Long famous as "Sin
City", Las Vegas is becoming the "Orlando of the West". Though not all
are pleased, the scope of activity for families has grown over the past few years. But there is also a trend for more adult activity as well. Families can have an enjoyable vacation if parents carefully supervise children. There is a curfew on the Strip! Children must be accompanied by an adult at night. Vendors hand out adult literature on the Strip. Just ignore them and walk by. The courts have ruled this as free speech so just keep the kids occupied on the appropriate activities for them!
Circus-Circus
and it's properties (Excalibur, Luxor) broke the barrier by providing lots
for the kids to do while mom & dad play. Success is quickly copied.
Treasure Island next to Mirage has a family theme and a nightly free pirate
show with pyrotechnics and a sinking ship! Next door, Mirage has Seigfried
& Roy's Secret Garden where white tigers, dolphins, white lions
and elephants may be viewed in a natural setting.
The Showcase Mall
next to MGM has The Coca-Cola Store, M&M land and a very high-tech
arcade. Look for the 5 story Coke bottle with an elevator inside.
Star-Trek
fans will want to beam directly to the Las Vegas Hilton for Star Trek:
The Experience. The $15 attraction is better than most simulators I've
tried. But there are several other motion rides and simulator attractions
in Vegas. Caesars "Race to Atlantis" throws in an IMAX screen to add to
the reality.
There's Wet and
Wild water park (in season) between Circus-Circus and Sahara.
Circus has continuous circus acts and the Adventuredome INDOOR amusement park
as well as the famous midway.
Excalibur, Circus-Circus
and Luxor have rides and arcades created just for the rug rats.
A good afternoon
can be spent doing factory
tours or visiting the Imperial Palace Auto Collection.
The Lied
Discovery Museum is located just north of downtown on Las Vegas Boulevard
and has lots of "hands on" exhibits. There's stuff for 3 year olds and
15 year olds, as well. They can easily spend several hours here.
Across from Leid
Discovery Museum is beautiful Cashman Field where the Las Vegas 51's Triple
A team plays (in season). The Padres minor league franchise provides a
great, inexpensive night out. Tickets are cheap ($7 puts you behind the
dugout). The field is major league, the play fierce and the between-innings
promotions are fun. And they don't go on strike!
Take 'em to the
Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and T-shirts or maybe to Caesars Forum Shops where
the statues come alive in front of The Stage Deli every hour and there is a laser, fire & water Atlantis show as well as an aquarium in front of Virgin Records..
The MGM Grand
has a youth program providing supervised care and entertainment while the
kids play. Lots of stuff to do there. It's the only such facility on the
Strip. See Las Vegas also
has lots of parks and playgrounds, a Mini-Grand-Prix and Pistol Pete's,
etc.
A real thrill
for the younger kids is to feed popcorn to the carp and striped bass at
the Lake Mead Marina which is off U.S. 93 - just North of Hoover Dam. Popcorn
is sold on site and you can even get a "family cruise" there on the Desert
Princess!
Sam's Town (about
5 miles East on Flamingo) has a free laser water and light show beginning
each afternoon in their atrium garden. There's also animated wildlife nestled
in the garden setting. There's also bowling at Sam's. Santa Fe out in the
Northwest has bowling and an indoor ice rink with inexpensive skate rentals.
Call ahead for public times.
For a petting zoo and Western gun fights, take a drive to
Old Nevada-Bonnie
Springs Ranch. This link even provides an admission discount!! Visit
Red Rock Canyon
on the way to or fro'.
The
Clark County Parks & Recreation page provides additional suggestions,
a map and an events schedule.
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