Las Vegas for children
LAS VEGAS – The ad slogan “What happens here, stays here” paints Las Vegas as a giant playpen for misbehaving adults. But the so-called “Sin City” packs more kid-enticing attractions than a family could hope to fully experience in a weeklong trip.
Yes, after dark, Vegas is best left to the adults. The topless bar fliers littering the streets and stench of stale beer permeating the air are decidedly not kid-friendly.
The trick is taking in the sights, sounds and thrill rides during the day, while the city’s shadier side sleeps. Even during the brutal summer heat, when temperatures can reach triple digits, Las Vegas is a hit with my 10-year-old stepdaughter.
Here’s where to find the family-fare jackpots:
Swim with the fishes
The water behind the viewing glass ripples. A buzz of murmurs rises from the crowd of onlookers. And then, suddenly, a flash of gray appears. As if sensing the audience, it slows to a graceful glide.
There, a 25-pound male calf swims alongside his mother, Duchess, a 30-year-old Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.
Sgt. Pepper was born June 8 at Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage hotel-casino. He has become the most sought-after sight at the popular attraction.
The 2.5-million-gallon Dolphin Habitat has four linked pools with a sand floor and artificial coral reef designed to mimic the bottlenose dolphins’ natural environment. Most of the dolphins were born here. They regularly perform tricks, from jumping through hoops to tail-walking.
A $15 general or $10 children’s ticket also allows access to the Secret Garden, a lush jungle setting featuring black panthers, golden tigers, leopards, lions and Siegfried and Roy’s famous white tigers.
The Mirage is at 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; call (800) 963-9634. It is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekends from Labor Day to Memorial Day.
Want more aquarium fun? Try these:
•The Mandalay Bay Shark Reef (3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) contains almost 2 million gallons of water. Inside are 1,200 species of sharks, sea turtles and exotic fish. Among the most amazing creatures are five rare, golden crocodiles and a male water monitor (cousin of the komodo dragon). There’s also an exhibit of piranhas.
It’s open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily; admission is $15.95/adults, $10.95/children 5-12, free/ages 4 and younger (877-632-7000).
•The Aquarium at the Silverton Hotel (3333 Blue Diamond Road) has a 25- by 12-foot curved viewing window looking into a 117,000-gallon artificial reef with 4,000 tropical fish, three species of stingrays and three species of sharks. Three times a day, a marine biologist dives into the tank to feed the fish and answer viewers’ questions.
One of six aquariums at the hotel, the exhibit is free. Fish feedings are at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. (702-263-7777).
Need for speed
If your kids are adrenaline junkies, Las Vegas has the amusement rides for them.
My stepdaughter watched the Manhattan Express scream overhead as we entered New York New York casino. She wasn’t sure she wanted to try the outdoor roller coaster, whizzing past the hotel’s top floors, which are designed to look like the Big Apple.
Her 19-year-old cousin finally talked her into it. After paying $12.50 for a ticket, she disappeared into a car that looked like a yellow taxicab.
And after a 203-foot climb, 144-foot drop, one loop and a sharp twist and dive later, she was eager to go again. And for $6 more, she could have purchased a re-ride ticket – but we had far more to see and do.
New York New York is at 3790 S. Las Vegas Blvd. (800-693-6763); the roller coaster is open daily 10:30 a.m. to midnight.
Want more thrill rides? Try these:
•Three rides at the top of the Stratosphere Tower (2000 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) are not for the faint of heart.
Insanity – The Ride extends riders in “escape-proof” seats 64 feet over the tower’s north edge, spins them at up to 3 Gs and angles them 70 degrees. Big Shot launches riders 160 feet before dropping them at 45 miles per hour – several times. And X Scream is an eight-car teeter-totter that shoots 27 feet over the tower’s edge and dives at 30-degree angles. One sudden stop leaves the car suspended in air, 900 feet above the ground.
It’s open 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Admission $10.95/adults, $7/children 4-12 years for the tower, and $9/each for rides; packages available (800-998-6937).
•Adventuredome at Circus Circus (2880 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) is an indoor amusement park stretching across 5 1/2 acres that has something for everyone.
Daredevils will love the Canyon Blaster, a 90-foot-high roller coaster with a double loop and double corkscrew track; and Chaos, a Tilt-a-Whirl meets the Scrambler. Young ones can ride Miner Mike, the train, or fly in the Thunderbirds. And for family fun, there’s miniature golf, laser tag and the Midway carnival games.
It’s open 10 a.m. to midnight, most days; cost varies based on ride. All-day passes are $24.95 for regular rides, $14.95 for junior (866-456-8894).
Day at the museum
Originality applies to the museum scene in Las Vegas.
At Lied Discovery Children’s Museum, touching is encouraged with more than 100 hands-on exhibits.
It has the earmarks of San Francisco’s Exploratorium, with tons of interactive art and science exhibits that even adults will love. A tornado chamber lets you stick your hand into a wind funnel, and parents are only too happy to help kids create their own radio program.
Youngsters can explore the inside of a giant replica toy train, build a sand dune and pilot the space shuttle.
The museum also caters to its youngest guests with crawling areas in the Baby Oasis and building stations, as well as quiet time with books and puppets in the Desert Discovery for children 5 and younger.
Lied Discovery Children’s Museum is at 833 N. Las Vegas Blvd. (702-382-3445). It’s open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays; admission is $8/adults, $7/children.
Want more museums? Try these:
•King Tut’s Tomb & Museum at Luxor Hotel (3900 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) is an authentic reproduction of King Tutankhamun’s tomb as discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922. The rooms contain hundreds of replicated artifacts, including the famous guardian statues. It’s open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily; admission is $9.99 (888-777-0188).
•Star Trek the Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton (3000 Paradise Road) has a History of the Future Museum featuring more than 200 props and costumes from the “Star Trek” television series and movies. For those wanting the complete experience, full-admission tickets include two interactive rides, the Klingon Encounter and Borg Invasion 4D.
It’s open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily; admission is $42.99/adults, $35.99/seniors and children 12 and younger. Ask at the ticket counter for museum-only tickets (888-462-6535).
Free for all
Surprise! You can find plenty to do in Las Vegas without spending a dime.
Perhaps the most notable free attraction is the Fountains at the Bellagio, a stunning water-light show.
As the show begins, 1,200 nozzles rise silently from beneath the quarter-mile lake in front of the hotel. The first strains of music fill the air and lighted water shoots up 240 feet, racing across the water’s surface like a chorus line of dancers.
The shows last three to five minutes, ending with a final flourish and explosion of water jets. Each show choreographs the lights and fountains with music ranging from classic to pop.
My stepdaughter was so enthralled, she asked to stay for the second show. Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas” was worth the 30-minute wait.
The Bellagio is at 3600 S. Las Vegas Blvd. (888-488-7111). The show spurts out from 3 p.m. to midnight weekdays, noon to midnight weekends. The shows are scheduled every 30 minutes until 7 p.m., and every 15 minutes thereafter.
Want more free attractions? Try these:
•The Volcano is the Mirage’s oldest highlight, a manmade structure standing 54 feet high on 3 acres of water. The ground shakes, smoke builds over the water and flames shoot 100 feet into the sky. The dark waterfall glows, turning into “molten lava.”
Shows are nightly starting at 6 p.m. in winter, 7 p.m. in spring and 8 p.m. in summer, erupting every hour until midnight.
•The Lion Habitat at MGM Grand (3799 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) allows visitors to view some of the resort’s 31 lions living on a nearby 8.5-acre ranch. A few of the lions are brought to a glass habitat inside the resort, where they sometimes feed and play on simulated mountain terrain from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. A tunnel of glass cuts through the habitat, allowing for better views, leading to the adjacent gift shop.
•At the Mirage, the White Tiger Habitat rotates some of the tigers from the Secret Garden into an open-air habitat surrounded by glass. The tigers are on display from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.