Thanksgiving Las Vegas and Grand Canyon ???'s - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Since it looks like DH will again be on a LEDET patrol all summer we are going on a minivaca over the Tday break. We will be at DL on the 21st and 24th for each of our DD's bdays YIPEE! Thanksgiving day we will recoup and leave on friday for LV. I booked us at the Excalibur in LV and the Kachina Lodge with a partial view at the GC. I am sooo excited about the GC. The lodge sits on the rim, I can only imagine how beautiful it is! We have never been to LV or GC so any tips, tricks, suggestions are welcome! Our loose plans: Arrive LV on friday around lunch ( we r driving from San Diego) Things we want to see in LV M&M's world Lions at MGM Bellagio fountains Mirage volcano Vegas sign Venetian canals/gondolas We r very laid back tourists , seeing "The Strip" is our only real requirement so I thought we could probably fit thses things into our one night. Does that sound reasonable? Should we get monorail passes to see all of the above things or can we walk it? We plan to arrive at GC around 2 Sat. Grand Canyon things we want to do are: take in the sunset and sunrise take a moderate hike along the rim trail have a nice dinner or picnic take a billion pictures! Will the roads be questionable this time of Nov.? We want to take our compact for the gas milage but we have a 4X4 if that is the better option. Thank you in advance for any info.!
You can certainly walk the Strip, but it is a long way and longer than you'd think. All the resorts offer valet parking for free (a very useful tip I got here on the boards), so we tended to drive to places, after I discovered that. There's also at least one road that goes parallel to the Strip, which is a lot quieter to drive along.
We stayed at the Excalibur this summer. Honestly, if you are sensitive to smoke, I'd stay somewhere else (won't be staying there again). As Cheryl mentioned, the strip is much longer that you'd expect. It sounds like you'll have a car, so I'd drive to the hotels down the other end (to see the Venetian, Bellagio, Volcano, etc.). You can walk to M&M World from Excalibur, as well as to MGM for the lions. We found the monorail to be more of a disappointment, and it still left us with lots of walking. Maybe the walking wouldn't be bad in November, but in 110 degree heat in July, it was unbearable.
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We stayed at the Excalibur this summer. Honestly, if you are sensitive to smoke, I'd stay somewhere else (won't be staying there again). As Cheryl mentioned, the strip is much longer that you'd expect. It sounds like you'll have a car, so I'd drive to the hotels down the other end (to see the Venetian, Bellagio, Volcano, etc.). You can walk to M&M World from Excalibur, as well as to MGM for the lions. We found the monorail to be more of a disappointment, and it still left us with lots of walking. Maybe the walking wouldn't be bad in November, but in 110 degree heat in July, it was unbearable.
Was the smoke your only complaint about Excalibur? It is only for one night so we can ignore smoke but maybe not that combined with other possible negatives. So we can drive to the diff hotels and park for free? Thank you both for all the great info!
Was the smoke your only complaint about Excalibur? It is only for one night so we can ignore smoke but maybe not that combined with other possible negatives. So we can drive to the diff hotels and park for free? Thank you both for all the great info!
That was my main complaint. You had to walk thru the casino area to get to the rooms, and it just made me sick! We also had problems with the TV remote not working (they came and gave us a new one) and someone left the lock to the safe in the locked position, even though it was opened, so we couldn't reset it and had to call for someone else to come and fix that. I guess you get what you pay for (which I think was $35 or $40).
I love LV but I don't think its a great place for the kids. They have many adult oriented things right out in the open such as people handing out cards with pictures of women and mobile billboards with escort services. They hand out the cards to everyone walking by and they are all over the place. I'm not trying to say you are bad for taking your kids or saying LV is not a good place to go. Just a little warning of what to expect when you get there.
It's been many, many years since I was there, but when I was, it was mid-December. Very quiet. You'll be on the South Rim of the canyon, so the 4x4 shouldn't be necessary. It can get a bit chilly (especially in the mornings), but you should only see snow up on the mountains (if at all). The North Rim is another matter - it's about 1,000 ft. higher in elevation, and snow/road closures can be an issue. Considering your time constraints, you probably weren't thinking of heading that way anyway (it's a pretty long drive from the South Rim).
When there, we spent a lot of time driving around in the areas east of Flagstaff. That's out towards Monument Valley, Sunset Crater (volcanic activity), and several Native American historical sites. It's a pretty diverse area for sights of interest and scenery. As wonderful as the Grand Canyon is, it's not the only worthwhile show in town.
And speaking of shows... If you're a fan of Disney-Pixar's Cars (and with a six year-old boy, you can be sure I've seen it quite often), this is essentially the area portrayed in the movie - the stretch of the Interstate you'll be traveling from Vegas, old Route 66 meandering just to the north of the Interstate, sleepy old by-passed communities and tourist attractions... Get yourself the Cars soundtrack CD (if you don't already have it), and make it the soundtrack for your road trip.
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Things we want to see in LV M&M's world Lions at MGM Bellagio fountains Mirage volcano Vegas sign Venetian canals/gondolas We r very laid back tourists , seeing "The Strip" is our only real requirement so I thought we could probably fit thses things into our one night. Does that sound reasonable? Should we get monorail passes to see all of the above things or can we walk it?
During our California vacation, we spent two nights in Las Vegas. The one full day inbetween we flew to the Grand Canyon, which means we basically only had two nights in LV. We did all the things you mentioned above the first night so that's definitely doable. We stayed at the Luxor (right next to the Excalibur). Since that's at one end of the Strip, I think we walked from there to Treasure Island (with the most interesting hotels along the way) and then took a cab back to the hotel at the end of the night.
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We will be at the GC (South Rim) in Jan - and are planning to do a few additional things in the neighborhood of Flagstaff that Dave mentioned - one thing I thought about doing was driving down to the glass walkway overlook - although I've read they will not allow you to take cameras out on it with you - so they can see you their photos...
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Yes, you can drive to the Vegas hotels and park for free. As you are going to be there on the weekend, most hotels won't valet in the front entrance unless you are staying there. All major casinos have a back area for self parking and additional valet for visitors. However, traffic will most likely be a nightmare, especially at night. You can take the monorail which will save you quite a bit of walking. You can only get a cab at a casino, so if you want one quickly, get to the nearest major one like Ceasars, Mirage or Bellagio.
The Vegas sign has a parking area so you may park and take pictures without have to worry about stopping on the side of the road. It's just down the street from the Excaliber.
I haven't stayed at the Excaliber since it first opened, but stayed at the Luxor (right next door) last year. I didn't notice the smoke as we gambled. Just to let you know, the casinos, including Excaliber, have "party" areas at night on the weekends where scantily clad girls dance above the blackjack tables. You can clearly see them as you walk through the casino.
Have fun.
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I would agree that the monorail is disappointing. But, if you are up for a long walk, I think what you want to see is doable because most of those things don't take long. You can always take a cab back. While you're at the Bellagio, I would pop in and see the gardens as well.
We stayed at the Excalibur and found it to be ok but we paid for one of the "new" rooms which was very new at the time. You have to specifically book that class but it was only maybe $20 more per night.
Re visitng the hotels: what we did was divide the areas into zones. We drove to a hotel in the middle of the zone, valet parked (free except for the tip, I tipped $2 in and out), and then we went to the various places within that zone. Then we would move to another zone and repeat. Saved us some walking! Hint, take the back roads instead of the Strip to beat soem of the traffic. Koval runs behind Wynn, Ballys, Harrahs, Planet Hollywood, etc on that side. Frank Sinatra Dr runs behind Bellagio, Mone Carlo, Caesar's etc on that side, Somewhere up on the north Side it changes over to Industrial Dr.
Re the GC: the DH of a lady I know on another message board drives the shuttle bus at the South Rim, and they live in the campground. She says it's already snowing there. I don;t know how the roads are, but if it were me, I'd plan on taking the 4X4 just in case. She also said they her DH was off Thursday and Friday of T-day weekend; I don't know if that means the shuttles are not running or if he just lucked out. I do know that at some point in the fall/winter they stop the shuttles and you can actually drive along the rim. This might be that time.
Be sure to fill up your tamk befroe getting off I-40 to head to the GC. Tehre's not much between I-40 and the GC, and what little is there is expensive! If you have to get fast food at the GC entrance, choose the Wnedy's over the McDonalds. The McD's prices are jacked way up. Wendy's is not much more than regular.
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Thanksgiving Las Vegas and Grand Canyon ???'s
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All the resorts offer valet parking for free (a very useful tip I got here on the boards), so we tended to drive to places, after I discovered that. There's also at least one road that goes parallel to the Strip, which is a lot quieter to drive along.
We also had problems with the TV remote not working (they came and gave us a new one) and someone left the lock to the safe in the locked position, even though it was opened, so we couldn't reset it and had to call for someone else to come and fix that. I guess you get what you pay for (which I think was $35 or $40).
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