Las Vegas

Of course Vegas is known for gambling at the casinos, showgirls, bachelor and bachelorette parties, all OTHER forms of partying, and various things that are legal here...yet not legal most anywhere else...there are still quite a few things you can do in Vegas while visiting as a family. You can renew vows at the gimmicky wedding chapels (though it's not quite as easy to get officially married as movies and TV would have you believe, you must first have a marriage license from the courthouse, and THEN it's as easy as they say). 

 

You can ride the roller coaster at the New York New York Casino. You can see the Fremont Street Experience in the "old Vegas area", in which there's 5 blocks of shopping and an incredible, free, lightshow under the canopy! Also, there are gondola rides at The Venetian, you can ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower at Vegas' Paris Casino, visit the Mob Museum, do indoor skydiving, or zip lining. Other free options include the Fall of Atlantis show at Caesar's starring the casino's fountain statues or the Bellagio's water fountain spectacular show of water, music, and lights. Madalay Bay has the Shark Reef Bay where you can see sharks and other aquatic predators, and kids can pet stingrays! At the Siegfried and Roy Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, you can see white tigers, dolphins, white lions, and leopards. You can also journey to SpongeBob's Bikini Bottom in the Excalibur's 4D SpongeBob ride or their dinner show "Tournament of Kings" that takes you back to the days of knights and maidens, swords and jousting, all while you eat dinner! You can also visit the 5 acre indoor theme park, called Adventuredome, in the Circus Circus Casino, which also has free live circus shows daily. 

 

Speaking of shows, a Vegas trip would not be complete without a show! They have comedy shows, magic shows, elvis impersonators, animal shows, famous and not so famous musicians, and fun shows like the Blue Man Group and a variety of Cirque du Soleil shows...as well as some less than family friendly (but depends on what you're looking for) Vegas dance shows! 

 

You can also drive a little ways out of town to see the architectural feat, the Hoover Dam. This dam single handedly transformed much of the west into being livable! It provides water as far as California.