Parents Meets in Vegas

[GymJudgeMom]

To those of you who have attended meets in Vegas, what type of activities did you do with your gymnast outside of the meet? I'm looking for activities that are kid appropriate and inexpensive considering how costly it is just to get there.... Thanks for your input!

 

[bogwoppit]

Well I was going to be funny and say we walked the strip and collected card from the porn slappers with our kids, but I realise my humour is not everyone's cup of tea. I would love to hear what people do with their kids there, I went with hubby and could see nothing that I thought my kids would like except hiking in the Red Rocks area or driving the five hours along to the Hoover Dam and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon stopping in Williams to see a bit of Route 66. Vegas itself doesn't "seem" very family friendly.

 

[Gymdad2]

Bog,

Your got that right. We did a Las Vegas meet once, and the only thing we could do with kids was go drive across Hoover dam and see the grand canyon. They had in no interest in the strip (actually, dw and I didn't either - I think I put $3 in one slot and decided that was enough.) We were glad to leave, and we never went to a meet there again. There are lots more interesting places to go with kids.

 

[curlymomof3]

We went there last fall for a football tournament with my 10-year old son. The highlight of the trip was heading to the Stratosphere and doing all the rides on top. Other than that, we mostly just hung out at the pool at the hotel. We did walk the strip one night with the kids, but I will never do that again. Las Vegas is definitely not as family-friendly as I remember it being when I was a kid!!

 

[wandrewsjr]

Hoover dam is only about 30 miles from Vegas, I would highly recommend getting out of the car and taking the tour, very interesting. If you have money to see a show, Mystere at Treasure Island is family friendly, think tickets start at about $50 and kids might even be half price. (And you can often get them at the half price ticket booths) Every gymnast should see a cirque show at some point.

 

[gwenmom]

Well I was going to be funny and say we walked the strip and collected card from the porn slappers with our kids, but I realise my humour is not everyone's cup of tea.

Bog I think we have similar humor

 

[MeetDirector]

Definitely agree that it is not overly family friendly. Hoover Dam is really not that far and the tour is very good. By all means do a Cirque show - amazing! And don't forget Ethyl M's chocolate factory.

 

[Galadriel]

Dd went (without me ) and they went to the rooftop place previously mentioned, shopping, and spent lot of time at hotel pool. They were planning to go to cirque, but couldn't get tickets. She said it wasnt family friendly when i asked relating to this post.

 

[bookworm]

Well I was going to be funny and say we walked the strip and collected card from the porn slappers with our kids, but I realise my humour is not everyone's cup of tea. I would love to hear what people do with their kids there, I went with hubby and could see nothing that I thought my kids would like except hiking in the Red Rocks area or driving the five hours along to the Hoover Dam and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon stopping in Williams to see a bit of Route 66. Vegas itself doesn't "seem" very family friendly.

It's funny because I remember reading an article once about the "Top 10 Family Tourist Destinations" and Las Vegas was 2nd behind Disneyworld!! and I remember thinking, "what would you do with your kids in Vegas, besides leave them with a sitter?"

 

[skschlag]

Circus Circus (I think) has a huge amusement park. We also did the M&M store and the lion feeding show at MGM. And watched a lot of gymnastics....which was the best. Swimming at the hotel pool was pretty fun too, and for us, a trip to In and out Burger!

 

[gymmomtoo]

We walked the strip and shopped. It was really cold when we were there, so no swimming (hotel had an outdoor pool). I just can't see it as "family friendly!"

 

[htimcj]

We go to Lady Luck every year and we went to Cirque but that isn't exactly cheap but worth every dollar. Then we looked at the Bellagio and the Volcano and the Venician "canals". We were there for four days because we only have one flight in and out of here and by Sunday we had had enough of Vegas But the meet is excellent so we will still go, just leave from SLC instead where we have more choices.

 

[gympunkin]

My dd is 10. Here is what she has enjoyed in Las Vegas. Sorry for any duplicates.

M & M World was a huge hit. She really enjoyed looking at all the M & M merchandise. And there is a cute free 3-D film on one of the top floors.

DD loves Despicable Me, so we went to see the Statute of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower.

We love the TV show Tanked and really wanted to see some of their aquariums, but they are basically all gone. We actually went to a couple of locations just to be sure, but it it true - none are left. There is a very nice aquarium at the Silverton, which is free. There is also a permanent shark exhibit at the Mandalay Bay, but it had an admission fee.

My husband and dd love Looney Tunes, and enjoyed the Chuck Jones Exhibit at Circus Circus. I don't think it is worth it full price, but we got heavily discounted tickets on TravelZoo. FWIW, she does not like anything else at Circus Circus and our whole family was really grossed out by the air quality in all parts of the hotel. We all took showers and changed clothes when we got back to our hotel.

I think someone mentioned the Venetian. We enjoyed walking around the canal area inside. This area is just shops and restaurants and is kid friendly. There are "street" performers throughout who are family friendly - musical groups, mimes, singing gondoliers, etc. The hotel sometimes has festivals out front in the palazzo area.

I think someone also mentioned the Bellagio fountain show, which is really great after dark. There is also a conservatory area inside which is decorated seasonally. We were there at Christmas, and dd liked the decorations. There were gingerbread houses, a miniature train, etc.

I am not sure if it is still there, but there used to be an animated fountain area in the shops at Caesar's Palace, with statues which would come to life every half hour or so. The sky over the fountain had simulated changing weather, including accompanied by an indoor rain shower. DD loved it.

If you are into roller coasters, there are several. I think someone mentioned the Stratospere one, but there is also a pretty
amazing one at New York New York which goes in and out of the building. It was a huge hit with the sons of some friends of ours.


There is a free monorail from the Bellagio to I think the Monte Carlo and from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay. When dd was younger she enjoyed riding this. There is also a monorail from the Convention Center to the MGM Grand, but there is a charge and it is not as interesting a ride.

You can try looking on Travelzoo local deals or Living Social or Groupon and seeing what is discounted. That's actually how we found the Chuck Jones experience.