a larger market approx 4 mins walk up next to mgm resort that had more things like fresh sandwiches, fruit salads & vegetables pre cut (like baby carrot, celery, ranch dip etc) plus lots of staples like bagels and bread (maybe not so much for you being GF) but lots of fresh produce. they also had the usual drinks, plus alcohol, so you can save some money if you want some 'grown up' drinks but don't want to pay the price.
i am still kicking myself for not buying bourbon in vegas for my dad & bringing it back duty free. i have never seen alcohol that cheap before.
anywho...
in the tropicana there were a few places to eat.. there was a pizzeria which did have GF pizzas and calzones and pastas etc, there was a restaurant which was open for lunch/dinner. as we didn't usually feel like dressing up much, we just ordered our dinner at the bar from the restaurant menu 'to go' and then ate in our room, watching tv, surfing the internet, reading the kindle etc.
carlo is vegetarian, and there was a lot of variety for vegetarian + vegan + gluten free at the restaurant.
there was another more upscale restaurant/steakhouse inside the hotel too.. one called baccio (italian cuisine), another biscayne (south beach cuisine & steakhouse), but we didn't eat there. there was also an icecream/frozen yoghurt/smoothie healthy options bar inside the tropicana as well (called the naked spoon). we found the prices pretty reasonable, however if you want to check for yourself, their menus are available on the website:
www.troplv.com
it seems they have since expanded their 'ready to eat' options and there is now a starbucks on site.
if you are travelling to vegas with your DD and DS, the tropicana is pretty tame compared to most of the other, mega casinos. there is no smoking inside, it's been recently renovated, there are no 'showgirls' running around the casino floor, the casino on the main floor is quite small and so doesn't attract the drunk & unruly crowd, and there is a comedy club onsite for entertainment, plus family friendly entertainment nearby like the lion enclosure at mgm grand, david copperfield at mgm grand, the m&ms shop on the way up the strip, the flamingo exhibit at the flamingo, the bellagio fountains, the exploding volcano at the mirage, the indoor rainshower at the miracle mile shops, the chocolate fountain inside the bellagio, the glass flower ceiling inside the bellagio etc.
hope some of this is helpful
if walking around at night, there are those hustlers that will try and shove pamphlets in your hands, regardless of whether you are with your DH or kids. i would therefore recommend either taking a cab to avoid this if your kids are coming with you, or only walking the strip by day where they are much, much less prevalent.