Las Vegas with a child

[kikismom]

I'm heading to a conference in Las Vegas next month and my husband and 11 year old daughter are tagging along. The conference is Monday to Wednesday with evenings free, we are flying in on Saturday night staying at the MGM Grand.

I think we want to eat at Nellies Southern Kitchen one of the nights and will head to Fremont and eat at the Golden Nugget one night but aren't sure what else to do. They'll be going to the Titanic exhibit one day while I'm gone and the rest of the time they'll spend by the pool or exploring.

We have thought about the M and M store and Hershey's store but aren't sure what else to do in the evenings. Also need some restaurant suggestions. I've been to Vegas before but not with my kid so I'm trying to figure all of this out. Also we are doers on trips so I would love to have lots of options! Thanks for help in advance!

 

[gmi3804]

The Neon Museum is intriguing. It’s a couple blocks north of downtown. Book a tour around sunset when they turn the lights on.

 

[Boopuff]

There’s the neon museum, and if you have a car lots of beautiful parks (red rocks), the “eye” is great. Evenings are tough-ish with kids. When we took our teens, they were in the room after dinner watching movies. Pools close early and check to make sure they’re open (many resorts have pool parties “. Have fun!

 

[Dakota731]

We checked out the red rock canyon as well and did a family comedy show at one of the hotels.

 

[robotsneedlove2]

Our family stayed at MGM Grand last August, and we brought our 12yo with us. Read up on the pool and the lazy river. We brought our own tubes from home, as they don't rent tubes they only sell them for the lazy river. Many people were drinking during the day at the pool, but it kept a family party vibe with lots of kids around. (This would have been on a weekday, we left on a Saturday.)

Nellies was the best meal we had in Vegas. We also ate at Pizza Rock which is downtown, about a block away from Freemont.

We went to the Battlebots Destructathon show, and the Beatles Cirque Du Soleil shows. Everyone loved both shows in our family. We also went to the Punk Rock Museum, but except for the demo room my kid was bored by most of the museum.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

My kids enjoyed Omega Mart, it's in Area 15. It's an art installation technically, but there are a lot of rooms/passages etc to explore. It's kinda weird and difficult to explain but it's interesting, lol. But otherwise last time we were there we saw a magic show, went to Excalibur / CIrcus Circus to play in the arcades, swam at the pool of course.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

My kids LOVED the Michael Jackson Cirque du Soliel show. They both want to see it again.

My daughter really enjoyed shopping at the mall south of the strip and watching the Barbie movie. In other words, exactly what she could do at home, but she thought it was fun doing it in “Vegas."

My son enjoyed the pinball hall of fame.

 

[China Expat]

I'm heading to a conference in Las Vegas next month and my husband and 11 year old daughter are tagging along. The conference is Monday to Wednesday with evenings free, we are flying in on Saturday night staying at the MGM Grand.

I think we want to eat at Nellies Southern Kitchen one of the nights and will head to Fremont and eat at the Golden Nugget one night but aren't sure what else to do. They'll be going to the Titanic exhibit one day while I'm gone and the rest of the time they'll spend by the pool or exploring.

We have thought about the M and M store and Hershey's store but aren't sure what else to do in the evenings. Also need some restaurant suggestions. I've been to Vegas before but not with my kid so I'm trying to figure all of this out. Also we are doers on trips so I would love to have lots of options! Thanks for help in advance!

VEgas has a ton of things to do! Do a google search, but the shows in the evenings are amazing. Check out LOVE by the Beatles and Awakening at the Wynn. Walk around the amazing lobbies of the Venetian, Wynn, Ceasars, Bellagio, and more, Ride the rides at the stratosphere or New York New York. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. TONS TO DO.

 

[kikismom]

Thanks all! Especially the tip about bringing out own tubes. I had no idea we would have to buy them and not rent.

 

[Karin1984]

I am going to see Love, the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show tonight. If you sign up (free) for the loyalty program Unity by Hard Rock, you can get a 20% discount on tickets to the show.

 

[Karin1984]

One thing about Love, after seeing it: It is loud and there are some moments with lots of flashing lights. So those who are sensitve to sound or prone to seizures triggered by light, you might want to reconsider this show.

 

[gmi3804]

One thing about Love, after seeing it: It is loud and there are some moments with lots of flashing lights. So those who are sensitve to sound or prone to seizures triggered by light, you might want to reconsider this show.

They might want to reconsider visiting Las Vegas in the first place too!

 

[Karin1984]

Also at 3 pm they have this exhibit in the Aria hotel. https://lighthouseimmersive.com/disney/las-vegas/

Going to see it this afternoon. Will report back.

 

[Karin1984]

Also at 3 pm they have this exhibit in the Aria hotel. https://lighthouseimmersive.com/disney/las-vegas/

Going to see it this afternoon. Will report back.

I did enjoy this.
However, I can understand the negative reviews on Yelp. Go for the basic tickets, no extra stuff. These tickets are still about $30 per person, which is not really worth it. And for a family this can add up quickly. If you are a family of four and you will pay $120 for 1 hour of entertainment.
The thing with many things in Vegas is, they advertise a base price, but then they add service charges. I think it was about $5-10 for this experience. But it was $25-30 extra to see Love at the Mirage. Which is annoying for solo travellers. It's a little less bad if you are a big group with 1 service charge for the entire group.

It helps if you know what is meant by an 'immersive experience'. There have been many similar experiences in recent years, in Vegas in the same venue you also have a Van Gogh experience. But also other artists like Klimt have had experiences like this. If you look at it plainly, it is just a room with projections and music.

However, to hear the music of Hellfire from Hunchback or hear Show Yourself from Frozen 2 with surround sound and larger than life projections, I was easy to please. Music can be very powerful. And in my opinion they did a good job with it.

There were a lot of families with young children who could run around, chase the moving patterns on the carpet or try to catch the bubbles they release at certain points in the show.

Some of the songs are how they are in the movie, like The Circle of Life (Lion King) or I See the Light (Tangled). Others are compilation songs, like Try Everything (Zootopia), where you have images of Disney characters trying everything. Poor Unfortunate Souls (Little Mermaid) is mainly Ursula, but also the other villains are seen in this number.

 

[AZMermaid]

There is a pinball museum on Las Vegas Blvd just past the airport. It is good cheap fun! They are a bit intense on the “kids don’t run” warning because some machines are really old, but we had a good time there!

 

[AZMermaid]

My kids were pretty overwhelmed with Freemont Street. They were 10 and 11 and usually very easygoing. This was our first stop and I think that was our mistake. They needed to warm up to Vegas and the noise and dress and party atmosphere. And this was at like 2PM. I think later in the trip it would have been better!

They loved Cesar’s Palace and we did the buffet which was pricey but they loved it. My son is/was really into Percy Jackson and could name every statue! We saw the Potted Potter show at Ballys which was a comedy retelling of Harry Potter. It was great for that age group. We also went and saw the Flamingos at the Flamingo. All that is right by each other so it was easy to do in one day.

 

[_19disnA]

I would never take children to Fremont St. We were a group of adults and some of them wanted to see the downtown casino area since all of us have always stayed at one of the major hotels/casinos near the airport. We drove downtown during the day and the way parking is setup at nearby surface lots, you have to walk pass many sketchy/homeless people begging for money to get to Fremont St. This was during the day and we would NEVER go there in the dark. All of the casinos there are tiny and not really sure there is anything appropriate for small children. We will never go back to Fremont St.

You can't gamble at any Vegas casino with small children. Some people either act like they don't know that or think they can get away with having a child sit next to them while gambling. Have seen several examples where security will shortly appear and advise them that small children aren't allowed in the gaming areas.

Some friends went last year who used to like to walk around on LasVegas Blvd and indicated they found those selling drugs or handling out literature for various types of adults entertainment far more pushy then in the past along with the smell of pot smoking. I would suggest using a car is you want to leave your casino and visit other places. They tried marketing Vegas as a family destination a few years ago and in reality it is still someplace for adults and mainly those who like to gamble.

Most Vegas shows are rather pricey. There are some appropriate for children and it usually indicates when buying the ticket if the show is suitable for all ages.