(vainness) Looking for FReeper tips for fun stuff to do in Las Vegas in December

10/24/05 | marty fierro

[martin_fierro]

Hi all;

Mrs. F & I are gonna be in Vegas in the week before this Christmas and wanted to tap into FReepers' recent experiences there.

We're consulting all the travel guides, but also wanted to get some FReepers' feedback as to what they thought was fun/not.

Here's a partial list of stuff we're considering doing:

ON THE STRIP

• Caesars Palace Forum Shops
  • Animatronics every hour on the hour

• Stratosphere

• Night flight over Vegas

• Bellagio
  • Fountains
  • Gallery of fine art
  • Botanical gardens

• Treasure Island
  • Sirens of TI nightly at 7:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 10:00 PM, 11:30 PM.

• Wynn (3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South)

• Venetian
  • Grand Canal Gondola ride
  • Blue Man Group

• Paris Eiffel Tower

• Luxor
  • IMAX theatre

• New York New York

• Mirage
  • white tiger exhibit
  • volcano

• MGM Grand: lion habitat

DOWNTOWN

• Fremont Street/Penny slots
  • Fremont Street Experience

• Golden Nugget - Tony Bennett

SOUTHEAST

• Hoover Dam Discovery tour

• Grand Canyon tour

• Ethel M Chocolates, Henderson NV

• Green Valley Ranch/Fado

NORTH

• Area 51

WEST

• Rio Suites Masquerade Show in the Sky daily 3p, 4p, 5p, 6:30p, 7:30p, 8:30p, 9:30p

Are any of these things especially worth doing/avoiding? What have we missed?

[martin_fierro]

THANKS FOR THE TIPS -- KEEP 'EM COMING!

[EX52D]

That wouldn't surprise me...and I wanted to go on that tour. :(

[Clint N. Suhks]

LOL Whenever I hear Hoover Dam I think of The Chevy Chase Movie "Vegas Vacation".

Hoover Dam Guide: I am your dam guide, Arnie, please don't wander off the dam tour and please take all the dam pictures you want. Now are there any dam questions?

[ssaftler]

If you are a choco-holic, the Ethel M tour is worth the 5 pounds you'll gain there. If you are not QUITE that fanatic, I recommend finding an Ethel M store on the strip (I think they also have them at the airport) and bring home a pound or two to your chocolate-loving friends.

When my office-mates hear I'm off toe Las Vegas, I'm not allowed back in the office until I produce the requisite box of sweets!

[areafiftyone]

LOL Thats it.

[mikrofon]

Oh, and father-in-law will be along for the ride. < |:(~

Fierro Loathing Las Vegas trip?

[EX52D]

The M & M store is pretty good too, with every color of
M & M you can imagine.

[Blue Champagne]

The Star Trek Experience at the MGM Grand hotel is fun if you're a fan of the series.

Fremont Street and the shows in front of the hotels on the strip are good, free entertainment - I always enjoy them.

[martin_fierro]

The Star Trek Experience at the MGM Grand hotel is fun if you're a fan of the series.

We saw that one in 2000 (it WAS excellent), but read somewhere that it's under construction and unavilable now.

[ssaftler]

It may look nice, but comparing M&Ms to Ethel M is like comparing Asti Spumante to Dom Perignon!

[BossLady]

I say drop the father-in-law off at the Spearmint Rhino with a stack of $1s then, you the Mrs. do a helicopter tour. ;)

[EX52D]

Oh absolutely...Ethel M is for the chocolate expert! I just never realized M & M's came in every color.

[martin_fierro]

I might get really liquored up and do some stand up comedy at the Improv.

[KC Burke]

The last time I was in Vegas, I ended up dragging my late night buddies that partyed too hard to the sauna/steam rooms in the hotel we were in. I brought the poisons out and they liked it so much it became our ritual for the rest of the stay. Turned out to be the right thing for my golf game as well...all loosey, goosey....

[martin_fierro]

Mrs. F. is a major chocoholic (Me? Eh.), so I guess we'll have to underline that one.

< |:)~

[EX52D]

For the serious chocoholic, Ethel M's all the way! :)

[counterpunch]

Just remember: What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas!

That only applies to liberals.
Just ask Bill Bennett.

 

[truthkeeper]

LOL Whenever I hear Hoover Dam I think of The Chevy Chase Movie "Vegas Vacation".

What about Albert Brooks in "Lost In America?"

[VegasBaby]

Believe it or not, but the best things in Vegas are free (or a lot cheaper than gambling or going to shows).

Free stuff:

1. Hoover Dam (the coolest part of Vegas, IMO).
2. Water show at the Bellagio is awesome
3. There's a show at the Boardwalk Casino (next to NY-NY) call Purple Reign that's a Prince tribute that's actually pretty cool (but it starts at 11 p.m. so be prepared to stay up late)
4. As someone previously mentioned, hiking Red Rock Canyon is great--I highly recommend it.
5. The lion habitat at MGM Grand is also cool.
6. Just browsing at stores. If you like to shop, there are so many different shopping malls your head will spin. The best ones are the Desert Passage (Aladdin), the LV Premium Outlets (off of Grand Central Pkwy) and the Grand Canal Shoppes (Venetian). The Forum Shops at Caesars also have a lot of good shops, but it's usually so crowded that I avoid it at all costs.

Another really awesome thing to do is to see the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. This one costs about $18 per person to see, but it is well worth the money. If you like marine life, it's fascinating--they even have a "petting pool" where you can touch live fish, stingrays, etc.

[xcullen]

We went to an indoor range on Tropicana called the Gun Store - fired Uzis, M16s as well as a 357 Magnum and 9 Millimeter. Staff was actually nice and helpful with a bunch of rookies (me included). There is an Italian Restaurant next door that is old school vegas.