Need help with Las Vegas vacation planning!

Hi and Merry Christmas to everyone!

We are in the midst of planning a trip to Las Vegas--we are not gamblers, just sun seekers, swimmers, shoppers, people watchers and eaters! It will be my and my DH and Maybe my DS age 6.5 if you guys recommend that we bring him along.....

We want to stay somewhere nice and kid/safe.

Thanks for your tips!

no Vegas tips?

The number one Vegas attraction is ME :) But I'm rushing out the door & will have to write more later. Kids love Circus Circus because there's a carnival midway & free circus acts in the casino, but you gotta keep your eyes on them cause the place is packed.

One very important thing is that there's no casino that's "kid safe." Parents used to drop their kids at the arcade, but a few years back a little girl was taken by a criminal who sent her to the angels.

Vegas used to be an adult playground, but now it's totally kid friendly! Every casino has something for kids. However, yours is pretty young for most of the roller coasters and rides. There's the whole Star Trek Experience at the Hilton, the Nascar playground at the Sahara, Circus Circus (see above.) New York, New York has a great arcade & roller coaster. There's the awesome aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the list goes on and on.

In my opinion, if your child were a little older, it might be okay to bring him. If you do bring him, there's plenty to see, but you really gotta keep an eye on him.

I'll tell Penni to respond to this thread for me since I'm leaving for a few days on a road trip. Or, call my cell later today. I'll PM you.

The number one Vegas attraction is ME :) But I'm rushing out the door & will have to write more later. Kids love Circus Circus because there's a carnival midway & free circus acts in the casino, but you gotta keep your eyes on them cause the place is packed.

One very important thing is that there's no casino that's "kid safe." Parents used to drop their kids at the arcade, but a few years back a little girl was taken by a criminal who sent her to the angels.

Vegas used to be an adult playground, but now it's totally kid friendly! Every casino has something for kids. However, yours is pretty young for most of the roller coasters and rides. There's the whole Star Trek Experience at the Hilton, the Nascar playground at the Sahara, Circus Circus (see above.) New York, New York has a great arcade & roller coaster. There's the awesome aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the list goes on and on.

In my opinion, if your child were a little older, it might be okay to bring him. If you do bring him, there's plenty to see, but you really gotta keep an eye on him.

I'll tell Penni to respond to this thread for me since I'm leaving for a few days on a road trip. Or, call my cell later today. I'll PM you.

I haven't been to Vegas in over a year, but when I was there I stayed at the Belagio. It is totally 1st class, but they do not tend to cater to kids. We browsed around many of the hotels and they were all really nice.

As for shopping...the Forum at Caesar's Palace is great. They have an FAO Schwartz (?) toy store that is great entertainment for kids and adults alike. A must see! Then there is the Fashion Show Mall which has all kinds of stores. I live in a rural area and we are very limited to what we have have in our local malls, so this was a real treat for me. There is also several really neat malls inside some of the casino/hotels. Venetian has a really cute mall and so does the one right across the street from the Belagio (I can't remember the name). I never got the opportunity to go to any of the outlet malls.

I've never been there during this time of year, but when I went in December 2004, it was coat weather! It was pretty cold at night, so you may want to carry a variety of clothes.

I hope this helps & I hope you and your family have a GREAT Vegas Vacation!

Have you been to Lake Las Vegas? It's about 25 minutes away from the strip and it's a total haven.

We do our family vacation in Vegas every year my kids love it. There is so much to do for the kids there. We stay on the strip usually at Harrahs, they take good care of us there and it is centrally located toso many different attractions. There is the M&M factory, COcaCola Factory, Wax museum, Circus Circus amusement park. Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, the white tigers at the Mirage along with the dolphins. Excalibur has a great medival times dinner and show along with a midway area where there are tons of games..lots to do in Vegas even if you do not gamble

I posted a similar thread a while back... unfortunately, we had to cancel our trip to Vegas, but Princess_n_thep gave me some great ideas! Here's the thread.

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10871

I'm wondering why anyone, not from Vegas, would go to Vegas on a vacation if they aren't gamblers??? Except to see DeLarla...

Red Rock Canyon if you enjoy hiking/walking. My cousins (about your kid's age) have always enjoyed going to see the dam.

thanks for all the tips and ideas.....we were just offered a FREE apartment in midtown Manhattan for a week, so we will be going there instead--no fun in the sun, but too cool of an opportunity to pass up!