Las Vegas Vacations About This Page:

[ILuvDisney]

Anyone have any suggestions on Vegas? What time of year to visit, where to stay, should we rent a car, what area attractions to visit...what do you consider "must sees?? HELP! I'm ready to get this vacation plan on a roll.

[Colo Dizfanatic]

[img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Donna, while I wouldn't call myself the Vegas expert, I would give a few of these pointers:

- If you are planning on doing all sorts of stuff around the strip AND outside of the strip, I would probably rent a car.....if the main focus of your "to-do's" surrounds the strip, you can truly walk to most things, or take advantage of the people movers.

- Cirque Du Soleil!! There are two in Vegas....."O" is at the Bellagio, and Mystere is at Treasure Island. If you are a Cirque fan, you have to take in at least one of these while you are there. If you have never experienced Cirque? Same advice!!! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] You can buy tix ahead of time on the Cirque Du Soleil website.

- Danny Gans is a comic/impersonater.......he is awesome.....he plays at The Mirage. Alot of his routine is also physical, so I would recommend that if you can't get seats fairly close to the stage (within 30-40 rows), I would try another time. It is a huge theatre.

- The Bellagio.......gorgeous hotel.....just walk thru for the sights if you can....AND take in the fountains outside of the hotel...very cool

- Speaking of hotels, if you get a chance to "tour" the Venetian, it is very elegant. Takes you to Italy for sure!! And the wax museum, if you are into those sorts of things, is pretty cool and very realistic

- If you like Rita Rudner, she is a full time comic at New York, New York. OH, and of course, the roller coaster at that hotel.....MUST DO!!

- Did I say rollercoaster? Try out the Stratosphere.....World's tallest rollercoaster....also at the Stratosphere, is Big Shot......it is the Stratosphere's version of Tower of Terror.....The Stratosphere is the tallest building west of the Mississippi

- And if I"m not mistaken, Celine Dion is opening a full time act in Feb or March or something like that......

Ok, I know this is a long post, but I'll have some more for you (as Beaver Cleaver would say) after later!! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[ILuvDisney]

Dana, My gosh!!!! THANKS A TON for all the information!! Whoohoo...I'd better hop to planning. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Janet 46]

Donna, Hubby and I stopped in Vegas for 3 days on our honeymoon on our way back from Hawaii. Neither of us gambles much, so we rented a car and drove to Hoover Dam (very boring in my opinion, but DH is an engineer and loves that kind of stuff), Lake Mead (very pretty) and Zion National Park (gorgeous but it's a long drive - I don't remember which state it's in [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img] Wait, I found it! It's in the lower SW corner of Utah.) Also, if we had time, we could have gone to an Indian reservation in Arizona or the lower portion of Grand Canyon Nat'l Park.

I'll be in Vegas for a convention in the middle of March. When are you thinking of going?

[Janet 46]

The dreaded double post.

[ 01-02-2003, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: Janet 45 ]

[ILuvDisney]

Janet, I'll probably try and get a trip together for sometime either in May or June.

You guys are an awesome source of info! Thanks!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Heidi]

As my second favorite travel destination [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] , here are some tips:

If you like slot machines, the ones in "old" Downtown - Golden Nugget, etc. are much "looser" at giving out winnings. I won about $400 in 35 minutes on Wheel of Fortune. And you can check out the free laser light show in the evening on the arched cover outside the hotels.

MGM has a great buffet for I think around $15. Lots of good food. We loved it. Luxor's Pharroh Feast was good too. There is lots of good food there.

Lots of shops at Aladdin and Ceasar's Forum.

Luxor is one of my favorite casinos on the strip - we stayed there one year. Beautiful rooms in the towers - they are cheaper than the pryamid.

House of Blues at Mandalay Bay (always reminds me of Downtown Disney).

Bellagio is gorgeous and the water show outside - you have to watch at least once.

I like going to the M&M store along the strip at MGM. Always take a picture of it and they have some really neat M&M clothes and stuff inside.

www.vegas.com has lots of info. I always use it when I'm planning my trip.

What ever hotel you stay at or play the most at, get one of the cards from the casino to get "rated". If you spend enough, you get deals the next time you come down - free nights, meals. It costs nothing to get he card. You just enter it into the slot machine or give to a dealer to "run the tab" on what you spend. My friend who goes a lot always get some free nights.

My friends are planning another girls trip in October. Something to look forward too. Have fun planning.

[Heidi]

Here are a couple more sites I found (you can never have enough when planning [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )

www.lasvegas.com
www.lasvegas24hours.com/index.asp
www.lvol.com/
www.a2zlasvegas.com/

[img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]

[ILuvDisney]

Heidi, that website you posted is a great source of info. Coupled with that and Janet's info she's going to grab for me I'll be set. Ya'll rock. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[ILuvDisney]

Heidi, YOU ROCK!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[maggieworkman]

We went to Vegas a couple of summers ago. I went with my mom and my two kids (9 and 6 at the time)! We had sooo much fun. I didn't put one quarter in a slot machine and still had fun! During the day we did all the fun, free stuff on the strip. We saw the pirate show at Treasure Island, the volcano explode at the Mirage, the moving fountains at Caesars (there are two) and the fountain show at Caesars. The fountains at Bellagio were our favorite - we watched them at least once per day. We also went for a gondola ride at the Venetian (small fee). But the hotel is GORGEOUS! We also did the $6.95 steak dinner in Downtown. The overhead light/canopy show was fun too in Downtown. Excalibur had free shows all day - Merlin was there, puppet shows, a queen and her court made a stroll through the hotel) We saw the white tigers from the Siegfried and Roy show (but didnt' see the show, they have a walk through "habitat"). We went to "Paris" and went up the Eifel tower. That had a great view. Another thing we did almost every day was go to Aladdin's. They had a shopping area called Desert Passage that was great. It kind of reminds me of Morocco in EPCOT. But they had shows too like belly dancers, etc. Also Luxor was fun and had great theming. We spent a day there looking around at the stuff. We went through a little King Tut like exhibit (small fee).

We also took a day trip to the Grand Canyon! It was beautiful. Worth it to me. We saw the Hoover Dam too. But we just stopped for pictures and a quick look on our bus tour to the Grand Canyon.

I went to see EFX - Live! IT had Rick Springfield. I am a big Rick Springfield fan. This show was great - even if you don't care for Rick. It isn't just him sitting around singing his songs. It is an actual show.

We also ate at Emeril's restaurant. Not the Fish house in MGM, but the other one in the Venetian (??).

Our hotel (we stayed at a Holiday Inn Boardwalk on the strip across from MGM. It has a roller coaster on top - but it isn't ridable) had nightly entertainment. I went three nights in a row to see this Prince impersonator. He was sooo good. I think he looks more like Prince than Prince does. They also had an Elvis impersonator, but I didn't see him. That cost money. The prince guy was free.

During the day, we all went as a family around. At night, when the girls were asleep, I stayed in the room and my mom went to the casino to play some slots.

I didn't think I would like it, and I didn't think it would be the greatest place to take the girls, but my mom wanted to go, so I did. We had a great time and I want to go back. The only problem was the heat - we went in June/July and it was REALLY hot.

If I had more time (i.e. I didn't have to worry about the girls) I would have gone to see one of the Magician shows. I heard that guy was great! I really wanted to see some Las Vegas showgirl type shows - you know all the feathers and stuff. I think most shows either had topless or something [img]graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] but I think there was one that didn't. There was an impersantor show at the Stratosphere that I wanted to see. There is also a Star Trek exhibit there. Riverdance was playing when we went, but I don't know if it is still there. Mandalay Bay ususally has great entertainment because they are so far down the strip that they have to entice people to go there.

We didn't have a car and did everything fine. We even walked to the Venetian. But we took the trolley back. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Maggie

[ 01-05-2003, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: maggieworkman ]

[Heidi]

Awww, shucks [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img] ...... Hope you have fun planning. There is so much to do there and discover.

Word of advice, summer is really hot - over 100 during the day so if you don't like it that hot, plan for another time. I've been in January, February and December and it's was beautiful everytime. Very comfortable for walking around outside.

[tikibird]

Hi Donna,

I second Heidi in that June is VERY HOT!! I planned on walking the strip one day - ended up having to stop in every lobby along the way, and at Ghiradelli's for a coke float, or I might have shriveled up and died! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I am also not a gambler, but did enjoy the free shows at the hotels. I stayed at Treasure Island, and they have a cool Pirates show there. There is a volcano next door at the Mirage, and loved just watching the boats at the Venetian. The Madame Tussaud's there is very good, as well. And, as mentioned, the fountains at the Bellagio are fabulous.

The M&M store was another of my favorites - I got a sticker that said I was an honorary M&M and wore it on the plane ride home.

The shopping area at Caesar's Palace is excellent, including a Disney Store, of course. There is also an animatronic battle-of-the-gods thing in there, also. And a Cheesecake Factory! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Oh, and speaking of food, don't miss the buffet at the Bellagio. Some of the best desserts I ever had! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Now all of this is making me miss that great company that sent me on conferences to cool places like Vegas, Anaheim and Orlando every year. [img]graemlins/cry2.gif[/img]

Looking forward to hearing about your plans!

[DreamingofDisney]

Just a hint for the next time you go...if you have the kids but want to see a "showgirl" type show, usually the early show is with costumes and the later show is the topless one. The hotel should be able to confirm this for you.

Chris

[Travelin' Mom]

Donna,

You're going to have a great time, I just returned from 10 days in Nevada over Christmas/New Years. We didn't spend the whole time in Vegas as we were there for a family reunion in Mesquite (1 hr. NW) and actually I wasn't that hyped on going there with kids & not being a gambler at all, but I loved it! I used a lot of the sites recommended before but the one I liked best was www.vegas4visitors.com - it has great reviews and a weekly column.
We rented a car but that's because we had to travel, we also used it to go the the Hoover Dam & a day trip about 20 min. west to Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful area in the Mountains. If you plan on staying on the strip you don't need one - we didn't use our car for a couple days.
We stayed at Treasure Island, we got the room for $55 a nite on their website on a internet only promotion so be sure you check the websites of all the hotels you're considering, they run great deals. We got the top floor penthouse suite overlooking the pirate battle, 2 free dinner buffets & a coupon book for all kinds of buy 1/get 1 free deals. We loved the hotel, but would love to stay at NY/NY, Paris or the Venetian too!
If you don't rent a car use the trams/monorails - they connect almost all the hotels.
- Must see show: any Cirque show, we went to Mystere at TI, tickets are pricey but sooo worth it! Get your tickets early you can order online (see where your tickets are) up to 90 days in advance & do order then to get best seats they sell out fast. They have a water one, O, at the Bellagio & two more opening at NY/NY & MGM Grand. The other show we saw was a holiday skating show at Mandalay Bay so can't comment on other shows, but sounds like EFX is good & Celine should be open when you go!
- Must see hotels (even if you don't stay go see them)Mandalay Bay, Luxor, New York/NY (be sure to walk thru/eat at Greenwich Village & coaster is a trip! Coney Island arcade is great for kids, especially the laser tag), Paris (ride the eiffel tower at night for great view/photos, be sure to stay for Bellagio fountain show), Bellagio (see fountains from below too!), M&M World (if you have kids), Desert Passage at Alladin (watch the rainstorm & ride the Pedicab), Forum shops at Ceasars (watch the 2 laser shows, eat at Cheesecake Factory), Mirage (dolphin habitat is great, volcano at night), Treasure Island (Pirate Battle at night-best show in town), Venetian (Grand Canal shoppes, Interactive wax museum is fun, ride the gondola outside).
- Food: we didn't eat anywhere fancy with the kids, but had great meals everywhere. As I said earlier CF was great, food court best at NY/NY, great rest. at Mandalay Bay, good buffets at TI, Mirage, Luxor - but the best, if you like seafood is off the strip at the Rio seafood buffet - be prepared to wait but it's worth it!
- I'm sure if you go in May or June it will be warmer & you can enjoy the pool. TI had a nice one but it was closed for repairs. It was cold when we were there, but the best pools looked like Mirage, Monte Carlo & by far the best was Mandalay Bay.

Sorry it's so long just got excited about the memories, hope you make some wonderful ones & win big if you play!

Schellie