Author Topic: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!  (Read 2113 times)

Margie

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
  • Location: SW Ontario
Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« on: October 27, 2017, 02:04:35 PM »
So, we are heading to vegas for a week - A few days will be at a tournament for DS - totally stoked that he was asked to play and that he said yes!  He usually turns down opportunities to play in US tournaments - he had a great coach this year and his confidence is awesome to see!

Anyhow, I have started booking stuff and I can't believe how expensive vegas is!  Our dollar is crappy right now too!   Due to the timing of our arrival and the tournament we are switching hotels 4 times!  staying on points for 2 nights (by airport), then with team for 3 (on strip), then 1 on points (Henderson) and then to the ranch at Grand Canyon...it will be annoying but that's life.

As a family we are going to Skywalk and staying at the ranch.  I thought it seemed expensive but it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to Grand Canyon with all of us (most likely - the kids are growing quick!!)  We plan to arrive to see the sunset and then wake up early to see the sunrise - I'm not an early bird but I literally can't wait!!  We are also planning a visit to Death Valley, Red Rock, Hoover Dam, a bird place in Henderson (I just forgot the name).  I wanted to stop at the park in Boulder City to see the Rams but I think our timing will be off.   Is it true that they are only active at dawn and dusk?  I think we might do the CSI thing and go to the Mob Museum.  We will definitely do the astrodome (rides and arcades)  My kids are very sporty but also like museums and natural stuff.    One area of concern is I walk with a walker so I can't do hikes up cliffs anymore and while I would happily stay at hotel while my family went they don't like to leave me behind...it's sweet on one hand and sad on the other!

As a team, we are staying on the strip for the weekend - wouldn't have been my choice but my son is joining an established team as an AP so I didn't want him to feel 'left out' of the team's activities.

We like all types of food.   But I am wondering about fantastic food trucks, places for good breakfasts, etc...

We will have a car so plan to see as much as we can.

Thanks for any and all input - I really appreciate it!


elaine amj

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Walrus Stache
  • *
  • Posts: 5548
  • Location: Ontario
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2017, 07:08:13 AM »
Earl of Sandwich is yummy and pretty cheap for the Strip.

Spend some time at the Bellagio fountains - really worth at least an hour.

Just wondering the Strip is fun, even for kids. The glitz and glam is rather crazy.

We spent a ton of time hiking Red Rock Canyon and then Valley of Fire. Such fun hiking.

Cheaper food can be found at off-Strip locations. DH and I like buffets and did splurge on the Buffet pass with unlimited buffets for 24 hours. We worked the plan to make it "worth it" ...it covered a lot of meals and had a lot of fun with it. Big entertainment value for us.

Sent from my STH100-1 using Tapatalk


Rylito

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 102
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2017, 01:31:14 AM »
Hi,

Sounds like a great trip you have planned!  FYI the visitor's center at Red Rock Canyon is easily accessible so no hiking is needed to take in the spectacular views there.

I don't know how old your kids are but I took my son to see Tournament of Kings when he was eight and he LOVED it.  I think it would still be fine for younger teens, but perhaps older teens might find it a tad cheesy, depending on the kid.

The Mac King show at Harrah's is a hilarious comedy magic act that is family friendly.  I see there is a deal on Yelp right now (https://www.yelp.com/deals/the-mac-king-comedy-magic-show-las-vegas-40)  but some older posts on TA indicate it was possible to get free or deeply discounted tickets at Harrah's in the past, so that may be worth following up (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g45963-i10-k6693559-Mac_King_tickets-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html).

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay has an amazing aquarium, and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, although small, has a nice collection of dinosaur fossils and animatronic dinosaurs if your kids are in to that sort of thing.  Springs Preserve is also a very cool nature preserve and desert environmental education center.  The Atomic Testing Museum is also worth a visit.

Don't miss M&M World on the strip.  Las Vegas has a local chocolate company called Ethel M that offers free tours of their factory and huge cactus garden in Henderson.  Inside the Bellagio, there is a free beautiful seasonal floral/plant display and nearby is a pastry shop, Jean Philippe, with this crazy, elaborate chocolate fountain.

The free light show at Fremont St. Experience is super cool, but some of the people hanging out there are a bit shady.  It's not unsafe, however--we don't have a problem bringing our son there, but YMMV.

Generally, for any paid show or attraction I'd like to see in Vegas, I google its name + cheap tickets and usually find links for discounts.

nereo

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 17496
  • Location: Just south of Canada
    • Here's how you can support science today:
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2017, 05:57:23 AM »
+1 to hiking.  The surrounding desert around Vegas has some of the most spectacular hiking and trail-walking around, including some rather impressive bluffs that give you a view of the surrounding dessert on one side and the city on the other.  Also tons of small canyons

Pack some warm layers (at least a light jacket and hat) if you plan to do this - many a tourist fails to appreciate that it gets cold in the desert when the sun goes behind the rim, even if it was 30ºC/86ºF just a few hours beforehand.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23128
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2017, 08:58:04 AM »
+1

Vegas sucks if you're not into prostitutes, drugs, binge drinking, gambling, and stomach churning displays of wasted wealth . . . but there's some beautiful desert all around it.

Margie

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
  • Location: SW Ontario
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2017, 09:54:21 AM »
Thanks everyone - We will definitely take a look at all those places/links to pick out what will work schedule wise...there are so many things to do and I'm grateful my kids prefer more natural settings still!

@ GuitarStv - that made me laugh!!  and is one of my major concerns - my son is 15 - so right at a very impressionable age and I don't want to spend too much time surrounded by half dressed women!  We're not totally backwards - but the last time we were in Europe he definitely noticed the topless women at the beach!  Didn't say anything thank goodness and most of them were just "normal" women so nothing too crazily augmented!  lol

Fun times parenting teenagers!!  My daughter is 12 and very easy to talk to so I am not nervous about that part at all!

I imagine Death Valley and the Grand Canyon will be the biggest hits!


nereo

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 17496
  • Location: Just south of Canada
    • Here's how you can support science today:
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2017, 10:17:51 AM »

@ GuitarStv - that made me laugh!!  and is one of my major concerns - my son is 15 - so right at a very impressionable age and I don't want to spend too much time surrounded by half dressed women!  We're not totally backwards - but the last time we were in Europe he definitely noticed the topless women at the beach!  Didn't say anything thank goodness and most of them were just "normal" women so nothing too crazily augmented!  lol

I'm just going to push back on GuitarStv's comments (which were probably a bit tongue-in-cheek).  LV is a city of over half a million people; about 2MM when you include the greater metro area.  Almost universally the image though is of 'the strip' - a very small but economically important part of the city.  But there are a few hundred thousand families, most with small kids, that go about their normal lives rarely going anywhere near the casinos.  There are good parks, museums, hiking trails, mini-golf courses, restaurants, university (plus community colleges) and just about everything else you'd expect from a large-ish and affluent westernized city.   

Margie

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 79
  • Location: SW Ontario
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2018, 01:45:34 PM »
So quick update on trip to Vegas with teens:

We went right after the shooting so it was definitely a weird time for the city in terms of mood...

Grand canyon was amazing.  The pictures from the skywalk are incredible.  We got there for sunset and woke up to see sunrise...it truly was breathtaking...the ranch was fun and the cottage was clean.  The meals included were yummy.  They went horse back riding into the canyon and it sounded great.  (I have mobility issues so stayed behind)  Overall it was a perfect day!

The Hoover Dam is obviously an engineering marvel and it was neat to see up close.

Death Valley was neat we spent an entire day and walked the boardwalk and a few other small trails.  The stars were amazing.

Red Rock was close by and neat as well

We went to a bird place but I forget it's name.  There were pathways and a nice creek running through it.  It was close to the city but you felt like you were far away.

We ate some great BBQ at a place tat was on You gotta eat here.

We saw a few aquariums made by that aquarium show...they were so cool.

Kids killed an hour at a go-kart place that they pretty much had to themselves so they enjoyed that.

We stayed a few nights at the stratosphere.  It was gross but the kids loved the rides on the roof and the pool was awesome.  Beautiful views and my daughter an I spend some time there.

The other hotels we stayed in were nice (Marriott) and the ranch at the Grand Canyon.

The tournament went well.  They were 2-2-1.  one loss by one goal which is awesome for a thrown together team with 6 Canadian APs!  Great experience for my son.

The only down sides:  There were slot machines everywhere.  People smoking everywhere, the air was thick.  Homeless people begging everywhere and ladies of the evening everywhere too.  A few propositioned the boys (they were 15!)  Thank god they were grossed out by it and one of the Dads just hurried them along. 

They went to see Chris Angel who was apparently great (I stayed with daughter and did some shopping)  He made a joke about a girl having blue lips after seeing the blue man group...the boys thought it was funny but a bit crude too.

We had a chat or two about it generally being a city of contrasts....gorgeous scenery but partly a playground for adults to behave badly.  We talked about some of the situations that sometimes lead women to work in sex work (I refuse to call it a trade!!)  and perhaps some things just shouldn't be purchased.   

Overall, it was fun and I am glad we went.  I am not sure I would go back.  My kids thought it was a gross city so I am not sure if they will go back even as adults.  They are well travelled so their perspectives are always neat to hear.


GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23128
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #8 on: September 08, 2018, 03:52:20 PM »
Sounds like you made the most of the trip!

rocketpj

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 964
Re: Fun stuff to do in Vegas with Teens?!?!
« Reply #9 on: September 13, 2018, 11:13:37 PM »
Wow, that sounds a lot like the trip to Vegas I had to take last winter with my hockey kid (who was 12 at the time).  Except our kids got slaughtered on the ice.

12 year old had a great time though.  Rollercoasters, wandering the strip, a bit of other activities.

As for me, I'll be just fine if I never go back.  I don't drink much outside of my deck in the summer, I find gambling boring and depressing, and I found the massive swaths of flashing slot machines in every nook and cranny to be bleak and soulless.  There are thousands of places in the world I would rather visit.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!