From 1997 through 2001, I visited Las Vegas about every other month, as I was living in California at the time and my in-laws lived in a Vegas suburb. My last trip to Las Vegas was December 2002, when my twin boys were 18 months old, and I was *not* in a position to do any sightseeing.
While visiting Las Vegas in the late 1990s, my trips were ususally to local casinos that my MIL would frequent. If a new casino or attraction opened on the Strip, we would go check that out as well.
Fast forward to 2009, and a FAMILY trip to Las Vegas.
My family (hubby, 8 yr old twin boys, a 4 yr old boy) and myself stayed at a timeshare condo a block behind the Flamingo. We were close enough to the Strip to enjoy the lights, attractions, people, casinos, food, etc. But we were also far away enough from the lights, attractions, people, casinos, and traffic. It was the best of both worlds.
I remember one of my first visits to Las Vegas, my FIL asked me if I knew what the Nevada state bird was? I had no idea! The CRANE.....building crane that is! It was incredible to see all the new casino/hotels that were built since my last visit, as well as all the building still going on!
A few things haven't changed---there are still lots of free or inexpensive attractions. My children enjoyed seeing the Luxor pyramid with the large Sphinx in front, and the Egyption statues and hyroglyphics inside the lobby, the Excalibur Castle and the city-feel of New York, New York, all of which we toured during the early hours of the day. We also spent an hour or so at the M&M store, which is 4 levels of M&M shopping extravaganza! I won't tell you how much I spent on "mix-n-match" M&M's...but I figured "what the hell, I'm in Vegas!" At night, the Bellagio Hotel/Casino is very family-friendly. The dancing water fountains are a joy to watch. Strolling through the Bellagio Converatory flower garden is absolutely amazing too! There's a snail, ladybug and frog made out of flowers. Plus the Ferris Wheel filled with sunflowers, the giant glass flowers, and the suspended giant watering cans. I felt like I was on a Rose Bowl Parade float!
Another attractions which was free, but was not as family-friendly with small children was the pirate ship battle at Treasure Island. Apparantly, it's become PG-13 since our last visit to Vegas. The show is now called "Sirens of Treasure Island." It was definitely entertaining---a girls (...bad girls) vs. guys battle. But I probably wouldn't have taken my 3 young sons had I known.
We did take the family to "Old Vegas" or Downtown Vegas, as it is also called, to see the Fremont Street Experience. The light show lasts about 10 minutes, and is set to music, and it absolutely incredible.
Las Vegas is an ultimate vacation destination and adult-playground.There are more restaurants than I could possible mention or count. Many of which are owned/operated by some of America's top chefs, such as Emeril LaGasse, Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck , etc. There are so many shows, it is nearly impossible to choose. One's options include Circque de Soleil "O", "Mystique," "Zumanity", as well as Lion King, Jersey Boys, Blue Man Group, Penn and Teller, Donny and Marie. The list goes on and on....
As for gambling, take your pick. I have to say that my luck and my money do much better at "local casinos" rather than those on the strip. Hubby taught me that single/double deck blackjack, dealt by a dealer rather than from a shute, is much more enjoyable. And I agree. With the economy doing poorly, I noticed that table limits have gone down both on the Strip and the Local Casinos.
During the 90's Las Vegas tried hard to turn into a family-friendly vacation destination. On this trip, we sensed they were moving back to the "Sin City" aura that Vegas is originally famous for. However, there are still plenty of "family friendly" destinations and attractions for people of all ages, even if you just sit by the pool all day!
