Las Vegas Getaways » Family Getaways

Las Vegas Family Activities and Attractions

Diana Edelman — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:56:26 +0000

Las Vegas isn’t just a playground for adults. Families from all over the world head to the desert oasis for some quality time together. Whether spending time on The Strip, or adventuring outside the infamous casino-lined boulevard, activities for families await.

Las Vegas Strip Family Attractions

Adventuredome at Circus Circus encourages you to act your age somewhere else.

Housed in a large, pink glass bubble, the five-acre Adventuredome at Circus Circus Las Vegas offers a day full of thrills. It’s got 25 rides and attractions, including the exciting roller coaster that hovers above the crowd and treats guests to upside down screams, Board the Canyon Blaster — the world’s only indoor double-loop, double-corkscrew roller coaster, then check out the 4D theater experience and head over to the midway for some carnival games. Be ready to get wet if you plan on trying out the Rim Runner, a boat ride that plunges its passengers 60 ft into a pool of water. An all-day pass is $24.95.

Gameworks, located next to MGM Grand, offers another indoor experience for families. Adults can sip on beers while kids can play games like virtual bowling, race car driving and more, as well as shoot pool or play darts.

Housed in Mandalay Bay, Shark Reef Aquarium is an underwater exhibit where families can watch sea creatures up-close. It’s the only predator-based aquarium in North America and is packed with 2,000 animals including a variety of sharks, sting rays, piranhas and jelly fish. It’s even got endangered sea turtles and rare golden crocs. If you are a diver, there is an opportunity to dive with sharks in a ship wreck experience. Admission is $16.95 for adults and $10.95 for children 12 and under. Admission is free for children four and younger.

The famous illusionists, Siegfried and Roy have created the Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage. The pair present a sanctuary for animals such as white tigers and lions, panthers, leopards and Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. The Secret Garden even allows people to participate in the special dolphin trainer-for-a-day program. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for children 4 to 12 and free for children 3 and under.

There’s still more! Las Vegas: The CSI Experience at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino is a fantastic option for children 12 and up. Young crime-solvers (and grown-ups, too) act as crime scene investigators in an interactive challenge. It’s a hands-on attraction and when you solve the crime and find the killer, you receive an official CSI Diploma. Admission is $30 for ages 12 and up. Children under 12 are admitted for $23. For the younger crowd, M&M World at the Showcase Mall is perfect. The four-floor retail-entertainment complex is a chocolate-lover’s dream and includes a massive gift shop and a free 3-D movie.

Head off the Strip for more Family Fun

The Springs Preserve is a top recommendation for families

Escape the Strip and head out to explore the rest of Las Vegas with the family. The Springs Preserve is a 180-acre outdoor exhibit commemorating the history of Las Vegas that we highly recommend. It’s got museums, an outdoor concert area, and botanical gardens. There’s even a system of trails that takes families through an exploration of wetlands. The environmentally-friendly preserve features the Desert Living Center, a five building enclave complete with art gallery and library. The Center aims to educate people on the environment and how to live a greener life. It’s even got a Compost Crawl and Garbage Truck Theater to entertain kids. Ticket prices vary based on age and residency.

Other family activities include the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum — an interactive exhibit that combines education and child development with fun; the Alicante Nature Discovery Park — a 20-acre park with a lake; the Sky Zone Recreational Center where you can experience parachuting indoors; and the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix Family Fun Center, complete with rides, arcades and four race tracks.

Family Friendly Shows in Las Vegas

For a more stationary experience, there are family-friendly shows up and down The Strip. Magician Lance Burton is a must. Named “Best Magician” by the Las Vegas Review-Journal consistently, he delights crowds daily at the Monte Carlo Resort. Act quick to catch his show — his final performances are in early September. Nearby is the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur, a dining experience that takes you back to medival times of knights and feasts, including a jousting match on horses, fireworks and dinner sans silverware (yup, eating with your fingers).

Other shows for families are The Mac King Comedy Magic Show at Harrah’s Hotel and Casino; the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater at V Theater in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile; the entertaining performance by the Blue Man Group at the Venetian; and the family favorite “Lion King” matinee at Mandalay Bay. Just be aware that little kids may find the Lion King a little long and wordy.

Do you regularly visit Las Vegas with your family? If so, and you have some advice for readers planning a Las Vegas getaway, please let us know by leaving a comment below.

Find Family Friendly Hotels in Las Vegas Sure Las Vegas has embraced its notorious past with it’s...

Find Family Friendly Hotels in Las Vegas

Eric Miller — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:48:28 +0000

Sure Las Vegas has embraced its notorious past with it’s marketing campaigns in recent years, but there are still several family-friendly hotels in Las Vegas that offer attractive deals for adults travelling with teen and even pre-teen children.

Most of the older theme resorts have done a good job finding a happy middle ground in appealing to both older and younger guests. Excalibur, Circus Circus, and New York New York all have affordable room and entertainment packages for families trying to please a wide range of tastes.

Tournament of Kings Dinner Show at Excalibur

The Excalibur Family Package requires a two-night minimum stay and includes: 2-FOR-1 tickets for the Tournament of Kings dinner show and 2-FOR-1 tickets to their SpongeBob Squarepants Magic Motion 4-D movie ride. (each can accommodate up to 8 guests with 4 ticket purchases). The Tournament of Kings dinner show features dancing maidens, live jousting tournaments, fireworks and yes, even eating with your fingers. The food is meaty and quite good and the entertainment is an adventure just to watch. Tickets generally run about $60 with tax, so the 2-FOR-1 deal saves about $30/head. The package also includes 2-FOR-1 tickets to Adventuredome at Circus-Circus, 10 Free Play passes at the Fantasy Faire midway, 20% off on tickets for “Bodies, the Exhibition” and “Titanic, the Exhibition” (both at the Luxor), and buy one, get the second admission for 50% to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay for any aspiring oceanographers or scientists in your pack. This promotion runs until December 31, 2010. Rates are about $140/night on week-ends and $80/night Sunday-Thursday including taxes and resort fees. More adult-oriented distractions at Excalibur include Defending the Caveman (a hilarious one-man show about how men and women relate) stand-up comic Louie Anderson and several poker tournaments daily with big prize pools guaranteed.

The Adventure Dome at Circus Circus has been entertaining both kids and adults who are kids at heart for two generations. The Rides and Attractions feature the Canyon Blaster and water-soaked Rim Runner among several others. Circus Circus has taken the novel approach of letting families put together their own room and entertainment packages based on their specific needs. Instead of packaging together room and entertainment choices, they are letting their very low room rates and all-day Fun Passes (~$15 for kids, $25 for adults) speak for themselves. Rooms start at about $40/night during the week and go up to about $85/night on the week-ends. The rooms are basic. This isn’t the Bellagio. But with ad slogans like “Act your age somewhere else” and “Embrace your inner lunatic”, Circus Circus is not trying to attract folks looking for in-room tranquility or a spa experience.

CSI: The Experience at MGM Grand. Part of the 3 for $54 Entertainment Package available at NYNY, Excalibur, Luxor, MGM or Mandalay Bay Box Offices

The New York-New York resort and casino will probably best appeal to families travelling with teenagers who want to be a little independent. Their “3 for $54” package allows a person to do three of the following attractions for only $54: the CSI Experience at MGM Grand (test your inner crime-solver by playing the role of a crime scene investigator in an interactive challenge); “Bodies: the Exhibition” at Luxor; “Titanic: the Exhibition” at Luxor; the NYNY Rollercoaster; Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay; or the “Spongebob Squarepants 4D Ride” at Excalibur. The nice thing about this package is that although several of the options are located in different resorts, there are pedestrian skywalks and trams that connect all the other resorts to New York-New York. It’s a great way for a couple of responsible, adventurous, independent minded teens to explore Las Vegas with a mini itinerary in a safe, heavily populated zone. Room rates are generally about $100/night during the week and $150-200/night Fridays and Saturdays with a “Park Avenue” Strip view and 2-FOR-1 admission into the ultra hip nightclub ROK. Other attractions at New York-New York include Cirque du Soleil’s sexy “Zumanity” show (tickets ~$75), a very nice and comparatively reasonably priced spa, dueling pianos at night in the indoor/outdoor restaurant and lounge area and off course, just the general ambiance of walking around in Manhattan looking for Ray’s Pizza.

(Special note: Treasure Island, the pirate-themed resort across from the Wynn has changed it’s target marketing and image in recent years and is no longer the kid-friendly family destination it was in the past. It now appeals to a younger, sexier crowd and the famous dueling pirate ship show, although still a lot of fun to watch, is decidedly sexier than it was a few years ago.)

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