Viva Las Vegas!

[BriarRose0708]

My boyfriend's company is sending him as part of the sales team to a conference in Vegas at the end of June, and I get to go with him! He's exhibiting at American Library Association so in addition to collecting free books from the publisher's booths, I am looking for things to do and need your suggestions! Here are some things to consider:

-I have never been to Vegas before.
-I don't really gamble but will play some slot machines and maaaaybe a game of 21 or two (at the $5 tables!)
-My DBF will be working at the exhibit hall most of the day so I am looking for good solo activities. He's been to Vegas a bunch of times but won't be able to spend much time with me.
-We are not staying on the strip. The conference is at the Las Vegas Convention Center but I know the monorail (they have those outside Disney?? Who knew!) runs from the Convention Center to the strip.
-I will arrive on a Thursday afternoon and taking the red eye home the following Tuesday night.

Here are the activities I know about that I want to do:
-Pool time
-Fountain show
-Pirate show
-Lions at the MGM Grand
-Walk around and see the following hotels: Caesar's Palace, The Venetian, The Bellagio, Luxor, New York New York, Paris.
-See at least one Cirque show

Here's where I need help!
-What other hotels should I add to my list?
-What else is there to do that's free and/or low cost (like $25 to $30?)
-Are there affordable places to eat like food courts? How much are meals at mid-priced restaurants (not the super upscale places)
-Which Cirque show should we see? I've never seen one at all, and DBF has seen Ka and Zumanity. We are splurging on tickets for good seats so the price isn't that much a concern here.
-Is downtown Las Vegas worth it? We may go see Book of Mormon at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts and would make an evening of spending time off the strip.
-Anything else I should know?

Thanks so much for your help!

[MNNHFLTX]

Well, I've only been to Vegas once, but I have a few tips. First of all, sounds like you've already got a relatively full agenda with lots of fun activities. I would definitely suggest visiting downtown. This is especially true if you do intend to gamble a little, as Fremont Street is a lot of fun and the odds are much better than gambling on the strip. My husband and I spent a long afternoon there and actually managed to come out ahead somehow. And many of the building are vintage and interesting in their own right.

As far as food, lots of the casinos have specials. If you like shrimp you have to try one of the 99-cent shrimp cocktails (at least they used to be 99-cents!) The best ones were at Golden Gate casino (also on Fremont street), we had several there. I also remember buying 75-cent hot dogs and steak dinners for cheap, but I can't remember where.

If you like roller coasters (I can't remember if you do, Nikki?) you should go on the one at New York, New York. It was expensive for a one-time deal, but a wild ride high above the strip. My son and I loved it.

[BrerGnat]

I highly recommend "O" (Cirque show at Bellagio). It is the best Cirque show I've ever seen.

There is TONS of stuff to do along the strip. I would just recommend walking around and seeing what strikes yourown fancy. Many of the hotels have either attractions (like rides) or museums that you can do. There is an M&Ms world over by the MGM Grand. The Luxor has some neat stuff to see as well. The Forum shops and the Venetian as well as Planet Hollywood are all nice indoor malls. There is an Earl of Sandwich inside the Planet Hollywood! One of my favorite restaurants is at Paris (Mon Ami Gabi--wonderful french casual steakhouse). There is a pastry/chocolate shop inside Bellagio that is owned by Jaques Torres, who is a master chocolatier. Definitely worth a stop for some amazing desserts. Pool time will be a must! It will be HOT! If you get too hot outside walking, hoo into a cab to get around, even if you are only going a few blocks. Totally worth it when it's 110 degrees outside! Bring along a large bottle of water. It's surprisingly difficult to find water for sale along the strip at reasonable prices.

[CynBeth]

Just to let you know the lions are gone from the MGM. Also, at the Mirage are Siegfried and Roy's animal habitat but I do not remember the cost. At night they have a little show where you see a volcano in front erupt. Also, at Mandalay Bay is the shark reef. Unfortunately I do not remember the price of that either.

[BriarRose0708]

Just to let you know the lions are gone from the MGM. Also, at the Mirage are Siegfried and Roy's animal habitat but I do not remember the cost. At night they have a little show where you see a volcano in front erupt. Also, at Mandalay Bay is the shark reef. Unfortunately I do not remember the price of that either.

Oh that's too bad about the lions. Thanks for letting me know!

And thanks to Beth and Nat. I am thinking we'll see O, I keep hearing amazing things. Adding roller coasters to the list of possibilities, too.

[Jezzup]

I was in your situation two years ago. Went to Vegas with a friend who was attending a conference. I had all day to myself. We would meet in the evening for dinner then do whatever. We did not see any shows so I cannot make any suggestions.

Except for eating alone, I had a blast. I rented a car and did a “History Channel” tour. I went to the Pawn Stars pawn shop, Rick’s Restoration, Kount’s Kustoms, and the Toy Shack which is on Freemont Street so I was able to explore downtown Vegas as well. If you like the shows, I’d say give this a try but it would likely cost more than your $25/30 limit. All four locations are within a three mile radius. It is walkable if you like to walk but the area is sketchy. I would advise against doing this on foot.

There is a restaurant in NY-NY that is great for breakfast. I believe the name is America.

As for exploring the Strip, the best advice I can give is wear comfortable shoes, dress lightly, and carry a bottle of water with you. Pick a direction and start walking. I would not venture past Wynn though. There is plenty to see. You will not be bored.

[BowTie7]

If you get downtown during the day, I would recommend The Mob Museum which is an easy walk from Fremont street. if you have a rental car, The National Atomic Testing Museum and Springs Preserve are two more excellent museums that are in town but do require a car. A bit more of a drive gets you to Red Rock Park or to Hoover Dam.

[JanetMegan]

We just got back from our second trip a few weeks ago.

You won't have too much trouble finding reasonable places to eat, trust me there are some high ones too but there are also fast food places and some middle of the road places.

I'd like to echo what everyone said about shoes and about the heat. Take water, take rests, walking around on the strip things look closer than they actually are. You look and say, no problem I can walk to that and then...it's like 3 miles each way.

I'd like to not recommend the roller coaster at NYNY. It was expensive and it was SOO rough.

If you can find a tour company to take you with a group on a day trip to the Hoover Dam I'd try to do that.

[BriarRose0708]

Thanks again everyone for your tips and suggestions! I leave on Thursday morning and my prep has begun!

We got tickets to O on Saturday night. Getting dinner at the Bellagio, maybe at the buffet if we get there from the LVH early enough (booked the 7:30 show)

The LVH has $20 day passes to the spa and the pool is free to use (but not the fitness center ) so I will be doing that Thursday afternoon and Friday. Aaaah, relaxation!

Saturday and Sunday during the day I'll be spending a few hours on the exhibit floor browsing all the free books! One of the perks of setting up at a Library Conference. In the afternoons I want to hop on the monorail and explore the strip hotels.

A visit to my BF's cousin is in the works, he owns a kiosk in the Fashion Show mall.

We will probably spend most of Tuesday before catching the red eye home on Fremont St., looking forward to a taste of Old Vegas.

I'll post a quick recap when I get back!

[BrerGnat]

Sounds great! Have fun!

[BriarRose0708]

We got back home yesterday morning from Vegas. Had an amazing time!

I had a pool day Friday (stayed at the LVH, now bought by Westgate) with a couple friends DBF works with who didn't have to work at the conference yet. We paid for a couple day loungers and a huge umbrella. Well worth the money because there was no shade anywhere on the pool deck and it was 100 degrees! Spent the morning and afternoon lounging, swimming and relaxing with a cocktail. So nice! In the evening a group from the company went to Caesar's Palace for dinner. We ate at Spago in the Forum Shops, it was delicious! We explored a little more of Caesar's and then headed back to the room at LVH. It had been a long day for DBF on the show floor and he had to be ready by 7 a.m. the next day.

Saturday I wandered around the exhibit floor and met some authors and attended book signings. Took a nap in the afternoon and then it was date night with DBF! We had tickets to the 7:30 show of "O" at Bellagio and wanted to get dinner at the buffet first. We couldn't leave until 5:30 when we was done working and by the time we got there the wait for the buffet was over an hour. So we grabbed sandwiches at a take-away place down the hall, which were still really good. I had never seen a Cirque show before and "O" was simply incredible and unlike anything I've ever seen. After the show we wandered around Bellagio a little and went across the street to explore Paris and Bally's. I fell in love with Paris and told DBF to put it on top of the list of places to stay next time we're in town! Explored a little of Planet Hollywood and the Shops at Miracle Mile before heading back to LVH.

Sunday was more book signings and author events, I got to meet Lois Lowry and Judy Blume, two childhood literary heroes of mine. I just about died! I took another nap while waiting for DBF to finish up on the show floor and met some of his coworkers for margaritas in the hotel bar. We struck out on our own to really explore more of the strip. Walked through Flamingo, Bally's & Paris again, worked our way south to the MGM Grand and had drinks & appetizers at the bar in Rainforest Cafe. We had loved "O" so much the night before we thought we'd get tickets to Ka but unfortunately the show was dark that night. We continued south and explored New York New York, Excalibur, Mandalay Bay and Luxor. Sunday we also named "walking around drinks" night. I am not accustomed to walking around city streets with open containers of alcohol so freely that I just had to do this. We stopped at a few margarita stands along the way and had some wine (from Paris, of course!) and took the cups home. Don't know why I got a kick out of it, but I did! It's really no different than wandering around EPCOT with a Grey Goose Slush.

Monday the floor show closed at 2 but DBF needed to stay and tear down his company's exhibit. I napped some more (Sunday was a late night!) and when he was done we hopped in a cab to Fremont Street. Getting off the strip was a welcome change, and we really enjoyed looking around "old Vegas" so to speak. It was really neat to see the landmarks from movies in person, like the big cowboy and cowgirl signs, etc. All I could think of was the scene from Honey, I Blew Up the Kid when the giant toddler was wreaking havoc down the street. We ate dinner at the Golden Nugget buffet and gambled a little at Binion's (only lost about $40), walked up and down some of the streets and did some souvenir shopping. People watching on Fremont is rivaled only by Hollywood or Times Square!

Tuesday was our last day in town, we had an 8pm shuttle pick up time so we slept in a little, DBF had some work to catch up on, and we packed up to check out around 11 a.m. Took the monorail and went back to the Bellagio buffet for lunch since we missed out on dinner Saturday night. WOWEEE this was good! I can't think of a buffet I've enjoyed more, even at Disney. After stuffing ourselves silly we needed to walk a bit and went over to the High Roller, an observation wheel like the London Eye. We got an entire "pod" to ourselves with amazing views of the city at 550 feet up. After that I wanted to go see The Venetian so we walked around the Canal Shops there. DBF really wanted to do a Gondola ride but the line was pretty long and their card machine wasn't working so we had to pass. He was disappointed, but we have to leave some things on the list for next time, right?

One thing I hadn't gotten to see yet was the fountains at Bellagio. This had eluded me all trip, and not for lack of trying! Every time the previous nights we were in that area we just missed the show. We'd walk out of a casino or hotel and see the show going, get a good view and then 10 seconds later the show would be over! So there was no way I was missing it this time. Even though it wasn't night time I still thought it was really cool.

Our flight left at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday night. Even though we weren't lucky at the casino we were blessed with an upgrade to first class (the perks of traveling with a preferred frequent flyer, too) and for a red eye it was the perfect way to spend 4 hours! I'd never flown above coach level (or steerage, as I like to call it) so this was a nice treat and a real first for me. Made it into PHL at 6:15 in the morning Wednesday and had to wait until 10 a.m. for the flight back to Ithaca. It's nice to be back home, but honestly I miss the desert! This humidity is worse than the 110 degree heat.

So thanks for all your recommendations and advice, everyone! It really helped me plan for a great time.

[SBETigg]

I saw your pictures on FB and you looked like you were having so much fun! I've never been to Vegas. And I've never met Judy Blume! Glad you had a great time.

[MNNHFLTX]

I saw your pics too--I was so jealous of all the authors you met! Sounds like you really did quite a bit on this trip, so if there are a few things on your bucket list for the next trip, all the better!

[JanetMegan]

Thanks for the little trip report!! We saw Ka, but haven't seen O. I was actually a little disappointed with Ka. It was really hard to follow. It was our first Cirque show though so maybe they are all like that? Next time if you go fork out the $50 to eat at the Buffet Ceasars-OMG!