Traveling to famed Las Vegas is a bit different when going with a family. Tickets for famous performances such as the resident Cirque du Soliel shows, Phantom of the Opera, and many others can really add up and are not necessarily geared for very young audiences. MGM has a whole amusement park but that may not be up everyone’s alley. So what can you do?
Walk and look around. Don’t underestimate this, though, as there is plenty to see. One of my favorite attractions is the one found in front of the Bellagio. The choreography between the dancing fountains and the music was superb and quite entertaining.
My daughter preferred the lights and sounds of the volcano eruption at the Mirage. It looked so different before and during the show – it was exciting!
(NOTE: Many of these pictures were borrowed from my father-in-law.)
We did not watch the pirate show near Treasure Island as others had told us the newest version was more sensual and quite different than the fun-loving squash bucklers of the previous show. Walking around the Venetian was difficult as it had been many years since I last saw Phantom of the Opera on stage but it was not on this trip’s agenda. Still, this was a fantastic spot to rest our tired feet, get a bite to eat, and see tourists riding on the gondolas below.
For the walking part, be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring a stroller even if your kid’s legs are hanging off. Just walking the length of one hotel can be tiring let alone several of them. Before we headed back to the car, we paid a visit to the The Forum shopping center at Caesar’s Palace. There is a fountain where the ‘statues’ come alive but we didn’t get a chance to watch it as our timing was off.
We were only in Las Vegas overnight so what we could do and see in that time was very limited. Still, we had a nice preview of the main tourist area and the rest can be discovered and enjoyed on a future visit. One note, there are several people passing out fliers for X-rated shows and many of these cover the ground with graphic pictures. So, you might want to discourage your children from looking down as they walk unless you want to have a lot of explaining to do when you go back to your hotel.
See 2/1 Wordless Wednesday Featured Image.
15 comments
I love the photos! Vegas is more family friendly than I had anticipated, though we had the same bad experience of seeing naked lady photos strewn around the ground on the strip. Ugh! I wrote something up that’s a good companion to your post – if you’re able to stay longer in Vegas with the kiddos! http://www.friscokids.net/2010/05/what-to-do-in-las-vegas-with-kids.html
Sorry if this posts twice, it looks like the first didn’t go through.
That’s a great post, Debbie. I can tell you spent more time exploring than my measly 12 hours 😛 I added it to my article! No worries about the double post – they both went into my spam folder, probably because of your x-rated and naked mentions. Hehe!
TerriAnn,
Last year my friend and I took a trip to Las Vegas and we found out where to NOT take our children. She went back just a few weeks ago and concentrated on certain sightseeing sites and avoided certain parts of the strip. There are parts were men and women hand out x-rated pamphlets. (As you mention.) 20 years ago these pamphlets were of topless women and their tops were barred out. Today these pamphlets belong in hard core porn. I have a 13 year old son and 11 year old daughter and would die if they saw these. Yet I did see people walking their kids in these areas, I felt bad for them.
I have not taken my kids to Vegas yet but I do know I will probably follow your steps. The fountains are awesome! And good call on the pirate show. It is sensual and really boring, I might add.
I hope your kids had fun.
~Allie
I think that can be a major turn-off for many parents but, as you mentioned, as long as you know in advance where to and not to go, a family can have a great time here.
Sorry, I said “kids” but I was now direct to your bio at the footer and you have your daughter. I am so sorry for the mistake. 🙂
Haha, no problem. We’re kind of ‘odd’ having only one child but that was/is plenty for us. We do have a puppy now and that’s kind of like a second kid…
I don’t think it is odd. I just get used to commenting on some mom blogs and they have many sometimes. You get used to writing “kids”.
Keep up the awesome work showing how awesome the Bay Area is.
~Allie
Very true. It seems so many ‘mom’ bloggers have 2-5 kids! No worries 🙂
You are making me want to go back! I stayed at New York, New York when I went last time. We had dinner in the Bellagio and then watched the fountain show after that. I love it! I didn’t even know that the Mirage did their version of a light show. Interesting!
That sounds like a fantastic trip! I heard the food in Las Vegas is amazing but we didn’t know where to go and ended up getting McDonald’s 😛
I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas but we are waiting until my daughter gets a little older…I can’t wait to see the shows!
I’m sure you will have a great time. Just make sure you do a lot of pre-planning 🙂
I live in Vegas so whenever family comes to town they want to do the Strip. I miss the old pirate show that I grew up with!
I’ve never been to Vegas and every year I say I’m going. One of these years it will actually happen!
Las Vegas is a great place! I have done it both with girlfriends and family, and enjoyed it both times!
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