Las Vegas, been there with kids?

[npmommie]

so expanding on the grand canyon tour, hubby wants to also check out Vegas. I have heard there are family friendly things to do, but it just doesn't strike me as somewhere to go with kids.
anyone been there with kids?
IF, we go I am thinking the Mandalay Bay is where we would stay, and I only picked it because the pool looks fun

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Yes, we took out 2 girls (ages at that time: 10 and 8). It was during Thanksgiving break 2007. We spent 2 nights at Grand Canyon and 4 at Las Vegas. We had such a good time that we hope to go back during spring break this year!

There are plenty of people who think that you shouldn't take kids to LV, but we had no problem. There were plenty of activities for them to do. We visited Hoover Dam, Secret Garden at the Mirage, Lion Habitat at MGM, M&M World, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum (we had a great time here, taking silly photos of us with the celebrity figures!), Bellagio fountains, Mirage volcano, and visited several hotels like NYNY, Caesars, Venetian, Planet Hollywood, MGM, TI, etc. We also shopped, a lot, at PH, Fashion Show Mall, Venetian, Caesars, etc. We took the girls to see the Cirque Show Mystere at TI and they both liked it.

Make sure to visit one of the discounted ticket booths. There is one at the strip entrance of Fashion Show Mall and one in the big Coke bottle near MGM. They sell tickets for the same evenings shows at a pretty good discount. That is where we got out Mystere and Madame Tussaud's tickets.

We stayed at the Mirage and felt like it was a great location, especially for walking along the strip. The girls enjoyed the pool once for a few hours. It was a great trip and I hope you have a good one too!

 

[Youarehere]

I was there as a kid- loved it! Never brought kids. I remember thinking Circus Circus was heaven on earth.

 

[kirbsam]

we just got back with the kids. i think it is going back to an adult destination. but there are hotels, new york new york, circus circus, that have kid things to do. also, fountains, volcano and pirate ship are fun things to do also. and of course, there are shows that are g and pg rated. have fun.

 

[Bluestars]

I went recently with kids. We stayed at the Mandalay Bay. It is a beautiful hotel. They have so many pools and something that looks like a wave pool. It was cold, so we didn't do any swimming. The beds are so comfortable. Flat screen TV. The room service is a bit pricey, but we did it anyway. They have a lot of restaurants in the hotel, along with lots of shopping.

The Circus Circus is a great place for kids. They can get a wristband and ride unlimited rides. There are rides for younger kids and older kids. It is all inside a big dome. There is a large roller coaster, some type of log ride, and a bunch of other rides. There are carnival type games and video games. It is truly a child's dream. There are many restaurants to eat there that are not pricey at all.

In a different area they have circus acts throughout the day.

The people I went with went to see David Copperfield at the MGM. You can take a monorail from the Mandalay Bay to several different locations.

We plan on going in April and seeing the Ka Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield, and Mystere. There is a website that lists all of the shows and whether or not they are appropriate for children. Here it is

http://www.vegas.com/shows/

 

[james'mommy]

We stayed at the Mandalay Bay with family when my nephew was 2. The pool complex is great.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

We did a similar vacation 2 years ago. The kids were 9, 7 and 5. We stayed at Lake Las Vegas and did Zion, Bryce, Lake Mead and The Hoover Dam from there. I think we were there 5 nights. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton at Montelago Village and it was wonderful. Then we moved to the Golden Nugget for 2 days to check out the shark pool just rented a canbana and chillaxed. Loved it and loved down town. We then ended the trip with 2 nights at TheHotel@ Mandalay Bay, which we also loved. We saw Mama Mia, did the M&M tour and just looked around at the different hotels. Mandalay Bay has an awsome pool area and lots of food choices. The kids loved the entire and trip as did we.

 

[travelmel]

We went for a week with children ages 8 and 9. We had a blast. Neither DH or I gamble and we were always having fun doing something, eating something, looking at something.

It takes some studying but you can have fun on a low budget and also there are plenty of fun places to take your money.

I would avoid: Zigfried's Animal Thing... if you have been to ANY aquarium you have seen this stuff. This place is bad. We only went there because we had a really cool "city pass" type thing and so it was included in that.

Favorites: Believe it or not "Madame Truosseous (SP) Wax Museum" was really fun! We also LOVED the Star Trek Experience but that has since closed.. although I'm not sure if hte restaraunt "Quarks bar and grill" is closed. If it is open YOU SHOULD GO it's cute!

At the Luxor they had, at that time, a King Tut exihbit (sp) and it was really fun but it's gone now.. They have replaced it with the "Bodyworks" and also "Titanic" exihibits. THey also have a really cool motion simulator ride there.

The Venetian has the Gondola's which are very fun to ride in (but short in duration for the price).

There are umpteen websites designated to "enjoying vegas's free attactions" as well as family friendly tips.

I know that Vegas is trying to get away from the "Family Fun" image and back to the "naughty all the time" image but some of the old family stuff is still around. It's just maybe a tiny bit harder to find.

There's also off the beaten path things like the Children's Museum and there's a GREAT western theme'd park out in the Red Rock area
http://www.bonniesprings.com/

Spend some time researching and you will find a HUGE FOUNTAIN of information.

Good luck, you'll have a great time!

 

[malibuconlee]

Having no idea how old your kids are I'll be the voice of dissension and say I don't think Vegas is a place for kids. It really is an adult playground.

As a funny side note my daughter is proof that what happens in Vegas DOESN'T always stay there. We will be taking her there in July 2029!!!

 

[plutolovr]

Nope. I've been there many times and I only took my eldest DD after she turned 21. We plan on taking my twins possibly over Easter since they turned 21 in December.

I don't believe it is a place for children, I don't even like seeing them in the casino atmosphere, up at all hours of the night and such. That's what Disney World is for.

 

[kristilew]

We went with DD when she was 6 - she had a blast. We stayed at MGM and she loved visiting the lion cubs. She also loved the kids care there - we tried it the first night and she begged to go back after that - they had tons of crafts and board games and, apparently, really good hot dogs

We took her to the pirate ship show a pp mentioned, to watch the Bellagio fountains, to see the white tigers at whatever hotel they're in, and to the carnival games in Circus Circus. Also a Medieval Times tournament, which was big fun for her.

She was also obsessed with Egypt at the time, and had learned all about the pyramids, mummies, etc. So we took her all over the Luxor and through their exhibit that was a recreation of King Tut's tomb. Very cool.

I agree that there are some aspects of Vegas that kids shouldn't be exposed to, but I was surprised by how very family friendly it was. I don't know that I would take her in the tween/teen years, though. When she was little, a lot went over her head that would require explaining these days!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

We have been to Vegas several times with our girls (now 10 and 7). Mandalay Bay is awesome, but if you are looking for a more economical hotel with a great pool (not as cool as MB, but still tons of fun) check out The Flamingo. The Flamingo also has the benefit of being mis-Strip, so much easier walking access to other areas (especially Caesar's Palace and the Forum Shops). Mandalay Bay is at one end of the Strip.

My only real complaint about doing Vegas with kids is that none of the kid-friendly attractions open until 10am! While my 10yo is more willing to sleep in now, both my girls were early risers when they were younger. We would be ready to go by 8 or 8:30, nothing ould be open yet (other than the casinos).

Also, do not linger in the casinos! Security will definitely move you along. We had one trip where we ran into some friends and stopped to chat. About 2 minutes into the conversation, security asked us (they didn't have kids) to move along. They were very polite about it, and it was obvious we were not gambling, just talking. But they are very serious about keeping kids moving through casinos!

We've done just about everything listed already. There are also roller coasters at a few hotels (NYNY, Stratosphere and Sahara come to mind, but they have height restrictions, so double check that). Also, Sahara has NASCAR simulators (another activity with height restrictions) that are quite fun. And if you have a car, check out the See's Candy factory tour. Everyone gets a free sample during the tour which is also free. And of course the tour dumps you in the gift shop to entice you to buy candy as well! M&M World is a blast, but watch the cost. You pay by the pound, and it can get exspensive quickly!

Overall, Vegas is no longer trying to be a "family" destination, but with a little research, you can find tons of stuff to do with kids!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I don't believe it is a place for children, I don't even like seeing them in the casino atmosphere, up at all hours of the night and such. That's what Disney World is for.

My girls weren't "up at all hours of the night". The latest we were out was the night we took them to Mystere. As for walking through a casino, my girls didn't seem to be phased by it. My youngest said "This is a really big game room!" We didn't gamble at all when we were in LV. My DH played VP in the airport waiting on the flight home. We didn't experience anything that I (or they) were uncomfortable with. Now when we were in Ft. Lauderdale this Thanksgiving and saw that dude jogging down the beach in a string, that shocked them but they got over it.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I would avoid: Zigfried's Animal Thing... if you have been to ANY aquarium you have seen this stuff. This place is bad. We only went there because we had a really cool "city pass" type thing and so it was included in that.

I assume that you mean the Secret Garden at Mirage. Did you go to the other section that had the lions, white tigers, and other animals? We really liked it and the girls spent a really long time there and watching the dolphins. It seemed like you could get pretty close to the animals. We got to see a lioness run and the male got up and moved around unlike most that we have seen in zoos.

 

[SamRoc]

Took the kids there for the first time over 10 years ago. We stayed at the MGM grand at the time they had the amusement park there. Met with our friends from new york (they have 5 kids) who moved there to henderson. The kids had a blast in the kids club. We also saw EFX with Michael Crawford (the original Phantom of the opera) The kids loved it!
The next time i went was with dd when she was touring with Annie. We stayed at the Mandalay Bay and the girls loved the wave pool. Lots to do with kids there. But my past 3 trips have been girlfriends only!

 

[plutolovr]

My girls weren't "up at all hours of the night".

Well, you would be surprised by the amount of strollers we have to dodge at 2am.

 

[malibuconlee]

The pirate show someone mentioned in a pp is now called Sirens and I wouldn't call it especially kid friendly. You can see videos of it on youtube.

10 years ago Vegas was trying to be family friendly. They have since changed their minds.

 

[MelanieC]

I take my kids all the time, they have been many times since birth - but I'm also from Vegas and my family still lives there - so not exactly the same.


But -

My kids still like to do the fun stuff. Hoover Dam is kinda cool to go to. All the hotels are pretty neat to walk through. There are flamingo's for free at the Flamingo Hilton, A lion at the MGM (for free), Animal habitat (small) and Dolphins at the Mirage. There is a cool exhibit with trains, and everything is done in flowers or bark, etc. at the Bellagio -also the fountains out front and I love looking at the blown glass above the check-in area at the Belagio. The Volcano at the Mirage. The light show at the Down-town covered area, there is a small (not really worth it in my opion) aqaurium.

There are lots of things to do - how old are they?

 

[MelanieC]

The pirate show someone mentioned in a pp is now called Sirens and I wouldn't call it especially kid friendly. You can see videos of it on youtube.

10 years ago Vegas was trying to be family friendly. They have since changed their minds.

I agree the Siren's show is a bit provocative.

 

[npmommie]

thanks for all the info. after looking online, I was so surprised at all the kid friendly stuff there is to do!
the trip is in the very beginning of planning, my dh has been wanting to go to the grand canyon .........
now he is talking about the Sedona area........this is why I always do the planning for vacations, with him the plans will change a million times..........LOL.......I sent for a vacation planner for both areas and the grand canyon