Tips for Visiting Las Vegas Next Week?

I going to Las Vegas next week for my 12 year old's basketball tournament. Right now its just me and him (and his team) going down but my wife and other kids may join.

We get in about 9pm Thursday and leave about 5pm Sunday (July 24-27). I got rooms reserved at Mandalay Bay. I booked here because it looks like they have the best pool. Its refundable right now though if I want to change course. Games are all over town so doesn't matter much where we stay. Usually two games a day so we'll have big blocks of time.

Any suggestions or tips? Is the pool going to be crazy or not appropriate for kids? Any good shows or buffets? Places to avoid? I've been to Vegas a few times but sometime ago and never with kids. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

Mandalay Bay is a great pool for kids. Might be the best. Its just plain huge. And it has a sandy beach. It also has both a river raft and a wave pool. You can also check out the Shark aquarium there. I think its discounted if you stay there.

There's like a little shuttle tram that goes from Mandalay to Luxor to Excalibur. You can cross the bridge to NYNY and then again to MGM grand. NYNY has a roller coaster. So you can basically travel between all these places 99% indoors by walking and pretty quickly.

Not sure what you are into but the Cirque shows are good. Everyone I took to O in Bellagio loves it and I liked the Michael Jackson show in Mandalay.

Haven't been to a buffet in a long time but the Wynn I know is quite good and I hear good things about the Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan. If you're into racing you can check out the new F1 exhibit with simulators. Its just East of Planet Hollywood on Harmon.

Also the Sphere Postcards from Earth show is quite impressive and good for kids. Its at Venetian (technically just behind it).

 

Wow thanks sir appreciate it!

 

A terrific experience is the Atomic Museum on East Flamingo. It's an affiliate of the Smithsonian and an entertaining and informative exhibit. I'd say one to two hours to enjoy it all. A free experience that is always sensational is The Conservatory at Bellagio. If you want to expose your kid to a big slice of American history, there's the Pinball Hall of Fame just south of Mandalay. Just one note of caution at the pools. It's June. The earth is close to the sun. You're in the desert. Clouds are not in abundance. You can easily burn the daylights out of human flesh in under and hour.

 

I've not been downtown to the Mob Museum but it also is well liked by visitors.

 

Awesome thanks for the tips. I love the idea of educational/free exhibits. Appreciate the caution about the pool. I will get some crazy spf going on. I also have a sun shirt.

 

There is a Punk Rock Museum there as well...

Just know that 'fees and taxes' are going to add a crapload of $$$ to your room rate every day.
Might triple the rate.

 

The Mob museum is a fun experience but might be a little too violent for a 12 year old. There's some graphic photos and you might have to prep your kid for it. Then again, by that age most kids have seen a million grisly murders on video games, movies and TV so what do I know. The Neon Museum is a very cool experience if you go downtown but all of the retro mid century signs might not mean much to a 12 year old. At the top of Mandalay (64th floor) is a venue (I think kids can get in, it's a bar) that is fun to visit at dusk. You can look north as all of the Strip neon comes on. You also look straight down at the Luxor beacon. It's not for me but you can try the High Roller behind the Linc (giant Ferris Wheel) or take an elevator to top of fake Eiffel Tower at Paris for big view of city. You could do same thing at the Strat but who would want to? For God's sake, do not get roped into a helicopter tour of The Grand Canyon. Even though most of those flights return safely it is a defilement of the sacred GC.

 

Greenbergs in NY NY makes a pretty good pastrami sandwich ask for it on rye grilled in butter.

 

ok thanks. don't they have to disclose all the fees by law though? this is what i have

Room Rate and Estimated Tax*

$1252.09

Resort Fee ($50.00 per night and estimated tax)

$170.07

Reservation Total

$1557.16

 

awesome thank you. i'll probably skip the violent stuff if i can. Trying to hold off (we don't own a tv...). Love the idea of a cool view on the 64th floor i'll check it out

 

I don't pay resort fees but I think your daily total for it comes to about $61 all in

 

The beach entry pool will be fine, that's a family area. "Moorea" is the topless one and that's totally blocked off from the beach pool and the 'dayclub' pool that used to be called Daylight IIRC.

Shark Reef at Mandalay is one of my favorite attractions. And the Pinball Hall of Fame which is basically across the street from Mandalay, a little South. https://pinballmuseum.org/

Area 15 might be fun for him. They have some VR games and sci fi themed art experiences.

Hoover Dam is about 45 mins SE. Red Rock Canyon National Park is about 30 mins West ( just take the 215 beltway up and around to Charleston, make a left).

We have a few go kart places, although it's been a few years and they constantly seem to move around and re-name.

With a kid that age if you want to see Fremont St ("old Vegas") go before 8pm and not a Friday or Saturday, that tends to be a drunken freakshow on weekends with scantily clad [and ugly] buskers.

We have a cool climbing gym Red Rock Climbing Center on Charleston at Cimarron. My sons liked that place. Also, there's a par 3 course at Angel Park near the JW Marriott in Summerlin. Or at Town Square mall there's a hip new putting course that Tiger Woods allegedly invested in.

 

There is a guy I like on Youtube, he has some decent videos:

'Notleavinglasvegas'

https://www.youtube.com/@NOTLeavingLV

 

I think it is booking.com that will calculate all the fees and taxes, I'd try that,
pick a place, go thru all the motions, see what the numbers are, then cancel out of it - unless you want to book thru them.
Also, you can find some great deals if you call a place directly, they sometimes have rates you won't find on the internet.

 

great thanks we'll hit up the shark reef

 

Give yourself a good 30 minutes to sit and watch the sharks. It doesn't take long to walk through the other stuff and touch the rays in the pool, but the shark tank exhibit is so mind blowing that you need time to soak it in. The main room is about 270º of viewing with glass floor parts too, and a tunnel on the side to be underneath the sharks.

 

You are making me want to vist LV, but I cannot get past the ridiculous room rates, dining and drink costs,
costs to attend shows, parking costs, and all the nickel-and-dime fees and costs that add up.

 

Oh even as locals the fees, parking, and exponential increase in food costs are annoying as hell. I actively avoid properties like Caesars that charge for parking. Everything at Forum Shops is basically at Crystals Mall or Wynn, and those have an hour or three free still.

Some of my favorite local restaurants have doubled their menu prices too, lunches from $7-9 now $15-20 each, now $20+ per person with a soda and a tip.

 

I'm just really stuck on South Padre Island.
Everything is in walking distance, it's not too hot and it's not humid,
prices are reasonable, there is a free shuttle that circles the island
14 hours a day, a zillion bars and restauraunts....
A ton of condos with kitchens so you take the shuttle to one of the
three albeit smaller grocery stores and stock up on food and drink
if you want, and over in Port Isabel there is a W-M and an HEB....
Shuttles go by them, too.

 

Just googled it. looks like a pretty cool part of texas. hopefully the kid has a tournament there soon.

 

No, they don't do that kind of stuff on SPI itself, but some colleges such as Nebraska
have had 'Winter get-aways' before the season starts in Brownsville or Harlingen.

SPI is only 3/4 of a mile wide, but if you go, stay on the 'Gulf' side, not the 'Bay' side,
there is no sand, no beach, on the 'Bay' side, but that is where most of the restaurants
are, the Bay side.

There are not a lot of 'things to do' - it's mainly for adults/people that just want to
be on the beach, or like to visit a lot of restaurants. If you like Shrimp, it's a good place to go.