Though it's in the middle of a desert, there are plenty of animal attractions that families can enjoy together. This includes marine life. Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef (sharkreef.com) is home to Gray Reef sharks, Nurse sharks, Zebra sharks and Sandtiger sharks. The 1.6 million gallon tank also houses moon jellyfish and green turtles. For more wildlife, take the kids to the Lion Habitat at MGM Grand (mgmgrand.com). Visitors get to view the lions through soundproof glass as the lions nap and prowl through a $9 million ecosystem that includes lush foliage and waterfalls. Visiting the habitat is also an educational field trip as there are facts about lions posted in the area. For example, kids learn that female lions are the hunters of the pack and that lion cubs can jump roughly 13 feet high.
In Las Vegas, there is no need to wait for a circus to come to town to see acrobats and trapeze artists. According to the website Vegas, Circus Circus Hotel-Casino (circuscircus.com) has the largest ongoing circus in the country. Juxtaposing the gaming area, the performance arena has 60 seats from which guests can watch contortionists, jugglers and unicyclists. For older children who are able to sit through a show, take in a Cirque du Soleil performance. As of May 2011, the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino is home to the Cirque du Soleil show, "Mystere" (cirquedusoleil.com/). There are acts that feature performers doing ballet movements midair in aerial cubes, percussionists performing with drums and comedic acts that center around a trampoline. At the Bellagio, there is "O" (cirquedusoleil.com). Performances in "O" are water based. Acts include synchronized swimming and a high-dive routine where divers jump from an altitude of 60 feet.
Games and kids go hand in hand. Many casinos have arcades. Gameworks (gameworks.com) is a venue dedicated to game playing. In addition to having interactive bowling, the gaming oasis also has the car racing game Initial D4 that kids can play on 32-inch screens; House of the Dead 4; and a Deal or No Deal machine. Bally's (ballyslasvegas.com) and Circus Circus (circuscircus.com), also have in-house arcade systems.
Though it's located roughly 50 miles away from the Las Vegas Strip in Primm Valley, Nevada, Adventure Canyon at Buffalo Bill's (no website; 31900 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Primm, NV 89019; 702-386-7867) is ideal for anyone who likes water rides. When taking a ride on Adventure Canyon at Buffalo Bill's Review, kids are armed with electric guns so that they can shoot 'bandits' while moving through a Wild West scene that comes complete with tombstones and 'wanted' posters. Another amusement park ride is the Roller Coaster at New York, New York (newyorknewyork.com). In addition to spiraling on an upside down loop, guests soar 203 feet above the strip at roughly 67 mph, according to the hotel's website. At Circus Circus, there is Adventurdome (adventuredome.com). Housed under the circus-like pink dome, families can opt to get wet on the Rim Runner ride or get their pulses racing on the Canyon Blaster roller coaster.
