For spring break this year, we decided we would take a mini family vacation. However, living in Utah, the options are slim, especially when you’ll only be staying for three nights, and plan on driving to your destination. We decided we would head to Las Vegas, (yet again) and try to experience some of the things we’ve never done before.
Las Vegas is often referred to as “sin city” for it’s gambling, nudity, drinking, prostitution, and partying. So why in the world would you want to take your family on vacation to this “sinful” city? While it’s true, the theme of Vegas is often, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” there are also many family friendly options here.
When we decided on Las Vegas as our Spring Break destination, the first thing we looked into was finding a family friendly casino to stay at. We knew we wanted this trip to be more relaxing and laid back, so we wanted a hotel with a great pool. After looking at just about every hotel, condo, and casino in Vegas, we ended up booking our three nights at The Mandalay Bay
View from our room
The Mandalay Bay is perfect for families. The rooms are large, there are plenty of restaurants on site, Shark Reef Aquarium is here, and the pool area, known as Mandalay Bay Beach, is amazing! Not only are there 3 pools, but they also have a lazy river, wave pool, cabana and gazebo rentals, 2 outdoor dining options, and 2700 tons of real sand.
Day One:
We woke up early Friday morning and headed to the highly recommended Baby Stacks Cafe for breakfast. If you like pancakes for breakfast, this place is a must! They have so many options that we ended up ordering a bunch of different plates and shared. I think the favorite ended up being the Cinnabun Pancakes and the Cookie Butter French Toast. We also tried the Rocky Road Pancakes, the Cookies & Cream Pancakes, and an omelet.
After devouring our breakfast, we headed over to the Neon Museum. This is a great spot to visit for all ages. The Neon Museum is a one hour tour of old casino signs such as, The Golden Nugget, The Aladdin, and The Sahara. As well as seeing these old iconic signs, you will also learn a bit about Las Vegas history. I have a post dedicated to our time at the Neon Museum that you can read here. The Neon Museum tour is outside, and so once we finished, we all wanted nothing more than to head back to the hotel for a swim. We ended up staying at the pools until closing, which is 6:00. We headed up to our room to freshen up so we could hit the Strip for some sightseeing and dinner.
The Las Vegas Strip is an amazing sight with all those lights! It truly is one of a kind. You can pretty much find anything and everything on the Strip. Casinos, shops, restaurants, museums, street performers, you name it, it’s there. If traveling with kids, be warned, there are some pretty inappropriate things to be found here, but also many kid friendly options as well.
Finding a restaurant on the Strip at 8:00 on a Friday night can be difficult. Every place we stopped, had a long wait, and we were all starving. We ended up eating dinner at Bobby’s Burger Palace. You can never go wrong with a Bobby Flay restaurant. There was no wait, the options were exactly what our kids wanted and the prices were very reasonable for anywhere, let alone a prime location on the Strip. The menu is pretty straight forward; burgers, fries, shakes, and sodas. They do offer some vegetarian options as well as kids meals. I ordered the Bacon Crunchburger (bacon burger with potato chips on top) and it was so good.
Day Two:
We woke up Saturday morning (later than planned) so we stopped by Einstein Bros. for a quick bagel before heading over to the Mob Museum. The museum offers a view into the world of organized crime throughout the world, as well as how the Mob came to be in Las Vegas. For a more detailed guide of the Museum, head over to my blog post that is dedicated to our visit there. We had a great time here, and I would highly recommend it, especially if you have older children.
Once again, we found ourselves at the Mandalay Bay Beach in the afternoon. Before jumping into the pool, we ate lunch at the poolside cafe. There’s just something fun and relaxing about sitting at a table enjoying lunch and a Coke Zero while listening to music and being outdoors. The prices are a bit steep for the small amount of food you get here, but we thought it was worth it to be able to eat and then within seconds, be in the pool. The kids spent most of the afternoon enjoying their time in the lazy river and wave pool while Win and I just enjoyed lounging in the sun.
We decided last minute that it would be fun to take the kids to see a comedy or magic show. The bad part was, because we waited so long, and because it was a Saturday night, a lot of tickets were sold out, and it is hard to know which shows are “family friendly.” We ended up getting tickets to the Mike Hammer, “Get Hammer’d” Comedy and Magic show. The show is held at the Lady Luck Casino in “old” Las Vegas. The best part of the entire show, was when I was picked to come up on stage and be part of the closing act. We all got a good laugh, and the kids kept asking me how he pulled off his final magic trick. I just kept telling them, “I have no idea!”
Once the show ended it was late, and everyone was starved! Win and I wanted to head back to the Strip for dinner, but the kids said they couldn’t wait, they needed to eat now! We ended up at a buffet (against my better judgement), and let’s just say it was below average. I’ll just leave it at that. We headed back to the hotel after dinner and went straight to bed.
Day Three:
Sunday morning came all too soon! We slept in until ten, and then had to rush to be packed and out the door by eleven (check out time). It’s always hard to see a vacation come to an end, but we had a great time exploring Las Vegas and doing things we hadn’t done there before.
If you’re getting ready to head to Las Vegas on a family vacation here are some more family friendly places that I recommend (from previous trips).
Places to Stay:
Tahiti Village: Family friendly and fun! This is not a casino, but is located on the Strip. Lazy River, sandy beach, and large pool make it a favorite for the kids.
South Point: Further south on the Strip, so you are not in all the traffic. Large rooms and they have a Steak n Shake inside.
The Orleans: Off the Strip, so traffic is a lot better. Large rooms, bowling alley, movie theater, and tons of restaurants on site.
Places to Eat:
The Yardhouse: Great for dinner! Get the chicken nachos as an appetizer. They will feed your entire group.
Wicked Spoon: Our favorite buffet in Vegas. It’s a bit pricey, but oh so yummy!
Hash Hash A Go Go: Great breakfast restaurant. Lots of options and fun atmosphere.
Raising Canes: An inexpensive restaurant for a quick lunch.
Bahama Breeze: Another favorite dinner location.
Margaritaville: It’s a bit of a wait since it’s on the Strip, but its’ such a fun location for kids. They have a pirate ship, they do a little singing show every hour or so. Lots of fun!
Things to Do:
Nathan Burton Magic Show: I highly recommend this for kids! Our kids still talk about this show and we went probably 5 years ago.
New York New York Roller Coaster
I did receive free tickets to the Mob Museum and The Neon Museum, however, all opinions are my own.
I received a ticket in exchange for a review on the museum. All opinions are my own.
When I think of Las Vegas, a few things come to mind. Casinos, Buffets, Weather, and Lights! It’s impossible to drive through Las Vegas at night and not be mesmerized by all those lights!
On our recent trip to Las Vegas, one of the things I wanted to do most, was visit The Neon Museum. The Neon Boneyard, as it is refereed to, houses iconic signage dating back to the 1930’s. Many of the Neon signs you’ll see are from old casinos such as, the Riviera, Binion’s, The Stardust, and The Sahara.
Being a huge Elvis Presley fan, the highlight of the tour for me, was seeing the Lamp from the Aladdin Casino, where Elvis and Priscilla were married in 1967.
The Museum is located on the north end of Las Vegas Blvd. and is open for guided tours seven days a week. You are able to enjoy a tour of the Boneyard, day or night. We booked a day tour, as I really wanted to see and photograph the signs. However, I think a night tour would also be fun. During the night tours, you witness the neon lights on 11 of their restored signs, as well as their un-restored signs which are lit with ground lighting.
We had a great time on our tour! Our guide was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot not only about neon signs, but also the history of Las Vegas. If you in Vegas with an hour to spare, be sure and stop by The Neon Museum! Tickets can be purchased here. I suggest purchasing early, as tickets do sell out quickly.
I received tickets in exchange for a review on the Museum. All opinions are my own.
Al Capone, John Gotti, Bugsy Siegel, Machine Gun Kelly, Don and Michael Corleone, Tony Soprano, all familiar names, all mobsters. Whether they be fictional characters, or real life mobsters, these are men who were involved in organized crime in some form or another.
The Mafia, or Mob first made its appearance in the United States shortly after Prohibition started in 1920. These men seized the opportunity to make money and control the underground world of alcohol thanks to this new law. Another way of making money for these men, was gambling. Gambling had always been an important part of business in the Mob. They operated many illegal gambling operations throughout the United States and because law enforcement agencies were on the Mobs payroll, they turned a blind eye to what was taking place.
In 1931, the state of Nevada legalized gambling, but it wasn’t until the 1940’s that the Mafia realized the potential for Las Vegas. Meyer Lansky, who didn’t want to be blamed if the first Vegas Casino didn’t do well, enlisted the help of Bugsy Siegel. Bugsy raised money and hype from Mafia families, and in December of 1946, the first gambling casino, The Flamingo, opened. However, due to the mafia pushing for an early opening, and not much interest from tourists, the Flamingo ended up losing money, and Bugsy ended up being shot.
Just off Fremont Street, in old Las Vegas, is one of Vegas’ newest attractions, The Mob Museum. The museum is officially titled, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement and shows the history of the Mob not only in Las Vegas, but throughout the entire country. The tour starts on the third floor and you work your way down from there. Throughout the entire museum, are interesting bits of Mob history, such as the blood stained wall from the Saint Valentine’s Massacre, exhibits, video clips, and actual photos and artifacts.
The museum is actually a piece of Mob history in and of itself. In 1950, a Senate Committee called the Kefauver Committee, was formed to expose Organized Crime here in the United States. There were 14 Kefauver hearings that took place throughout the United States, including one here in the Las Vegas Federal Courthouse that is now home to The Mob Museum. The courtroom is set up to look as it would have back then.
Thankfully, the Mob is not what it used to be. After the Kefauver hearings, the state started to better regulate gambling and illegal activities. Large Corporations started buying casinos and resorts thus attracting tourists, and not as many mobsters.
If you’re in Las Vegas, be sure and take some time to tour The Mob Museum. It was very interesting to learn more about Organized Crime, how it came to be, as well as the downfall of the Mob. We took our entire family with us (kids ages 12-17) and they found it to be of interest. I don’t think kids younger than 10 or 12 would enjoy this tour. It’s a lot of reading and history, and I just don’t see young kids finding it fun. We took about 2 hours exploring the exhibits. I’d say plan on allowing yourself at least an hour at the museum, but closer to 2 or 3 if you really want to get the full experience.
Mob Museum Details:
The Museum is located at 300 Stewart Avenue, just off Fremont Street. There is limited parking in the lot next to the museum for $7 for the first three hours. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online. Prices are $26.95 for adults, $20.95 for seniors, law enforcement, and military, $16.95 for teens (ages 11.17), and children 10 and younger are free.