Las Vegas Suggestions? About This Page:

[Disney_Scarlett]

Hi all!

Yes, I'm taking the obligatory "girls-only" Las Vegas trip. We're traveling from June 6 - June 10 (although June 10 is mostly just flying back to NC). We've reserved rooms at New York New York, because it came recommended by several friends, but mostly because one of the girls going gets a sizeable discount for that resort through her job. Our airfare is through US Airways, and unfortuantely we were not able to land much of a "deal" on that - our dates and times are less-than-flexible.

We're planning on seeing one of the Cirque du Soleil shows (and maybe Jerry Seinfeld if a "hook-up" on the tickets comes through), checking out the Bellagio fountain and other such sights, and doing some minimal gambling and some maximum pool-lounging and drinking of beverages that come with little umbrellas.

The Las Vegas link in the FAQ Cities Sticky thread doesn't seem to be working...so if anyone has any suggestions on places to dine (not TOO pricey, please), things to do and see, nice bars to go to, etc., please send them my way! Or, even if you are able to point me in the direction of past threads about Las Vegas that have proven to be useful, that would be most helpful as well. No one in this crowd has been to Vegas, so we're all rookies!

Thanks!

[chezp]

I'm sorry the link in the sticky thread isn't working - we'll have a look at that and see if we can figure out the problem and fix it. Thanks for the heads up about that!

I would definitely recommend "O" by Cirque du Soleil, if you can only see one of their shows - it really was amazing. We saw "Ka" and "Zumanity" during our trip and although they were all wonderful, it was "O" that really stood out in our minds as the best of the three.

One of the things we enjoyed most during our stay was just exploring all the hotels - definitely set some time aside just to see them all, as they're all worth having a look at. If you've got time, it's worth taking a side visit to the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon - both are fairly close to Vegas and are definitely worth visiting.

As for places to dine, we had a lovely lunch at the Eiffel Tower restaurant, which has some stunning views - and lunch is a lot cheaper there than dinner. We also had a great dinner buffet at Bellagio. If you want value for money, then the buffets in Vegas are a great way to go.

[Straitlover]

Food:
Paris hotel has the BEST breakfast buffet! Get there early!

Peppermill - huge portions

At New York New Youk, there's a yummy pretzel place in the food court area if you're looking for a snack. We (my sis and I) picked up a B1G1F coupon somewhere so kepp your eyes open. I think it's called Big Apple Pretzels or something like that.

For just regular old food, we ate at the La Salsa across the street from NYNY near the Coke Bottle. We split this combo appetizer platter as our meal and were stuffed!

For cheap and good, head to Ellis Island (http://www.ellisislandcasino.com/). They have a decent 4.95 steak dinner in the restaurant and awesome ribs (in the brewpub (can't get them in the restaurant!). They have daily food specials, and I think the ribs/chicken combo special was like $6.99. It's a half rack of ribs and a half chicken! Now, the "casino" is petty much a dump, but don't let it scare you off. Actually, I won most of my money there (about $90 over 3 visits, breakfast, steak dinner, rib dinner). However, if you are allergic to ciggy smoke, stay far, far away from here!

You might want to check out Restaurant.com for some gift certificates. Be sure to find a promotion code to save even more off the price. I got some $10 NASCAR Cafe certificates for like $1.50, and that was one tasty cheeseburger I had there!

[WDWfan]

I'll actually be in Las Vegas for part of the time you're there. We arrive on the 8th. We go once a year and it! You will have a wonderful time.

I've been to 3 of the Cirque shows in Vegas - Love, O, and Mystere. They are all amazing in themselves. If you're a Beatle's fan try Love. Mystere has a similar feel to La Nouba at WDW. It was the first Cirque show I saw and it has a special place in my heart. I've gone twice and highly recommend it. It's also the least expensive. O is incredible from a technical perspective. I was totally in awe of how they made water appear and disappear at different levels throughout the show. You can't go wrong with any of them.

Some food thoughts. In NYNY I enjoy eating at their "food court" which looks like Greenwich Village. I also had a good meal at their Irish Pub - Nine Fine Irishmen. One of my favorite places to go for a casual sit down meal is the Monte Carlo Brewery. The Monte Carlo hotel is right next to NYNY. The brewery has great sandwiches, good beer and at night is a fun bar. If you're into sports at all they do have lots of TVs tuned to sporting events during the day and early evening, but later it becomes more "clubby". There are several great restaurants in the Forum Shops at Caesars. Spaggo has a sidewalk cafe that is less expensive than the main dining room, Bertolini's also has patio dining and good italian food. It's fun to watch the people go by and the Forum shops are so much fun to walk through. (Be sure to stop in one of my favorite shoe stores - Shooz) I also like the Cheescake factory (although it's a chain and there's usually a long line), Le Chinois (which has the best cashew chicken salad I've ever eaten and the servings are HUGE - great for sharing), and the Stage Door Deli has wonderful sandwiches. If you want to try a buffet I agree that Paris's is wonderful, as is the one at Bellagio. I also really like the Seafood Buffet at the Rio, but it's off the strip - you'd need a car or cab to get there. Although it's not cheap my favorite place to eat in Vegas is Mon Ami Gabi at Paris. It's a french bistro and has a sidewalk cafe. I like to go after dark and watch the Bellagio Fountains and the people walking by while eating good french bread, and wonderful food and drinking a glass of great wine - they have many wines by the glass and the waiters are wonderful about letting you "try before you buy." If you need a late night snack after a night out at the bars you could go across the street the Excaliber where they have a Krispy Kreme donut store where they make the donuts on site and are frequently sampling warm donuts!

I'm not much of a club person. My evenings are usually spent going to shows, walking on the strip or downtown or doing some light gambling so i can't give you much info on the bars. I can mention some sights to see. As Cheryl said checking out the hotels is great fun. Some of my favorites are:

NYNY - Don't forget to try the roller coaster
MGM - You have to see the Lions
Aladdin (or is it now Planet Hollywood) - The Dessert Passage shops (if the name hasn't changed) are fun and a little more affordable than some of the other malls
Bellagio - be sure to see the fountains at night and the conservatory
Paris - Be sure to walk inside from Paris to Bally's and stop at the French bakery for a pastry or lunch (I'm parial to their chocolate eclairs). There's also a creperie next door.
Caesar's - The Forum shops are a must do! Be sure to see the 2 fountain show that come to life
Mirage - Beautiful and out front is the Waterfall that turns into a volcano
TI - The pirate battle is a fun free show
Venetion - The Canal shops are the most upscale ones in the area and its fun to take a gondola ride and be serenaded

I also recommend going downtown one night. The light show is so ! The table minimums are lower than on the strip so it's a good place to do a little gambling. Speaking of gambling - some tips

• Take a free gambling lesson for either craps or blackjack. All of the casino's offer them during the day and it's a good way to learn how to play if you've never been to Las Vegas before
• During the day table minimums are lower and the players tend to be friendlier so it's a good time to play if you're a rookie
• Downtown and smaller casinos tend to have lower table minimums

OK - I think that's more than enough! Hope I haven't overwhelmed you. I guess you can tell that Las Vegas is my second favorite vacation destination. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me. Have a wonderful time! Maybe we'll even end up running into each other!

[Disney_Scarlett]

WOW! Thank you all SO much for the suggestions! This has been most helpful, and I feel much more informed now! I knew I could count on my fellow Passporters.

After reading Cheryl and Lesley's comments, I think we'll do the "O" Cirque show. It sounds amazing! Cheryl, I've also thought about doing a Hoover Dam tour...although I don't know if I can convince the other girls to tag along.

Lisa, I looooove pretzels, so thanks for the recommendation on the shop in NYNY. I really appreciate all the "close to and in NYNY" and cheap food comments from everyone - that will make scrounging for food much easier. And I can't wait to visit the Paris resort!

Lesley, thanks so much for the gambling tips! We're definitely rookies, so I really appreciate those. That's neat we'll be there at the same time!

If anyone else has any more comments/suggestions, please post away! Thanks again!

[waycoolmom]

DH and I go to Las Vegas every year for our anniversary and we absolutely love it! Next to WDW it's our favorite place. Everyone has given you some excellent advice.

There is a wonderful noodle place in the Venetian casino called Noodle Asia. It's inexpensive and great! DH went there twice last year.

If you're looking for "Old Las Vegas" and don't mind paying a bit for it, try Hugo's Cellar downtown at the Four Queens. This is our usual anniversary dinner place and we really feel like we're in Vegas when we're there. The people who work there really make you feel special.

Join a "Player's Club" at the casinos. It's free and you can win stuff. It may just be a hat or something, but something is better than nothing. DH and I won a free night's stay and we're not "high rollers." The points just carry over and we finally earned enough points.

There is also a GREAT place in the Aladdin called the Zen Zone. DH and I just happened upon it when we were walking around the shops one day. It's an oxygen bar and water massage place. For $30 (I think) you can get an oxygen treatment and water massage (you know; they put you in that tube thing and the water jets shoot on your back). Also, while you're taking your oxygen, someone massages your head with one of those wonderful head massagers and massages your back, too. It is the best deal in town! The oxygen really perks you up and the water massage is just what your tired legs need after walking the strip.

If you play, you can drink for free, be it a mixed drink, beer, or sparkling water, so keep an eye out for the cocktail waitress, but tip her a dollar each round.

It rains in the Aladdin, so make sure you catch that free show.

There is a monorail that runs the lenghth of the strip. DH and I like to take it all the way to MGM and then walk back to TI where we always stay. It's a LONG walk, but we tend to stop along the way for liquid refreshment.

Stay away from people promising "free tickets" unless you want to spend most of your time listening to a timeshare deal. Just walk past all those people. They drive me NUTS!

Go to the Wynn! The Parasol Up/ Parasol Down is beautiful and worth seeing.

Vegas is great and I love it! I hope you have a wonderful time!!

[Disney_Scarlett]

Wow! Great suggestions. I can't wait to search out that oxygen/water massage place....ahhhh. And free drinks for playing? Awesome.

Thanks so much!

[bradk]

i'm me, but.. it'd be best to describe in photos just some of the things i did in vegas.. feel free to ask:



to name but a few.. by the way, that 2nd to last pic is my view from my room at New York, New York. I spent but a night there and upgraded to the view for like $15 (it's above the coaster)

[chezp]

What beautiful photos Brad - thanks for sharing those!

[Disneydiana]

great info and thanks for the cool photos!

[Disney_Scarlett]

Brad - what AWESOME pictures! For some of them, I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at, as I don't "know" Vegas, but whatever it is - gorgeous! We're staying at NYNY too - maybe we can get that view!

Did you see any shows? If so, any one that was your favorite?

Also...um, where's the In-n-Out burger? I must know!

[tinkerbell0228]

I'm off to Vegas next weekend (April 28th) and the first stop for me is "Toby Keith's I love this Bar" at Harrahs. The food is great and not too expensive, they have live bands after 9pm, "free" shots at the bar when they play " I love this Bar' and my favourite drink the "toadsuck pond", I may actually spend all weekend there! We're staying at Aladdin which has great shopping. I'd also recommend a bus pass on the Deuce, $5 for a 24hr pass, much cheaper than the monorail and they run up and down the strip, where as the monorail you must walk to the back of the hotels to catch it. Wandering around all the different hotels is great fun, sign up for players cards everywhere, you'll get free gifts and you'll always be sent e-mails with promos. We actually scored our room for $59 per night for this trip. M&M shop is fun. Also if you like to SHOP, there is a Disney outlet store at the outlet mall!!!!! Yippee, Disney in Vegas. Have a great trip!!!!!

[Minnie Lor]

Wow everyone has given you excellent suggestions. My two favorite things is the Bellagio fountains. I've been to Vegas twice and both times stayed at the Aladdin with views of the fountains. We stopped by the fountains every night. They do a show every night every 15 minutes from 8 pm until mid-night. Each show is different. Love the mid-night show.

My second favorite is Fremont Street Experience. Take the Double Deuce bus (in front of Paris is a good place to catch it) and for $2 you can ride it to downtown also called Fremont Street. Note where to catch it to come back. Fremont is cool, amazing, hip ... loved it. Head down there around 8 or so. There's a show every hour at the top of the hour. There are street musicians, artists, etc. Fun and funky!

[schooling@home]

Originally Posted by Disney_Scarlett

Also...um, where's the In-n-Out burger? I must know!

As a Vegas local, I can answer that!
2900 West Sahara. You're staying at New York, so you're about 4 miles away. Just hop on I-15 north (it'll be obvious), then exit Sahara. You'll see it on the west (left) side of the highway. Can't miss the sign!

[bradk]

Originally Posted by Disney_Scarlett

Brad - what AWESOME pictures! For some of them, I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at, as I don't "know" Vegas, but whatever it is - gorgeous! We're staying at NYNY too - maybe we can get that view!

Did you see any shows? If so, any one that was your favorite?

Also...um, where's the In-n-Out burger? I must know!

1) Vegas Sign (which I had to take a cab to get to)
2) Shark Reef aquarium at Mandalay Bay
3) Sahara and Speed the roller coaster
4) View of the strip from the stratosphere
5) The stratoshake available inside this 50s type diner at the stratosphere
6) You know what that is. I think it's on Tropicana Ave. if you walk down away from the strip on the road between Excalibur and New York New York, you get to it. Not too bad of a walk
7) Penn & Teller after their performance at the Rio
8 & 10) lions at the MGM Grand
9) the Monte Carlo
11) M&Ms World
12) Liberace Museum
13) some revue outside Paris
14) the fountains at the Bellagio from the Eiffel Tower
15) The strip from the Eiffel Tower
16) The men's room sign at Star Trek: The Experience
17) the Volcano at the Mirage
18 & 19) - Dolphin and White Tiger from the Sigfried & Roy conservation (or whatever it's called) at Mirage
21) The fountain show at the shops at Caesar's Palace
22) Madame Tussauds at the Venetian
23) The canal shops at the venetian
24) Sign from the neon museum installation at Fremont St
25) The infamous Fremont Street Experience (the light show above your head)
27) The Hoover Dam

as far as shows, I saw many. saw every cirque show (really liked love, zumanity and ka), saw penn & teller, lance burton, dick arthur, amazing johnathan, david copperfield.. saw jubilee... and i was in town for tenacious d and comic relief and saw sarah silverman as well.

i think that's it.

i also visited most every casino on and near the strip and collected chips from them. gambled at most casinos, but i didn't feel like hitting the tables at caesar's where the BJ minimum was like $500 a hand