Vegas Trip Planning

[CPGemini08]

We stayed at the Mirage a few weeks ago. As mentioned earlier, none of those really offer a 'view'. Sure, coming from the east (Ohio for me), anything was better than farmland (loved the mountains), but I'd say just get the room you're most comfortable with. There is plenty of time to get views of Vegas (both ground and up). Side note, I'd vote for a trip out to Red Rocks. We had a blast scaling the area, and the views from out there are tough to beat.

[Mossed]

Thanks for your help, guys. In looking at the rooms, both the Monte Carlo and MGM Grand seem to be our best option. I will continue to monitor prices and probably wait to book the hotel for a month or a bit more. Certainly not worth saving the money to stay at the Excalibur, I guess. Especially since it's all our first time.

 

Any show recommendations?

 

Also buffet and restaurant recommendations?

 

Which casinos should we definitely make an effort to at least visit?

 

I am really looking for any feedback at all from people's experiences there, so I can try to take the good and bad and make this great. I have been wanting to make a trip to Vegas for so long now. I obviously don't want to plan plan plan, but I want to go there with a good idea of some things we ought to consider doing!

 

 

Honestly, I'm all for staying at the cheapest hotel, as long as it isn't Circus Circus. Excalibur would be my choice.

 

Any show recommendations?

If you're not easily offended, Abisnthe is a show you need to go to. Absolutely hilarious. It's a racist, crude, adult circus with incredible acts. Like all other shows in Vegas, it's pricey.

I also enjoyed Penn & Teller. The acts are both funny and impressive showings of magic. When I went, they had the winner of their show (Fooled Us) there to perform a trick. The best part of the show actually happens after it's over, you get the opportunity to meet Penn & Teller. They will stop and take pictures for/with every single person.

Carrot Top was much better than I expected it to be. His show is "stupid as ____ " according to himself, he throws out jokes at 100 miles per hour, and they are shockingly funny. He also gave me a shot during the show, "you're over 21, right?".

Zumanity - It's an adult Cirque De Soleil show. Has some very good parts (one including a tub of water.. can't go into too much detail without being banned) - I wouldn't really recommend it because of the price. If you want to do an adult show, there are cheaper options. If you want to do a Cirque De Soleil show, I'd recommend the Beatles or Michael Jackson one.

Concerts - Vegas always has a ton of concerts on any given night. I was able to see Counting Crows at the Cosmopolitan when I went. It was amazing. The venue, atmosphere, pools, and music was all awesome.

The Smith Center - This is a venue near Fremont Street that plays Plays. The Book of Mormon was showing when I went to Vegas. Couldn't recommend it enough.

 

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Don't really gamble, but I love Poker. Would recommend playing at the Rio, so you can play where the pros play.

 

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Food - I don't tend to eat a lot of expensive food, and the buffets can be expensive... but one restaurant I did go to was Chef Ramsey BurGR. Expensive burgers, but worth the price. Another place I enjoyed was Trevi Restaurant in the Forum Shops at Caesers.

 

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Misc - Obviously the Stratosphere is a place you should visit if you like rides on top of buildings.

The MOB MUSEUM IS AWESOME, JUST GO.

High Roller has an open bar, it's worth taking a 30 minute spin on.

Coyote Ugly / Piano Bar are both in New York, New York. Both are very entertaining. The Piano Bar has two people "dueling" against each other for tips.

Dune Buggy Tour - a little more expensive, but you can do an hour ride in the dunes. It's a ton of fun. The smaller groups you'd have in the winter, likely means you have a lot of time at a high speed.

Tour of Hoover Dam - a lot of history. Really awesome to go inside one of the biggest and most important places man has built. Plus you can add Arizona to the list of states you've visited with a short walk or drive. Grand Canyon is also a possibility, but a little further out and more of a full day thing.

Fremont Street - More entertainment per square foot than anywhere else. There's likely 4 or 5 live bands playing at any given time.

Clubs / Other clubs - these places can be expensive. Most clubs have a dresscode, so make sure you pack nice shoes.

 

Written up quickly based almost entirely on my two weeks in Vegas.

 

PRO TIP - Vegas is more expensive than you think it is. Even without gambling, you will go through more money than you want to. Save a little extra so you don't have to worry about pinching pennies half way through.

[Mossed]

You can definitely get 4 people into a room at MGM with no issues. I don't know about you, but when I go to Vegas I barely sleep anyway. MGM also has a really cool lazy river that you can hang out in during the day. The music from the pool party they have can be heard clearly, and its a very good vibe there. More relaxed than the pool party.

 

El loco is definitely a great ride, and the Arrow in there is good too (canyon blaster I think). Some solid flats in there too, but you'd probably only get a few hours of fun out of it.

 

As far as shows, I second Zumanity. Mystere is pretty good as well. If you want some (ahem) "adult entertainment, there are a ton of options. Spearmint Rhino is big, but tends to get very crowded, although mid week you could be OK. A bit pricey too though. Sapphire is much the same. A casual friend of mine runs Cheetah's, and while smaller, you get a whole lot more for your money there. Best " scenery" is most definitely Spearmint Rhino though.

 

I agree with most of this, except I would go to Absinthe instead of Zumanity if you could only pick one show, that are somewhat similar. Sapphire is what I was talking about at the end of my last post, that place can get expensive... Cheetah's is the "local hotspot" for the reasons you've mentioned, according to some of my Vegas friends.

[DBru]

Has anyone seen the Chriss Angel CDS show? Unfortunately my first two choices won't be showing the nights that I'll be in Vegas (Zumanity and MJ One), but that one looks like the next most interesting option to me.

 

Also, we're deciding between the Flamingo and Luxor. Both are very similarly priced. Do you recommend one over the other?

[Jew]

Last little bit of help for me.

 

I need to book a hotel ASAP here. My options are as follows:

 

MGM Grand Grand Queen room (not $550 plus taxes, etc. etc)

 

Mirage Deluxe Queen Strip View ($550 plus taxes, etc, etc.)

 

MGM Signature Deluxe Balcony Suite ($515, plus taxes, etc. etc.).

 

I am personally leaning toward the Signature. From what I've read, it doesn't seem to be too far from the actual MGM Grand (10 minutes to the Casino) and can actually be closer to the pool than some MGM Grand rooms. My questions though:

 

1. Because it is a smaller complex and each tower has its own check in, can we still pay for a room for two and easily get the rest of us in the hotel? Just have the two people check in and the rest go in 10 minutes later and just go straight to the elevator?

 

2. Can anyone shed light on the views? Which tower affords the best Strip View/ do any of them really offer good views?

 

3. How close am I to the Strip as opposed to the MGM Grand main property?

 

4. Is the Queen Sofa bed a viable option? We have four people, so we might just end up splitting time between the King and the Sofa Bed?

 

5. Which hotel would you pick?

Thank you thank you thank you!

 

What;s most important to you? Signature is detached, which is a longer walk to the casino and the strip, but quieter. Nicer room too.

[hyyyper]

Has anyone seen the Chriss Angel CDS show? Unfortunately my first two choices won't be showing the nights that I'll be in Vegas (Zumanity and MJ One), but that one looks like the next most interesting option to me.

 

Also, we're deciding between the Flamingo and Luxor. Both are very similarly priced. Do you recommend one over the other?

 

Purely based on location, go with the Flamingo, it's right on the center of the strip, Luxor is almost at the south end.

[bert425]

Has anyone seen the Chriss Angel CDS show? Unfortunately my first two choices won't be showing the nights that I'll be in Vegas (Zumanity and MJ One), but that one looks like the next most interesting option to me.

 

Also, we're deciding between the Flamingo and Luxor. Both are very similarly priced. Do you recommend one over the other?

 

Flamingo is definitely not a top their hotel anymore. .it's a bit rundown depending on which wing you are (DO NOT pay up-charge for a strip view "go" room. . even on the higher floors, if you are facing the strip, the pounding music from the club on the top of Caesar's will keep you up most of the night.

 

but the Location, mid-strip, can NOT be beat, and that's why we almost always stay there.

 

Personally?. . we hated Zumanity.

 

By far the best CDS show in Vegas is "Love" (the Beatles one at the Mirage), but "O" at Bellagio (ie: the water one), "Mystere" at TI (ie: the FIRST one in Vegas), or "Ka" (ie: the one w/ the huge moving stage) at MGM grand, are all great and worth ticket prices.

[Taylor Finn]

Thanks guys for all your help. We went ahead with the Signature. It was too good a deal to pass up really. We don't mind the quick walk to the action at the Grand and on the Strip in general. I'm hoping my friends all realize that things are going to be pricey (especially food). I know that basically everything is going to be 50% more than what you would normally pay. I will definitely be referring back to this once we start actually planning out *some* details like the few shows we want to do, and maybe a general broad plan for each day.

[bert425]

Thanks guys for all your help. We went ahead with the Signature. It was too good a deal to pass up really. We don't mind the quick walk to the action at the Grand and on the Strip in general. I'm hoping my friends all realize that things are going to be pricey (especially food). I know that basically everything is going to be 50% more than what you would normally pay. I will definitely be referring back to this once we start actually planning out *some* details like the few shows we want to do, and maybe a general broad plan for each day.

 

heh. "quick walk"

 

just wait. . Vegas "blocks" are HUGE.

 

but hope you have a wonderful visit regardless!

[Taylor Finn]

Okay, so as I mentioned, we booked the Signature for four nights for two people, though there are four of us. I assume we will have a taxy taking us in from the airport. Its a gated entrance and I read that they just ask for a name (I assume not a number of people in the group, or anything). Is there going to be an issue sneaking in the other two people? We planned to just pawn all our luggage onto two people and then the other two would go in a bit later. I dunno if anyone has specific experience with the place, I just don't want to be charged the extra $80/night.

[AmyUD06]

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're that concerned about the additional tenant fee, you might not really be grasping how expensive the basics in Vegas can be.

[Taylor Finn]

Hey guys! Thanks again for all the help! I've posted the first part of my report here!

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=71801