EVERYTHING
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During last July’s 5.8 earthquake, 3-year-old Bronwyn told her 1-year-old sister, “We’re going for a wiggle.” READ MORE
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My California cousin Jamie turns 15 this month, and, for better or worse, climbing up steep inclines is no longer the great and abiding thrill in her life. There was, however, a time, not so long ago, when she waited anxiously to visit my family in Las Vegas and climb to the top of the Treasure Island rope wall, again and again and again. Back then, the hotel’s midway staff got to know Jamie so well that they let her jump the queue and just keep climbing. In exchange, she agreed not to further empty the prize wall of its supply of enormous stuffed elephants. She also served, unwittingly, as the lure any good carney needs: The other kids saw her reach the top with simian agility and assumed they could do it, too. (They could not.) Standing alongside the rope wall, watching Jamie climb and grin, climb and grin, I didn’t stop to think that what I was seeing was just a snapshot of a peculiar and passing time in her life and in the life of Las Vegas, and that soon, very soon, they would both be growing up. First the rope wall came down, then the midway itself, then the skull and crossbones marquis outside the hotel. The midway made way for a restaurant and bar, the pirate show out front was retooled into a pulchritudinous farce called “Sirens”, and the Treasure Island rebranded itself the “TI.” All up and down the Strip, resorts raced (with triumphal business-babble masking the panic to be hip) to announce a new adult ethos. Studiously naughty nightclubs and cabarets and “metalounges” whatever those are appeared everywhere, as inescapable as subscription cards in a magazine you’ve already subscribed to. Family attractions that were once glorious, or at least promising, were shuttered, then smashed. Old MGM Grand: “Grand Adventures Theme Park.” New MGM Grand: “La Femme.” Old Caesars Palace: “The Omnimax Theater.” New Caesars: “The Shadow Bar.” Old Vegas slogan:“The American Way to Play.” New Vegas slogan: “What Happens Here, Stays Here.” By 2002, the days of Las Vegas as a family destination were done—at least that was the buzz around a city whose reputation is built on buzz. But a funny thing happened along the way: In spite of everything, a good number of family attractions quietly survived. The marketers of Vegas have been so relentlessly on-message about all this “adult playground” business that they’ve left the impression there’s nothing left for the kids. But rest assured, if a 9-year-old Jamie were miraculously to reappear in my city, she’d find plenty to do, and places to climb. Come to think of it, even at 15 she’ll still get a kick out of the kid stuff… A Sampling of Family Fun Spots on Las Vegas Boulevard, Better Known as THE STRIP… ACTION & ENTERTAINMENT • Climbing Wall, Showcase Mall Scale 75 feet upward toward the ceiling of the mall’s lobby. When you’re done, stop in at Gameworks, M&M’s World, the Grand Canyon Experience and the World of Coca Cola (just behind the giant Coke bottle). 3785 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (Next to MGM Grand) 702.597.3122. • Adventuredome Theme Park, Circus Circus Hotel-Casino This 5-acre indoor park houses a formidable lineup of roller coasters including one that corkscrews and another that plunges down a waterfall as well as a carousel, a hot-air-balloon-style Ferris wheel, miniature golf, midway games and clown shows. At the park’s Xtreme Zone, adventurous souls can rock climb and bungee jump. 2880 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 877.224.2287. www.adventuredome.com. $21.95. Also, check out the free circus acts featuring trapeze and high-wire performers next door in the hotel. Performances every half-hour, 11 a.m.-midnight. www.circuscircus.com. • Fantasy Faire Midway, Excalibur Features carnival games, the Wizard’s Arcade and Merlin’s Magic Motion Film Ride. Upstairs, in the Medieval Village, check out the Court Jester’s Stage for free skits and puppet shows from 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. 3850 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 877.750.5464. www.excalibur.com. • Event Center Las Vegas A popular spot with local kids, this sports park includes go-carts, paint ball, an indoor putting course, a rock climbing wall and Slugger Stadium the batting cage to end all batting cages, where you can take your cuts in a full-size ballpark setting. 121 E. Sunset Rd. (Just east of Sunset and the Strip) 800.525.2905. • Wet ‘n’ Wild This massive water park should keep the whole family happy with everything from white knuckle slides (these will have you slip-sliding at speeds up to 45 mph) to the Lazy River, which sends you and your innertube in sun-drenched circles at the speed of dreams. There’s also a Kid’s Park, which features a blimp equipped with water cannons. $27.99 for everyone over 4 feet tall, $20.99 for everyone under. 2601 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 800.565.0786. www.wetnwildlv.com. • Star Trek: The Experience, Las Vegas Hilton A few minutes off the Strip and housed in the hotel where Elvis once delivered karate kicks, this attraction combines motion-ride technology and state-of-the-art computer animation to create a treat for Trekkies. $29.99 for adults, $26.99 children under 12; children under 42 inches tall, free. 3000 Paradise Rd. 888.GO.BOLDLY. Hilton phone: 888.732.7117. www.startrekexp.com. • Imax Theaters, Luxor Hotel-Casino Inside the pyramid, you can see both traditional Imax films and motion-ride films. 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 800.288.1000. www.luxor.com. • Roller coasters New York New York Hotel-Casino, 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.740.6050. www.nymyhotelcasino.com. Stratosphere, 2000 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.380.7777. www.stratospherehotel.com. Sahara Hotel, 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.736.2111. www.saharavegas.com. • Shows: “Blue Man Group” Luxor Hotel-Casino. Creative percussion, madcap antics, and, of course, little blue men. $63-$90. 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 800.557.7428. www.luxor.com. Cirque du Soleil’s “Mystere,” Treasure Island (TI) Hotel-Casino. Acrobats, dancers, singers, musicians artsy, but with a sly wink. $60-$95. 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 800.392.1999. www.treasureisland.com. “Tournament of Kings,” Excalibur Hotel-Casino. Horses, jousting, medieval adventure and dinner, too. $47.50. 702.597.7600. www.excalibur.com. ANIMAL ATTRACTIONS • Shark Reef, Mandalay Bay You will walk over, under and alongside some of the most beautiful aquatic life you’ve ever seen. Stroll through glass tunnels and see golden crocodiles, rays, jellyfish, anemones and yes, a lot of sharks. This attraction, nestled in a hotel known most of all for its urbane hipness, should not be missed by kids or grownups. What’s more, Shark Reef is the site of serious research and conservation efforts. 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 877.632.7800. www.mandalaybay.com. $14.95 for adults, $9.95 kids 5-12, kids under 4, free. • Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, Mirage Hotel & Casino See eight Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (six of them born onsite) as they dash and frolic and, it seems, generally have a good time. You can watch them from above ground or through large viewing windows in a subterranean tunnel, where they swim so close you can look them in the eye and they’ll look right back…The Secret Garden has the feel of a world-class (if smallish) zoo, with natural-looking habitats and massive Striped White Tigers, Snow White Tigers, White Lions, leopards, and Gildah the Thai Elephant, who is kept company by a contented-looking white turkey. Both the Secret Garden and the Dolphin Habitat are devoted to conservation, research and education. 3400. Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.791.7111. www.themirage.com. $12 for adults, kids under 10 free with adult. • Lion Habitat, MGM Grand Real lions, seen from mere feet away though inch-and-a-half-thick glass. When you go through the tunnel, it will be the first time you’ve ever stood beneath a lion. 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 877.880.0880. www.mgmgrand.com. Free. AND A BITE TO EAT • Planet Hollywood and The Cheesecake Factory, Forum Shops at Caesars The restaurants are fun, but the real attraction here is a walk through the Forum Shops themselves, watching the artificial sky change from day to night and back again, gazing at the enormous aquarium, and checking out the animatronic fountain shows. 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. Planet Hollywood phone: 702.791.7827. Cheesecake Factory: 702.792.6888. Forum Shops: 702.731.7110. www.caesars.com. • Rainforest Café, MGM Grand Hotel-Casino Animatronic beasts and hefty helpings in a jungle setting. 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.891.8580. • America, New York New York Hotel-Casino Casual and bright with a large traditional menu. 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.740.6451. • Kahunaville, Treasure Island (TI) Hotel-Casino A big menu, including lots of interesting wraps, in a tropical setting with a large, completely separate non-smoking area. 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.894.7390. www.kahunaville.com. • Cheeseburger at the Oasis, Desert Passage Mall (Adjacent to the Aladdin Hotel). The name tells it all: oasis theme good cheeseburgers. Follow up dinner with a stroll through the Arabian Nights-themed mall, complete with its own indoor rainstorm. 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Restaurant phone: 702. 735.8600. Desert Passage: 702.866.0710. • Canaletto, Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Strictly speaking, this patio dining spot set on an indoor replica of Venice’s St. Mark’s square is probably too elegant to call family dining, but it’s a tasty place to stop while cruising the bridges, alleys, and waterways of the Grand Canal Shoppes. 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Restaurant phone: 702.733.0070. Venetian phone: 877.8.VENICE. www.venetian.com. • NASCAR Café, Sahara Hotel-Casino A Mecca for race fans and there’s food, too. 702.734.7223. As you explore, you’re sure to find even more family fun on the Strip, not to mention a treasure trove of activities off it, from staring up at the block-long neon sky of Downtown’s Freemont Street Experience (www.vegasexperience.com) to touring a modern wonder of the world at Hoover Dam (www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/) to investigating the natural wonders of Red Rock Canyon (www.redrockcanyon.org). We Las Vegans keep telling everyone how much our city has grown; fortunately, all that growth means we’re big enough to accommodate not only the getaway fantasies of adults, but the more innocent dreams of their children. Greg Blake Miller writes from Las Vegas. He is our Fatherhood columnist. TRAVEL TIP BEFORE KIDS Getaway options before birth day Hotels and resorts around the country (and the Caribbean) have taken time to put together several parents-to-be packages. While these may or may not work for you, remember that, while booking your “last-ever getaway,” it is smart to ask if they have any special deals for the expectant couple. • The Cliffs Resort, Pismo Beach: A parents-to-be escape package includes a welcome basket of baby treats, an in-site couples massage, a dinner voucher, and a pint of ice cream. Expect to enjoy breakfast in bed before getting out to explore San Luis Obispo County. Prices vary depending on weekend or weekday stays. Information: 800.826.5838 or www.cliffsresort.com • The Hotel Hershey: The Heavenly Hershey package includes 3-nights accommodations at The Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania; and an array of spa treatments, complete with specially designed tabletop cushions with a recess for the abdomen that allows the mother-to-be to lie comfortably on her stomach. The package is offered year-round with rates starting at $1,134. Information: 800.HERSHEY or www.Hersheypa.com • Mandarin Oriental, Miami: Situated on the waterfront enclave of idyllic Brickell Key, Mandarin Oriental’s Blissful Beginnings package includes accommodations for two nights, chocolate-covered strawberries in-room upon arrival, spa treatments, lunch served in a poolside cabana and more. Rates start at $1,735. Information: 866.888.6780 or www.mandarinoriental.com • Planters Inn, Charleston, S.C.: In addition to specific pampering for both the future mother and father, the Baby’s on the Way package offers 3-nights accommodations, a basket of Charleston specialty gifts, a tour of the Nathaniel Russell House, truffles nightly with evening turndown and more. The package, priced from $1,399-$1,774, is subject to availability and is not offered during special events. Information: 800.845.7082 or www.plantersinn.com • Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino, Aruba: Parents-to-be are welcomed at this tropical getaway with a 20% discount on room rates and a $100 food and beverage credit for stays of 5 nights or longer. Rates begin at $180 per room, per night, based on double occupancy from June 1-Sept. 30. Information: 800.333.3333 or www.radisson.com/aruba |
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