Vegas trip... a little overwhelmed

[soccerdad72]

I have been to the Mob museum, DW hasn't. Will probably gamble a little (<$200 maybe) just to say we did.

I'd like to go eat at Golden Steer. Been there for work and LOVED it.

I know people have said to drive to Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam. Thoughts about an organized tour? Like this: https://www.viator.com/tours/Las-Ve...ay-Trip-W-Lunch-from-Las-Vegas/d684-132218P75

We've never seen a Cirque show (even when we've been at Disney haven't made the time. ), so that will probably be one. Variety shows intrigue me, as do the magic shows. That's part of my problem, interested in SO much, but nothing that's "must do" if that makes sense.

ETA: Familiar with the monorail, and would probably use it more if we were staying in a nearby hotel.

Keep in mind that Grand Canyon West is a major tourist trap. I've heard it's interesting and all, but it's very commercialized and pales in comparison to the National Park (Grand Canyon South Rim).

 

[hardcorestitch]

My son, the fast foodie, wanted to do the fast food we couldn't get...so we alternated best value Top Chefs with bottom of the barrel fast food fun...

In N Out was great. Worth always going.
Carl's Jr was decent. Not sad we went, not worth a trip.
Jack in the Box was the worst fast food I've ever seen (and I had a reaction to their allergy safe stuff, so double plus bad) - I and my fam wouldn't go back if you paid us.

But it was fun trying 3 chains we didn't have here.

We also tried Cinnaholic - great AND great for allergies (and again a car ride)...

Honestly In N Out is slowly losing its charm… they’re expanding real fast and will soon become the next McDonalds-lame and inconsistent.

 

[kdonnel]

Keep in mind that Grand Canyon West is a major tourist trap. I've heard it's interesting and all, but it's very commercialized and pales in comparison to the National Park (Grand Canyon South Rim).

I went there having heard the same but was totally blown away by my experience at Grand Canyon West.

The next year I went to Grand Canyon South Rim.

Given a choice, I would return to Grand Canyon West.

 

[kdonnel]

I know people have said to drive to Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam. Thoughts about an organized tour? Like this: https://www.viator.com/tours/Las-Ve...ay-Trip-W-Lunch-from-Las-Vegas/d684-132218P75

I am not a fan of bus tours because you have to do everything on their schedule. If you want to spend more time on one part of the tour, you can't. If you want to skip a stop or spend much less time, you can't.

The big advantage to you though is you don't have to drive. A round trip from the strip to Grand Canyon West is 4 and a half hours, add in the touring and it is easily a 10-12 hour day. We often had the kids with us and the economics made using the rental car a much better value.

The tour you linked to only gets you a view of the dam. If you were driving you could actually stop and at least walk across the dam. There probably isn't a way to time the trip where you can actually tour the dam and the grand canyon on the same day even if you drive yourself.

 

[clh2]

We loved the Hoover Dam tour. If I recall, there are several options, we did the most expensive one, and really enjoyed it. There are parts of the interior that are beautiful, with some Art Deco decor.

Have fun! We were there about 15 years ago, and had a blast!

 

[China Expat]

We love the Cirque show, Ka. The Wynn has a great show...Awakening, and you can watch a water show every evening at the Wynn every 30 minutes. See a show at the Sphere...right now they are playing immersive Wizard of Oz. Ride the high roller ferris wheel....really good. For fun, book a one hour tour of the Strip on the giant shopping cart ...Cartopia. it's hilarious! The Mob Museum and Neon Museum are great. For car buffs, the Shelby Car Museum is excellent-and free! Our favorite meals are Buddy V's Italian in the Venetian, and brunch at Terrace Point Cafe at the Wynn. I know Vegas well, so hit me up!

 

[sam_gordon]

What about parking? I mentioned we're staying at my aunt's and will have a rental car. If we want to go to the strip and walk around a little, do the hotels all have free parking or need to find a lot? Pay? When I went for work, I used Uber & the monorail to get around.

 

[sam_gordon]

I will say I just got on ChatGPT for the first time and asked it to do an itinerary. Kind of freakin' cool.

 

[irlandaise]

Definitely see some of the cirque du soleil shows. O is great!

I haven't seen the other CdS shows in Vegas, but "O" is unique. I consider it a must-see.

 

[E&Cmom]

I went for the first time 2 years ago and O was the highlight of my trip .

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I went for the first time 2 years ago and O was the highlight of my trip .

That was my fav Cirque show too. KA below it and I wasn't really feeling Mystere.

 

[kdonnel]

What about parking? I mentioned we're staying at my aunt's and will have a rental car. If we want to go to the strip and walk around a little, do the hotels all have free parking or need to find a lot? Pay? When I went for work, I used Uber & the monorail to get around.

Free parking went away years ago.

I mentioned in my post earlier that if you have high enough status with Royal Caribbean you can leverage it to get MGM Gold and free parking.

Otherwise just expect to pay.

TI, Circus Circus, and Sahara all offer free parking. If you are content to use the monorail you could park at Sahara but once you pay for the monorail you probably should just pay to park.

 

[gmi3804]

I haven't seen the other CdS shows in Vegas, but "O" is unique. I consider it a must-see.

I'm not a fan of O. I think the water "gimmick" greatly hampers what the performers can do. And once you've seen the first 20 people do flips into the water, you've seen 'em all. For a more spectacular Cirque experience, Ka is the one to do. My favorite Cirque show was Love, the Beatles show, which is no more after the closure of Mirage.

Awakening at Wynn has a remarkable combination of show, music, and visuals. It's in the round, in a small-ish theatre, so there are no bad seats; I'd advise against sitting in the first three rows, as it's too low to appreciate the goings-on in the air, where much of the show happens.

I'm of two minds about Wizard of Oz at The Sphere. While the venue is unique, paying upwards of $200 to see a shortened film that's been "expanded" mostly to include lots of blank space above the action feels like a con.

Yes to the Neon Museum. Pick a tour time at sunset time when the signs are lit.

I've never been to Absinthe, at Caesars, but it's supposed to be something else. It's rather raunchy, so you've been warned. Many love it.

If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, don't forget to buy some tickets on StubHub before 12/31/25 for your $150 statement credit. You can get another $150 statement credit after 1/1/26.

 

[sam_gordon]

I mentioned in my post earlier that if you have high enough status with Royal Caribbean you can leverage it to get MGM Gold and free parking.

I did look that up. We'd qualify for "Pearl", which says it includes Free Parking. But is that when you're not a guest of the hotel?

 

[kdonnel]

I did look that up. We'd qualify for "Pearl", which says it includes Free Parking. But is that when you're not a guest of the hotel?

Yes.

 

[sam_gordon]

Yes.

Next stupid question is how does that work? We pull into an MGM property. Now what? When do you pay to park? When you leave? When you arrive? I thought I read somewhere that in order to provide the match you have to go to a certain desk at the resort. Then what? You get a card? A number?

 

[kdonnel]

Next stupid question is how does that work? We pull into an MGM property. Now what? When do you pay to park? When you leave? When you arrive? I thought I read somewhere that in order to provide the match you have to go to a certain desk at the resort. Then what? You get a card? A number?

You pay to park when leaving.

So in this case you park at any MGM property. While there get your loyalty card printed with your Pearl status.

When leaving you will insert your loyalty card and the gate will open.

You need to do the match before your trip. It takes about a week.

 

[Skippy918]

I heard that the wizard of oz experience at the sphere is pretty cool.

 

[Chupaca bruh]

We have enjoyed Valley of Fire State Park about an hour out of Las Vegas. Have been twice. https://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire
We also enjoy walking the strip and enjoying all the different architecture and themes of the hotels and casinos. I have only seen Cirque de Soleil “O” and it was great.

 

[comicguy]

We were in Vegas for a few days over Thanksgiving, arrived Tuesday evening about 9pm and depated Sat at 9 am). We stayed at the MGM (no rental car, we used a combo of monorail/tram and uber) and packed a ton in a very short time

Things we did:
Freemont St, neat to see at night (but the amount of weed and people was overwhelming)
Sphere for Wizaed of Oz (upper tier seating had a great view and exp)
High Roller, enclosed Ferrris Wheel (fun and great view of Vegas at night, especially of the Sphere)
MJ One by Cirque (fantastic show! If you like MJ music then it is a must!)
Vegas Knight NHL game (was a blast and I am not much of a hockey fan!))
Pinball Museum (blast form the past!)
Welcome to as Vegas sign (short 5 min walk from pinball museum)
Thnaksgiving dinner buffet at the MGM

Toured some of the free Casino stuff like Bellagio fountains at night, Bellagio Conservatory for X-Mas overlay, plus some other stuff I am forgetting right now, Container Park (food, music, and shop) lots of little photo ops in various casino hotels

I will caution, I found eating in Vegas for the most part more expensive than Disney (although everything we ate was very good)! Also, everything on the strip perspective wise seems much closer than it actually is. We did not have a car but from what I noticed after 11am on the strip traffic seemed crazy busy