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A Las Vegas vacation for many people is an experience to enjoy 24/7 food, drink, and gambling. In fact that is the very reason that many people visit Vegas and it is also one of the main reasons that the city of Las Vegas and the gambling empires that have been built, crumbled, and been rebuilt again and again have had many of the rocky rides that offer more bumps, dips, twists, and turns than you will find on many of the roller coasters that also inhabit this great city.
Las Vegas has so much more than that to offer its visitors. Gone are the days when gambling was the sole income of casinos or that casinos were the only businesses in town. Vegas is dressing up a bit in recent years and working oh so slowly and diligently towards changing its image.
This city of bright lights and empty promises is quickly becoming a city that offers world-class entertainment and excitement to its residents and its visitors. Las Vegas has some of the best dining on the planet. Many of the wonderful dining experiences are associated with the casinos of the area but they would not be as successful as they are if there was not a reason to keep the tables full. Diners don't tend to dine if the food isn't good and a for a restaurant a bad review will travel around the world three times before ten good reviews will make it once. This means that the world-class fine dining restaurants really must earn their stripes in order to bring in the business required in order to stay in business.
I personally tend to look for the dining bargains and that is what this particular article will focus on. There many great places to eat in Vegas that will not have you busting open your piggy bank. Now my guy is a steak and potato kind of man so I always try to look for a good steak bargain. For him, I love Arizona Charlie's Boulder Sourdough Café. Here you can get a 14-ounce Porterhouse for $7.99 this includes soup or salad, choice of potato or rice (5 pm-11 pm), veggies, and rolls. You can also get spaghetti and meatballs for $6.49 and Chicken Penne Primavera or fried chicken for $6.99. This is good food at its best at a price that easy on the budget.
This is just one of the many places a person or family can get a relatively good meal inexpensively. Not all great bargains involve steaks but there are many great food bargains to have. Be aware of coupons you may find around town offering two for one food purchases or dollars off of entree purchases. It may not seem like much or two but if you can manage to save $2 per two people for 10 meals during your stay, that adds up pretty quickly to $40 that could buy a little time on the slot machines or tickets to one of the many great shows.
Cheap dining by no means indicates a lack of quality. While it may not be as sophisticated as some offerings, you might find that a lot of the cheaper places to eat actually have far superior flavor to many of the more expensive dining experiences and it's just nice to get away from buffet food once in a while during your Vegas stay. You can only endure so many buffets before they all begin looking, and tasting just alike.
Circus Circus Las Vegas boasts of being the most kid friendly hotel in Las Vegas. With its big top attitude and its indoor amusement park it very well may be. In addition to being the most kid friendly hotel on the Las Vegas strip Circus Circus Hotel is also the fifth largest hotel in the world. Of course this is at the moment and that is subject to change at any time.
The beauty of this particular hotel doesn't lie so much in its size or even the circus like atmosphere. The charm lies in the fact that it was something new and relatively untried along the Vegas strip. Rather than build to suit the gamblers they were hoping to attract, this particular hotel was wise enough to offer something new and untried by appealing to families with children rather than solely to gamblers.
The gamble seems to be paying off in a city that is known for both its hits and its misses. Other hotels and casinos are also working to cultivate the family friendly image that Circus Circus has basically proven. Not only did this hotel build The Adventuredome Theme Park they also decided to make accommodations even more family friendly by accommodating RVs at the Circusland RV Park. This offers a great place for families to stay that might not otherwise grace the theme park, hotel, or the casino.
Don't forget that there is a casino involved and that is the primary purpose of this gigantic hotel, resort, and theme park. The casino makes the expense of building it all very much worthwhile and brings in big business of its own each and every day. In grand Vegas style there is also the requisite onsite shopping and of course full service of wedding options in addition to a wedding chapel and banquet facilities in which to hold the reception of your dreams. The shopping at Circus Circus offers everything from ultra exclusive boutique shops and salons to stores such as Under $10 and the trading Post, which offers fad jewelry and other kid friendly gifts.
This hotel has a somewhat unique concept that sets it apart from the many others along Vegas' strip. If you are traveling to Vegas with the family I very much recommend at least checking them out and comparing prices and packages with the other hotels and resorts in the area. Keep in mind that comps are like money in the bank particularly when they involve food or activities that you were planning to do even without the comps. So you may be able to negotiate a much better deal even if you're paying a couple more dollars a night by having free parking, complimentary meals, or tickets to events, shows, or attractions.
Now we're on to my favorite part of the discussion. Dining options. Circus Circus does not disappoint when it comes to offering variety to its guests. In addition to The Steakhouse, there is The Garden Grill, Mexitallia, Pink Pony, Circus Buffet, Pizzeria, Westside Deli, and Barista Café. The food offerings accommodate varying budgets and familial needs by offering some kid friendly dining choices to visitors and guests as well. The good news however is that if these restaurants aren't appealing to you there is another hotel, casino, or restaurant next door that has different fare to offer.
If you are looking for a great place to stay in Las Vegas along with the family there are very few hotels that will offer the overall environment of fun and wonder that you will find at Circus Circus. In addition to the wonderful rooms, the great food, the casino, and The Adventuredome Theme Park you will find that the shows here are as kid friendly and entertaining for the entire family as the atmosphere in general. This is a great vacation destination anywhere. Considering the fact that it is in Las Vegas and it is very nearly the perfect vacation retreat for those with children.
One thing you may or may not have noticed about Vegas is that shows are more often than not, not made for family viewings. In fact, many of the most popular shows are decidedly not appropriate for children and younger audiences. Vegas has often become synonymous with sin or at the very least sex. While that is something that most definitely draws the box office dollars it is not something that makes watching shows in Vegas easy if you have children. Magic shows, however are usually a fairly safe bet from great entertainment and less adult oriented content.
One thing that is certain about children and shows though is that most children not only love magic, they also find it utterly and completely fascinating. David Copperfield is one of the most recognized names when it comes to magic and illusion. Your children will be delighted from the first act through the end of the show. This is one show that you won't have to worry about sending negative messages to your children nor will you have to worry about being bored for the sake of your children with this show either. His show may ultimately be the start of something magical in your own children, you never know. Check with the MGM Grand for show nights and times as this show plays two weeks every month but those weeks vary.
For a little more Xtreme Magic you should check out Dirk Arthur's show at Tropicana. This show has no age restrictions and the costs are $29 for table seating and $34 for booth seats this show has all kinds of wildlife from beautiful women, lavish dancers, Bengal tigers, a white tiger, and leopards. This show is a very exciting show that displays the art of illusion in a rather extreme form (kind of like extreme sports, this is extreme magic). Show times are 2 and 4 pm Saturday through Thursday.
While these shows are hardly inclusive of every magic act playing in Vegas these acts are very much the ones worth mentioning. If you haven't seen any of these guys perform you really have no idea what you've been missing. David Copperfield is truly the Master but he very well may have some serious competition along the horizon.
Magic is one of those things that the child in all of us never really manages to outgrow. We see it in brief moments when we hold our children for the first time, when we see their eyes light up on Christmas, when we feel the beauty and perfection of one perfect snowflake. Magic is all around us and so easily missed, there is nothing quite like visiting one of these shows to remind us not only of the magic we're missing each and every day as well as the wonder that we left behind somewhere in our own childhoods.
