Places to Go in Las Vegas With Family

Our writer, a Las Vegas expert, has looked at the city from virtually every angle: This time, it'south through the eyes of his three young daughters. His determination? When washed right, traveling with children to Vegas doesn't have to be a risk.

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Odue north the morning of our quaternary day in this desert metropolis, my then-7-year-old daughter woke up in a haze. She and her sisters—at the time, ages 10 and iii.5, respectively—had spent the past days wandering casinos (while kids can't linger in designated gaming areas, an informal "go along moving" policy more often than not lets them laissez passer through casino floors), chilling in water ice bars, ogling tigers, and drinking decadent milkshakes with slices of cake on top. Understandably, the sustained excitement was starting to catch upwardly with my centre kid: "Dad," she asked, "can yous feel hungover from as well much fun?"

Her question made me laugh just also put my heed at ease. I live in California but have covered Vegas as a solo traveler for nigh 20 years—writing and updating 13 guidebooks on the destination forth the way—only was nervous to visit for the first time with kids. To aid manage this feet, I'd planned our itinerary downwards to the 60 minutes, while being conscientious not to book too much into days that would play out in 100-degree heat. Clearly, I had done something right.

Yes, I had that careful itinerary and all the inquiry that went into information technology, but Sin City even so managed to surprise me with how child-friendly it has become since I offset started getting to know the place. Every bit I look dorsum on my family unit'south pre-COVID weeklong Las Vegas getaway, here are some of the family-focused things I discovered about my familiar friend, and v specific suggestions for things to do in Las Vegas with kids.

1. Spend a day at the pool

There are more 20 major resorts in and around the Las Vegas Valley, and many of them accept outstanding pools. Some pools are just open to hotel guests, but almost (including those we cite here) offer some sort of day-pass option. The majority come standard with umbrellas, cabanas, and seat-side nutrient and beverage service; others have standout amenities to excite even the well-nigh mortified tweens and teens. Some of the well-nigh family unit-friendly pools in Las Vegas include:

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino

On our trip, we stayed at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, which boasts one of the virtually kid-friendly pool complexes in town. At that place'southward a lazy river. In that location's a wave puddle. There's a embankment with existent sand. If you've got older kids, in that location are live music shows on select nights throughout the summer and fall. Heck, my kids would have been happy if we spent the entire week swimming and drinking virgin daiquiris right in that location.

Gilt Nugget Las Vegas Hotel & Casino

Other pools have different draws. The puddle at Golden Asset Las Vegas Hotel & Casino has a waterslide that zips through a 200,000-gallon aquarium (aptly called "the Tank") with sharks and other fish.

Ruby-red Rock Casino Resort & Spa

About 30 minutes off the Strip, in the western suburb of Summerlin, the Sandbar Pool at Reddish Rock Casino Resort & Spa has giant hot tubs that are popular with families, and pool attendants sometimes wander around handing out gratuitous nonalcoholic slushies.

Circus Circus Hotel Resort

The best resort pool for kids in all of Vegas, though, may be the Splash Zone at Circus Circus Hotel Resort; information technology features a water park with highlights similar a 50-foot belfry with three unlike slides, a water-feature playground with sprinklers and dump buckets, and a mobile food truck that serves poolside snacks. No, the Circus Circus pool is nothing fancy. But for families with young kids, it's high on the wow factor, which actually is all that matters here.

two. See one-of-a-kind attractions

Individual Las Vegas resorts strive to stand apart from the pack by boasting at least i attraction you won't find anywhere else in town.

Minus 5 Ice Experience

During our stay at Mandalay Bay, we plant two such spots: the Minus 5 Ice Experience and the Shark Reef Aquarium. The former, located in the Shoppes at Mandalay Place, is a bar made entirely of ice; the identify admits kids before 6 p.m. and even serves them mocktails in cups made of ice.

Shark Reef Aquarium

The aquarium is out by the hotel convention centre; it'southward certified past the American Zoological Clan (AZA), and its tanks incorporate more 2,000 different marine animals, with fifteen species of sharks.

Gondala rides at Venetian Las Vegas

Later in our visit, the kids and I climbed aboard gondola rides around the man-fabricated "canals" that run through the 1000 Culvert Shoppes at Venetian Las Vegas. Our gondoliers serenaded the states with Italian arias, as they practice in the real-deal Venice. The mellifluous sounds reverberated off the heaven-painted ceiling and echoed like they might in church.

Other unique, family-friendly attractions

Other family-friendly must-dos on the Strip include FlyOver Las Vegas, a Disneyland-style ride that plays out while you are suspended with feet dangling in front of a 52.v-pes-wide spherical screen, and the Escape Game Las Vegas, a hard-to-solve escape room inside the Forum Shops near Caesars Palace. And equally cheesy as it might seem, the i,149-foot-tall Observation Deck atop the Strat Hotel & Casino actually is spectacular, peculiarly at nighttime. (Fun fact: The structure is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the The states.)

3. Feast on over-the-top food

Vegas is a food city, and in that location are plenty of dining options geared toward kids.

Black Tap

My girls are withal talking about our lunch at Black Tap inside the Venetian. Sure, the fried pickles, onion rings, and indulgent burgers were divine. But the chief attraction was the milkshakes—mine came with two churros and a whole Choco Taco sticking out of whipped cream on the pinnacle; the i my youngest girl ordered was rimmed with sprinkles and garnished with an entire piece of cake.

Maxie's

We had another memorable dining feel at Maxie'due south, a diner toward the back of the Linq Promenade between the Flamingo and the Linq Hotel. Hither, the girls ordered stacks of pancakes topped with cotton candy or Fruity Pebbles; the restaurant also serves benedicts in hunks of white breadstuff.

Buffets at Wynn Las Vegas and Ceasars Palace

No trip to Las Vegas is complete without at least one gut-stuffing cafe cease; some buffets close down in the wake of COVID-19, but many all-you-can-consume stalwarts are still going strong. One of my personal favorites is the Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas, where a new family-friendly pancake station serves made-to-order flapjacks in flavors such equally ruby-red velvet, bananas foster, and strawberry shortcake. Another peachy i: Bacchanal Cafe inside Caesars Palace. This is i of the few all-you-tin can-eat restaurants that serves freshly squeezed specialty breakfast juices, such as watermelon, carrot, and celery.

Luv-It Frozen Custard

For the frozen dessert lovers in your family, head downtown and cheque out Luv-Information technology Frozen Custard, which has been in business organisation since 1973. Special flavors change every day, but the Fresh Assistant Nut is e'er available on Sundays.

4. Cheer on pro sports

For decades, Las Vegans pined for professional sports teams with top-notch facilities. In a thing of years, they've gotten their wish—and then some.

We sampled some of this action firsthand: Sin City'southward WNBA team, the Las Vegas Aces, plays at the Mandalay Bay Events Middle. Within moments of walking through the door, a team employee outfitted our girls with Aces T-shirts—every person who attended got one. This simple act got them hooked—they didn't know any of the players' names just screamed and cheered until their voices got raspy anyhow.

Elsewhere around town, other teams accept generated a buzz. The Las Vegas Raiders moved from Oakland before the 2020 NFL flavour, and they play at the swanky Allegiant Stadium, which offers 75-minute field and behind-the-scenes tours that football-obsessed kids will dearest. The Las Vegas Aviators, a minor-league affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, play in a  ballpark out in Summerlin that has a puddle beyond the outfield fence (you need a special ticket for that) and designated areas for kids to run and play. Finally, you tin can't gear up foot in Vegas these days without hearing well-nigh the Gilt Knights, the now five-twelvemonth-one-time professional hockey team that plays in the T-Mobile Arena (betwixt New York-New York Hotel & Casino and Park MGM) and made the Stanley Loving cup Final in its kickoff year.

5. Explore family-friendly stuff off-Strip

In that location are even more stand-alone attractions in and around Las Vegas that are sure to exit kids (and—who are we kidding?—parents) shaking off "fun hangovers."

Area xv

Number i on the list: Area xv, which bills itself as an "immersive entertainment and events complex," just really is a shopping mall of creative genius. Among the diversions here are axe-throwing, a dual-track zipline, and Wink World, a sequence of infinity mirror rooms from the creator of "Blue Man Group." The main attraction is Omega Mart, an interactive playground from the art collective Meow Wolf; save a few hours to do it right.

High Roller

Another must-run into: High Roller, which sits at the back of the Linq Promenade off the Strip and, at 550 feet tall, currently holds the record for the tallest observation wheel in North America. When we visited, my two younger daughters sang some favorite songs and held their own dance party in the sky equally our pod crested the top of the cycle and delivered panoramic views of the Vegas Valley. One unabridged revolution took about 30 minutes; a estimator monitor provided usa with a constant meridian reading along the way.

Discovery Children's Museum

Subsequently in the trip, we checked out the Discovery Children's Museum in Downtown. I've been to dozens of children's museums in the 10 years I've written about family travel, and this might be the best of the bunch. Its centerpiece is a seven-story climbing structure that enables kids to explore unlike exhibits and floors. (Technically, very flexible parents can use the structure, too.) A maker space offering open play or special classes on topics like iii-D press also kept my girls occupied for hours.

Visit the tree business firm at Downtown Container Park

Elsewhere in the Downtown area, kids love the tree house in the center of the Downtown Container Park shopping mall for its three-story tunnel slide; there'south also a nearby set of giant blue blocks with which kids (and grown-ups) tin can play.

Springs Preserve

Concluding but non least, the Springs Preserve is an expansive facility on the due north side of boondocks that essentially offers three museums in i: the Nevada Country Museum, a museum near the origin of Las Vegas, and a recreated Las Vegas streetscape from 1905. It also features a sustainability gallery, playground, botanical garden, and 180 acres of trails. You could spend the whole 24-hour interval there and still have more to see. Which just means y'all'll have to bring the kids dorsum again to more fully explore information technology—and to do the rest of kid-friendly Vegas right.

This article was originally published in July 2019. It was updated in January 2022 to include current data.

>> Next: The Best Travel Gear for Babies and Kids

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Source: https://www.afar.com/magazine/why-las-vegas-is-a-great-place-to-go-with-kids-seriously

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