Here is my Top 125 List (actually it’s 169 now and growing) of family friendly attractions in and nearby Las Vegas that I posted in another thread a year or two ago. I just updated this list with some newly found family attractions. As you can see, families with kids have tons of things to do in and around Las Vegas.
(in no particular order):
1. Lance Burton magic show at the Monte Carlo,
2. David Copperfield magic show at MGM (limited dates),
3. Mac King Comedy Magic Show (afternoon show) at Harrah’s,
4. Cirque du Soleil show Mystere at TI,
5. Cirque show KA at MGM,
6. Cirque show O at Bellagio,
7. Cirque show Love at the Mirage,
8. Blue Man Group show at the Venetian,
9. Tournaments of Kings show at Excalibur,
10. Mama Mia show at Mandalay Bay,
11. American Superstars show at the Stratosphere,
12. V: The Ultimate Variety Show at Planet Hollywood (PH),
13. Dog Gone Silly show at PH,
14. Mega Bubble show at PH,
15. Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre at PH,
16. Nathan Burton Comedy Magic at PH,
17. Steve Wyrich: Real Magic Comedy show at PH,
18. Stomp Out Loud show at PH (5 and over),
19. Toxic Audio show at PH,
20. Xtreme Magic Starring Dirk Arthur show at the Tropicana,
21. World's Greatest Magic Show at the Greek Isles Hotel,
22. Hats show at Harrah’s,
23. Ice: Direct from Russia show at the Riviera (6 and over),
24. Phantom show at the Venetian (6 and older – may be hard to follow for young children),
25. Cher concert at Caesars Palace opens 5/6/08 (mature audiences),
26. Haunted Vegas Tour and Show (13 and over),
27. The Imax Theatre 3D at the Luxor,
28. Variety acts at PH,
29. Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat - White Tigers, White Lions, Panthers and Leopards at the Mirage,
30. Lion Habitat at MGM (free),
31. Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay,
32. Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo (free),
33. Adventuredome Theme Park (many rides) at Circus Circus,
34. Manhattan Express rollercoaster at NYNY (min 54” tall),
35. Speed the Ride rollercoaster at Sahara ( min 54” tall),
36. Big Shot ride on top the Stratosphere (min 48” tall),
37. X-Scream ride on top the Stratosphere (min 54” tall),
38. Insanity - The Ride on top the Stratosphere (min 54” tall),
39. Observatory deck on top of the Stratosphere,
40. Festival Fountain Show - Animatronic Talking Statues at the Forum Shops (free),
41. Fall of Atlantis Fountain Show at the Caesars Palace (CP) Forum Shops (free),
42. 50,000-gallon saltwater aquarium at the CP Forum Shops (free),
43. 20,000 gallon Lobby Aquarium at the Mirage (free),
44. 117,000-gallon saltwater aquarium w/ 5000 fish at the Silverton Hotel (free),
45. Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World at the Silverton Hotel,
46. Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton,
47. Star Trek: Klingon Encounter at the Las Vegas Hilton (min 42” tall),
48. Star Trek Borg 4D at the Las Vegas Hilton (min 42” tall) ,
49. Motion Simulator games and Virtual Rollercoaster at Luxor,
50. Imax Ridefilms “In Search of Obelisk” at the Luxor,
51. Sponge Bob 4D Special FX Ride at Excalibur,
52. Arcade (big) Game Works at the Showcase Mall by the MGM,
53. Arcade (big) and midway carnival games at “Coney Island Emporium” NYNY,
54. Arcade (big) and midway carnival games at Circus Circus,
55. Arcade (big) and midway carnival games, and shops at Excalibur,
56. Arcade (big) and shops at the Luxor,
57. Neonopolis arcade and movie theatre downtown,
58. Most hotel/casinos in Las Vegas have an arcade,
59. Pinball Hall of Fame Museum,
60. Lake of Dreams - Waterfall at the Wynn (free),
61. Bellagio Dancing Fountains (free),
62. Bellagio Conservatory (free - must be a guest or over 18 to enter Bellagio),
63. Statue of Liberty, NY City Skyline, Brooklyn Bridge at NYNY (free),
64. Volcano at the Mirage (free),
65. Pyramid at Luxor (free),
66. Egyptian Statues at Luxor (free),
67. Circus Acts at Circus Circus (free),
68. The Grand Canal and Gondola Rides at the Venetian,
69. Strolling Mimes "Streetmosphere" at the Venetian,
70. The Eiffel Tower observation deck at Paris,
71. Bowling, movie theatre, arcade at The Orleans,
72. Bowling, movie theatre, arcade at South Point,
73. Bowling, movie theatre, arcade at Sam’s Town,
74. Bowling, movie theatre, arcade, Kid’s Quest at Red Rock Casino
75. Bowling, movie theatre, Mystic Falls Indoor Park and Sunset Stampede at Sam’s Town (free),
76. Movie theatre, arcade, District Shops at Green Valley Ranch (GVR)
77. Rainforest Cafe at the MGM,
78. Helicopter Tour of the strip and Hoover Dam,
79. Hummer Super-Stretch Limousine Tour,
80. Freemont Street Experience (FSE) light show downtown (free),
81. Magic Shop in NYNY and other hotels,
82. Penske/Wynn Ferrari-Maserati dealership and store at the Wynn ($10),
83. Exotic Cars Showroom at Caesars Forum Shops ($5),
84. Classic Car Collection Museum at Imperial Palace,
85. Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix Go Karts,
86. Pole Position Raceway Go Karts,
87. FastKart Speedway Go Karts,
88. Nascar Cafe at the Sahara,
89. Flyaway Indoor Skydiving,
90. Fiesta Rancho Ice Arena – ice skating (10 miles from the strip),
91. Red Rock Climbing Center (9 miles from the strip),
92. Las Vegas Sportspark (10 miles N of strip),
93. Titanic Artifact Exhibition at the Tropicana,
94. King Tut Museum at the Luxor,
95. Madame Tussauds Wax Museum at the Venetian,
96. Bodies...The Exhibition at Tropicana,
97. Gold Nugget (one of the worlds largest) at the Golden Nugget,
98. Lied Discovery Children’s Museum,
99. The Springs Preserve,
100. Liberace Museum,
101. Guinness Book of World Records Museum,
102. Zoological - Botanical Park,
103. Floyd Lamb Park (20 miles from the strip),
104. Planetarium and Observatory,
105. Las Vegas Natural History Museum,
106. Nevada State Museum (5 miles from the strip),
107. Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History,
108. Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at the Venetian,
109. Fine Art Museum at Bellagio,
110. Las Vegas Art Museum,
111. Neon Museum downtown,
112. Atomic Testing Museum,
113. M&M World in the Showcase Mall by the MGM,
114. Everything Coca Cola store by the MGM,
115. FAO Schwartz Toy Store at the CP Forum Shops,
116. Forum Shops Mall at Caesars Palace,
117. Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood,
118. Fashion Show Mall,
119. Boulevard Mall,
120. Las Vegas Outlet Center,
121. Las Vegas Premium Outlets,
122. Town Square Shops and Children’s Park,
123. Grand Canal Shops at the Venetian,
124. Shops between MB and Luxor,
125. Bonanza “World’s Largest” Gift Shop,
126. Mandalay Bay Water Park (hotel guest only),
127. The other many incredible kid friendly pools, i.e. MGM, Monte Carlo, Flamingo, etc.,
128. The countless excellent restaurants in Las Vegas,
Nearby Las Vegas (distances vary – some are close, some are a few hours away):
129. Grand Canyon National Park (300 miles SE of LV),
130. Rafting Trip down the Colorado River,
131. Hoover Dam (30 miles from LV),
132. Kayaking on Lake Mead (30 miles from LV),
133. Jet-Ski, Boating, Swimming at Lake Mead (30 miles from LV),
134. Lake Mead Paddlewheel Boat Cruise (30 miles from LV),
135. Valley Of Fire State Park (50 miles N/NE of LV),
136. Mt. Zion National Park (157 miles NE of LV),
137. Bryce Canyon National Park (270 miles NE of LV),
138. Mount Charleston (35 miles NW of strip),
139. The Nellis AFB/F-16 Thunderbirds,
140. Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
141. Lake Las Vegas,
142. Hot Springs - various locations in NV: vegas.com/attractions/…hotsprings.html
143. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (20 miles W of LV),
144. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park (15 miles W of LV),
145. Clark County Heritage Museum,
146. Primm Valley Resort - Buffalo Bill’s Adventure Canyon Flume, Desperado Rollercoaster, Turbo Drop, Frog Hopper, Arcade – (35 miles S),
147. Bonnie & Clyde Getaway Car at Primm Valley Resort (35 miles S),
148. ATV off-road tour,
149. Land Sailing Desert Adventure,
150. Hummer Desert Safari Tour,
151. Horse Riding Adventure,
152. Bonnie Springs Old Nevada,
153. Chloride Mining Town,
154. Grapevine Canyon outside Laughlin (1 hr way),
155. The Da Vinci Experience, Henderson NV,
156. Raiders of the Lost Mine - El Dorado Canyon ATV Tour,
157. Ethel M. Chocolate Factory and Cactus Museum,
158. Laughlin/Colorado River,
159. Route 66,
160. Sedona AZ,
161. Ghosts towns,
162. Indian Reservations,
163. Doom Town at the Nevada Test Site,
164. Extraterrestrial Highway near Area 51,
165. The old mining towns and mines all over,
166. Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT (3.5 hrs from LV),
167. Death Valley National Park (2 hrs from LV),
168. Rhyolite ghost town,
169. The cool town of Oatman where wild Burros roam the streets.
I recommend using google or the links below to research these attractions for addresses/locations, prices, age appropriateness, and just to be sure it’s something you and your family will enjoy. Youtube.com can sometimes be useful for previewing shows and attractions. I looked up mileages for a few of the nearby attractions, but don’t have time to do all of them. Please feel free to add to this list any child friendly attractions in or near Las Vegas you can think of that I may have left out.
Las Vegas isn't for everyone, and not all families, but given the right itinerary, intentions and guidance, Las Vegas can be a great family vacation destination.
Please know, I am not willing to participate in yet another senseless “Kids in Vegas” debate, I just wanted to point out the many family friendly attractions that are in and nearby Las Vegas for those that are unaware.
I beg everyone please try to keep this thread civil. I know some folks here do not think kids should go to Vegas . . . and that’s fine, but this thread is not for that debate. If you want to debate that, please start another thread. I hope this helps some of the great TA members here and I wish everyone happy travels.
www.vegas.com/traveltips/guide/family.html
