Hi everyone I am new to Fodor's but heard I could get some really helpful tips...for starters we are going to Las Vegas in August and are taking our 6 year old daughter (and a babysitter haha) Can any one give me some ideas on the best places for kids and some ideas on the must see shows or places for us adults? We are staying at the Sahara. Thanks!

There is lots of info on this subject, just type VEGAS KIDS above in the search this forum box and lots of previous threads will come up!

Don't miss the MGM Lion cubs! The Discovery Children's museum would be a great place to drop the babysitter and child off for 3 hours or so.

www.cheapovegas.com is my favorite Vegas website.

We stayed at Sahara 2 1/2 yrs. ago with my then 13 yr. old. He was into the Nascar stuff and Speed the ride, which your daughter's too little young for. Anyway, CircusCircus is a short drive or 10 - 15 minute walk

The lions at MGM are fun & free. It's amazing to watch them play with "beach balls" like giant tabby cats. You get to walk through their enclosure. Mandalay Bay has a gigantic wave pool and I've heard kids like that. Mandalay also has Shark Reef - a fantastic aquarium, but that's not free. The Flamingo has a free wildlike area with penguins, flamingos, swans, ducks and assorted other birds. Our favorite show is the original Cirque du Soleil at Treasure Island - Mystere. It's also less expensive than any of the other Cirque shows. "O" is great but very pricy and the best seats are reserved for Bellagio guests. Go to visitlasvegas.com to get info on who and what will be in Vegas while you are there. It's the official web site of the city visitors and convention authority. Carry water with you if you are walking around during the day, and eyedrops if your eyes get dry. The heat and low humidity suck the moisture out of you quickly. Have fun!

I hear that Danny Gans is pretty funny......I never got a chance to see him, but saw his previews. He also has a Christian music cd out which is soooo good!

I hear he is hilarious and is a great impressionist.

Also, remember to drink tons and tons of water......the heat in Vegas is dry and you really don't feel yourself sweat...so you can get dehydrated before you realize it.

Ethel M's chocolate factory and take the tour. Bellagio fountains are great, my kids love to see them, and go inside to the conservatory for a great photo opp. Wax Museum at Venetian. Siegfried & Roy's Magic Garden is nice, has dolphins, which most young girls like.
For you adults, previous poster mentioned Danny Gans, and I highly second it. We have seen him about 5 times and would still go again. He is terrific, my opinion is he is one of the best shows in town...because really how many Cirque shows can one see? Mamma Mia is great also, and that is a show that you daughter may enjoy too, very fun and gets everyone going. My DH did not want to see the show but he ended up loving it!
Have fun!

Hello,
Check out the following web sites:
ratelasvegas.com, which has customer reviews of hotels, buffets, shows, kid activities, etc. Also lasvegas.com has lots of iniformation on many aspects of the city, including the monorail which is the best way to travel up and down the strip. It is fast, safe, and air conditioned. There is a stop at the Sahara. Have fun

My opinion of the monorail is not so favorable. It runs behind the casinos on the "east" side of the strip, so you don't see much of anything, you have to walk through or around the casinos to get to it, and the fares are expensive. Single Ride Ticket $5.00
Two-Ride Ticket $9.00
Ten-Ride Ticket $35.00
Unlimited One-Day Pass $15.00
Unlimited Three-Day Pass $40.00

It's fast, but it mainly serves the convention center and doesn't stop where I want to go.

The new double decker buses are clean and go all the way up and down the strip into downtown. A single ride is $1 or $2 depending on if you qualify for a discount, and a 24 hour pass is $5. You can sightsee and get where you want to go.

HI. I went to vegas for the first tiem in february, If you like comedians, George Wallace at the Flamingo was unbelievably funny. I would see him again.

I rented a car for the day and took a drive to the Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire. I enjoyed them both.
If you have any other specific questions, please ask.

stu

My four top tips:

l. Stay mid-strip--near Flamingo Avenue (which the Sahara is not).
2. Use the valet parkng service at all hotels.
3. Find out the times and places for free entertainment.
4. Make time to see local scenery--such as Red Rock Canyon.

Thank you all for your great tips! I have found some amazing deals checking out the certain websites referred...we have decided to go without kids after getting much feedback from friends and co-workers and will be planning the Disneyland trip in October with kids... So, I would still enjoy recieving great Vegas tips...just for adults only now! Thanks again!

Going with children is a good idea. Vegas is still a town for adults. If you find a hotel that interests you, I'd call them directly or check their web site. They usually give you a better rate directly than you can get through third parties. If you book air travel far enough in advance it's usually cheaper to book air and hotel separately. Once in awhile, however, I've seen package deals through Southwest that were less expensive than booking separately, especially if you make reservations close to when you are going. The Flamingo is great for location and has decent rooms. You can ask for a room on the Flamingo Road side with a view of the Bellagio fountains (higher floor, towards Las Vegas Boulevard) I don't know about Bally's. Never stayed there. Bellagio is beautiful and sometimes they have specials. If you plan to see "O" it's a good idea to stay at Bellagio. They reserve the best seats for guests. The new Wynn is offering some attactive specials during the summer, as is the Venetian I've heard. They both have lots of rooms to fill up, and are not located in the "heart" of the strip.

Las Vegas can be very fun for children. My daughter's faves are Rainforest Cafe' at MGM, the dolphin facility at the Mirage (fabulous!), shopping and talking statues at the Caesar's Shops, the "thunderstorm" in the Aladdin Shops, the puppet shows at Excalibur. We are Star Trek fans and love the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton. We also make one day trip out of town each time and have enjoyed Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, and the Valley of Fire (SO fun to climb on the rocks and amazing petroglyphs!). It's also great fun to eat at Mon Ami Gabi's on the patio and watch the Bellagio Fountains. We don't gamble or do shows, and have PLENTY to keep up occupied. You'll have a great time!

You might want to consider the river raft ride down the CO. river. It is great and an all day tour which will include seeing the Hoover Dam. It is fun and the day we went there was a wonderful breeze on the river. It was over 100 degrees but not once were we hot. Not sure if that holds true all the time, they give you wet towels if you are hot. It goes through black canyon, very scenic about 4 hours long. I highly recommend this to get out of the crowded city.

I meant to say, going WITHOUT children is a good idea. That way you can concentrate on your fun and don't have to explain the trucks driving up and down the strip advertising all nude all dancing escort services or the topless ice capades show. I second the suggestion about getting out into the desert if you haven't seen much desert, at least Red Rock Canyon, which is practially a suburb now. For kitschy fun, I recommend the Liberace museum. I resisted my spouse's patient pleas to go for many years, until I ran out of excuses. It has a remarkable collection of pianos, as well as his costumes and jewelry. The proceeds go to his scholarship program, which gives grants to student artists. It's in a mall a fair ways from the strip, but they were running a free shuttle to several strip hotels when we went. The Imperial Palace has an automobile museum on the top floor. It's more like a car lot for expensive and unusual autos now, but is also fun, especially since you can get coupons for free admission from their web site: http://www.imperialpalace.com/autos.php.The last time I went, they had Johnny Carson's family automobile and the desk from his early TV show, and Liberace's limo with candelabra turn signals.

Monte Carlo is centrally located on the strip, and reasonably priced. They also have a Mcdonalds downstairs if I can remeber correctly. There is a lazy river that the kids love. Mandalay bay of course has the wave pool and beach setting, but is much more expensive. There is also a water park nearby and a great place to go to cool down. Besides the above activities mentioned, the gondolas at the venetian are fun, they also have a magic shop there which the kids get a kick out of. The Rio hotel has a "parade" through the casino new orleans style, and they throw out beads, which is also fun to watch. Excalibur hotel also has some kid shows/puppet shows, and new york new york, has a roller coaster ride (not sure what the height requirement is). Finally, if you go to old Las Vegas, there is a light show every 15 minutes or so which is entertaining to watch. Have fun!