tips for kids in las vegas? help! About This Page:

[hall0731]

We are having to fly to las vegas in Oct for a wedding of my brother-in-law. we are taking our son, my question is what is fun for him to do in vegas? we are going to be staying at the excalibur.

[shydonna1]

How old is he? We took our kids a few years back (then 7, 11 and 13) and they would go back in a heartbeat! If he is around those ages, I would suggest the free shows at the Excalibur. We also toured the hotels on the strip, took a gondola ride, visited the wax museum, checked out the aquariums...

[karyntay07]

Excalibur is a great hotel for a young boy! I would definitely explore the hotel it has some really cool things (if my memory's right they have a sword in the stone type exhibit like Disney). There are some free shows - like the sirens at Treasure Island - I would DEFINITELY take him to New York New York...they have an arcade and a roller coaster that is a ton of fun. Walking around the strip is always fun - and you can see some interesting sites, like at the Mirage they have the Sigfried and Roy's tigers on display. If you have any time, which I don't know if you do or not, I would try to get into a Cirque Du Soleil show- I've seen Mystere and O, Mystere would be better suited for your son I think, but any of these shows are worth seeing! There's an IMAX theatre somewhere, I can't remember what hotel, but my mom took my brother and I and we saw a 3D show which was fun. Also taking a trip to the old downtown is a site to see - they have a light show at night that is something you wouldn't see elsewhere. Seriously I can go on and on and on! I had a great time in Vegas, both underage and of age - I think your son will have a great time as well! Good luck with your planning!

[hall0731]

He is 7. We have thursday, and a friday open to do anything. the wedding is on saturday afternoon. I am planning on taking him to the mandaly bay aquarims, and to the bellagio. i want to see the lights. I thought about the eiffel tower there. I am not sure if he can get on the rollar coaster. he is 48 inches tall exactly.

[karyntay07]

Originally Posted by hall0731

I am not sure if he can get on the rollar coaster. he is 48 inches tall exactly.

I just looked it up, you have to be 54 inches to ride...so that won't work. I never saw the aquarium but that sounds like fun. I would buy a guidebook - I'm sure they have a ton of suggestions in there.

[kelkan]

Excalibur is kid friendly, there is an arcade area for them. Circus Circus has an arcade area and a small amusement park there. Even though your son can't get on the roller coaster at NY/NY, there's still an arcade area for kids. Stratosphere has the tower that he might like. If he likes Star Trek, there's a paid walk thru set display at the Hilton

[HeatherD]

There's an IMAX theatre somewhere, I can't remember what hotel, but my mom took my brother and I and we saw a 3D show which was fun

That's the Luxor.

If he likes Star Trek, there's a paid walk thru set display at the Hilton

They closed last weekend.

If y'all are outdoorsy, October is a great time to go out to Red Rock Canyon (about 20 minutes west of the Strip) and hike/climb. There is also a place a little further down the road from RRC called Old Nevada. It's not much, but they do their best to imitate an old western town and there's a train you can take from the parking lot to the entrance. They have a petting zoo (minor - goats, mule deer, etc).

There's Hoover Dam, about 45 minutes from Vegas, where you can sign up for a tour that takes you into where the turbines are (parts of Transformers was filmed there). My 7 DD and DN (nephew) liked the tour last year. You can also put one foot in AZ and one in NV. Unfortunately, since they don't Spring forward, they are the same time as us in October, but it's really fun to "travel through time" by crossing over into AZ and back.

If it's still quite warm, or if you like mountains, Mt. Charleston is a nice way to get away for a bit. I'd go for Red Rock over Mt. Charleston, though, since it's such a nice time of year.

[carters_mom]

We loved our stay at Excalibur in 2007! We brought our son along (5 at the time) and he had a blast! There is a 4-D theater in the lower level of Excalibur that shows SpongeBob which was pretty cool. They also have an arcade/carnival typle place down there for kids. This Hotel is very kid friendly, it's one of the few on the strip that don't charge you extra if you're bringing a child along.
A trip to the M&M's store is fun as well as the Coca-Cola Store. W also spent a few hours at Adventuredome at Circus Circus too.
The only thing we did that we wouldn't do again was the Gondola ride. It was over $30 for a 10-15 minute ride.
Just a note-we paid a little extra to upgrade to a newly renovated room and it was well worth it
Here's pictures of our room:

Here's the pool they were remodeling while we were there:

And here's my husband's winning slot voucher


We were supposed to go back this year but canceled to go on a theme park tour of Ohio instead. We have Airfare credit that we have to book by the end of December so we're looking to go back next year.
Have a great time!!!!

[disney]

i've always wanted to get to the pinball hall of fame it is in las vegas . i know he might like this too .

[elis mom 08]

I would suggest Circus Circus. I loved it when I was a kid!

[Disneybine]

I agree that Excalibur would be cool. We stayed at the Luxor when we were in Vegas and thought it was awesome. Depending on what your son likes, this would be a good hotel to stay at as well. You could go see the Blue Man Group or the IMAX there (as mentioned above). Other than that, we enjoyed watching the fountain show at the Bellagio and the pirate ship show at Treasure Island, both of which I'd think a 7-year-old would like. Oh but the best part was M&M's World!!! Definitely take him there! It's a three-story M&M's store complete with a theater. Awesome!

[HeatherD]

i've always wanted to get to the pinball hall of fame it is in las vegas .

I've lived here since 1976 and never knew that. I did not expect to learn that on a Disney board!

I would suggest Circus Circus. I loved it when I was a kid!

It's changed a lot since we were kids...not so great to stay there anymore (IMO). The Adventurdome is great to visit, but with so many other places, the Midway doesn't hold the same appeal it used to. I'd still recommend spending time at Luxor and Excalibur - those are probably the best choices with kids.

the pirate ship show at Treasure Island, both of which I'd think a 7-year-old would like.

Treasure Island originally opened as "family friendly" but they realized it wasn't bringing in the money (no one was gambling there), so they've upped the adult quotient there. It's now "TI" and the pirate ship battle is now sailors against sexy sirens. A 7 year old may still get into a battle where a ship sinks, but it is a bit suggestive - I'm not ready to let my 8 year old DD see it yet.

It's a three-story M&M's store complete with a theater.

Yeah, I forgot about that - M&M World and World of Coke are next to each other, just north of MGM Grand. Both are pretty cool - it's been years since I've been there, but when I was WoC had a jumping Coke fountain (like the one at Epcot by Figment) and Cokes from around the world.

[Disneybine]

Wow, World of Coke sounds awesome! I'll have to remember that when we go back to Vegas someday!