# Things for 16 year old to do in Vegas?



## krmlaw (Jan 27, 2009)

We are thinking of a trip to Vegas for Thanksgiving. 

Is there things to do besides gamble? We would be bringing our 16 yr old and 3 month old. Im assuming we will be able to walk through most of the hotels? Swim that time of year? Visit hoover dam? Red rock canyon?


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## Fern Modena (Jan 27, 2009)

You can walk through the casinos with your teen, but s/he may not stop near a machine or table (as in to wait for you while you bet).  That's not allowed.

I wouldn't say that you'd want to swim the end of November.  Last Thanksgiving it was very cold, and we had a rainstorm (but the rain is not typical for that time of year).

You could go to Red Rock, Hoover Dam, etc., of course.  If they like video games, why not introduce them to Pinball.  There is a Pinball Hall of Fame, where you can play games for 25-50 cents each.  There are close to 100 games available, its really cool.  If s/he bowls, there is bowling at Orleans, South Point, and Sam's Town.  Also movies at many places, most of them casino related.

There is the mall, too, of course.  Most teens are "mall rats." Showcase Mall on Las Vegas Blvd, but also The Galleria in Henderson, which is a more typical suburban mall.

There are many interesting museums, and other things to do.  You can park on Sunset near Las Vegas Blvd (it is a marked parking area) and tune your radio into the control tower to watch planes take off and land.

You can take your teen to In and Out Burger if they've never been.  They sell T-shirts, too.  

Look at http://lasvegal4locals.com for many more interesting ideas.  There are many shows which are teen appropriate, too.

Fern


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## krmlaw (Jan 27, 2009)

ok, sounds like we should pass on the family trip to vegas ...


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## sandesurf (Jan 27, 2009)

Hi, I agree with everything Fern said. I spent a week there with my then 10 year old son. You MAY walk through the casinos BUT you will feel like an outcast. Even my son picked up on the NOT welcome feeling. Since you have to walk through SO MANY casinos just to get anywhere, I felt like I never need to go back there again! (I'm not a gambler). We did find a kid's game room in most hotels, but I don't think they'd be much of a draw for a teenager. My husband flew in to meet us for the weekend, and we drove to Hoover Dam. That was the highlight of our trip. 
Good luck


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## pfaff (Jan 27, 2009)

Can you please a 16 year old anywhere? I have teenage brothers and a sister and took them on vacation last year. They were always bickering and I took them to a water park, beach, movies, etc. May I suggest taking a friend and a laptop. Then the teenagers are in their own world and they could care less where they are.

As for the infant my wife and I went to Las Vegas last year twice. Once when my son was six months old and once when my son was 15 months old. Both times we stayed at a timeshare to keep him away from the smoke of the casinos. Which parent is staying with the infant? Can you take turns or will you trust the 16 year old to watch the baby? 

The first time we went I stayed in the room with the baby so that my wife could go to the bachelorette parties with her friends. The second time we got a two bedroom and took our in laws. My mother in law watched my son when we went out at night. That worked out cause the first time I really didn't feel like I was even in Vegas.


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## tombo (Jan 27, 2009)

I carried my teenage children to Vegas a couple of times and they loved it. We did the roller coaster at NY NY. We played the midway games at Excalibur and NY NY. They loved the Luxor and the free nightly light show. Enjoyed the fountains exploding to Music at the Bellagio. Went to see the tigers at the Mirage and watched the fake volcano erup out front. Spent a full day at Circus Circus where they have free live circus acts, and in the enclosed Pink Thunderdome amusement park in the rear which has roller coaster, laser tag, and several other rides in air conditioned/heated comfort ( http://www.adventuredome.com/ ). I took them to a Cirque de Soleil show(there are several in Vegas), a Riverdance show, the early family friendly Splash show (this was great for kids and adults), and we walked and drove all up and down the strip looking at the lights and mega-resorts. In addition we took the helicopter tour of the grand canyon one time and the air/bus tour of the grand canyon on another trip. We also went to the Hoover dam tour which is very impressive. Red rock is a beautiful area and should be comfortable in November. The buffets were wonderful because no matter how picky of an eater your child is there is something for them to eat. I would carry a teenager to Vegas again in a heartbeat (if only I still had teenage kids).

Excalibur has a midway with games you can actually win (unlike the traveling fair shysters) and an arcade with games I have never seen anywhere else. Good luck getting those 3 foot stuffed animals you win on the plane with you for the return flight home. http://www.excalibur.com/attractions/

Oh yeah I forgot the rides on the top of the Stratosphere. Those 3 rides on top of the tallest building west of the Mississippi are as scary as any thrill ride you have ridden anywhere.
http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/


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## Darlene (Jan 27, 2009)

I've taken my teenage kids there many times, and we don't gamble.  We go to the shows.  There are so many, but my favorite is "O".  We have done all the rides, New York roller coaster, Paris Eiffel Tower, Luxor, Cesear's mall with show and ride, Treasure Island still has an outdoor show, the fountains at the Bellagio, and more.  Bellagio has a great Thanksgiving display (changes by the season), and the best chocolate dessert shop.  We eat out - they love the buffets.  We shop.  We swim.  Yes, I've been in November and the pool was open, and we watch movies.  Sometimes there are some great conventions in town, too.  My son really wants to go to some high tech gadget show with all the new Microsoft stuff that I don't know the name of. My son reminded me of the Las Vegas Hilton and Star Trek ride and memorabilia.  On his 16th birthday we ate a Quarks, and three Klingons sang him Happy Birthday (in Klingon of course).  We had Tribble tenders, and other famous dishes and drinks from the show.
Darlene


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## krmlaw (Jan 28, 2009)

Wow .. sounds like there is a lot to do with kids there ... Ill have to rethink this.


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## Karen G (Jan 28, 2009)

There is usually RCI availability at the Grandview, which is on the far south end of Las Vegas Blvd.  It's next to the South Point casino which is a huge place with multi-screen movie theaters, bowling alley, lots of restaurant choices.  This would be a great location for a family with children as it's away from all the Strip action yet close by when you want to drive down and explore all the resorts/casinos.

  There is also a great shopping area called  Town Square that is on Las Vegas Blvd. several blocks north of the Grandview that your family would enjoy.  It's a great place to stroll around, shop, have lunch or dinner, and go to the Rave movie theater.

You can easily get to the Strip and access the hotels/casinos by the back streets to get into the free parking garages.  Get a good city map and you'll do fine driving around here.


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## tombo (Jan 28, 2009)

I agree with O being the best show in Vegas for both adults and kids. Reserve those tickets as soon as you have firmed up your Vegas dates as it is sold out for every show. O is one of the Cirque de Soleil shows, and I love them all. I have not seen the Beatles Cirque show, but I heard it is great also, but supposedly not as good as "O".

 I forgot about the Luxor motion simulator rides (if they still have them) and the Star Treck ride at the Hilton. In the summer there is also a great water park, but it won't be open in November. There are also numerous magic shows which will amaze both young and old. There are usually some Broadway plays like Chicago playing at a casino. You also never know who will be performing in Vegas when you are there. It could be a singer or comedian you love, or it could be one of your kid's favorite artists.
Vegas has plenty to do for people of any age.

Here is a link with many ideas.

http://www.vegas.com/traveltips/guide/familyvacation.html


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## Karen G (Jan 28, 2009)

tombo said:


> the Star Treck ride at the Hilton. . . .There are usually some Broadway plays like Chicago playing at a casino.



The  Star Trek  attraction has closed.  Chicago isn't playing here anymore, but Lion King  will be starting in a few months.


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## bigrick (Jan 29, 2009)

If you'll have a car, here's a list others suggested earlier.


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## DeniseM (Jan 29, 2009)

tombo said:


> I *carried* my teenage children to Vegas.....
> I would *carry* a teenager to Vegas again in a heartbeat (if only I still had teenage kids).



I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do "carried" and "carry" imply in this context?  Does is mean they didn't want to go?


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## Karen G (Jan 29, 2009)

DeniseM said:


> I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do "carried" and "carry" imply in this context?  Does is mean they didn't want to go?


I think it's just a colloquialism since the poster who used the term is from Mississippi.  I've heard people in the south use "carried" to mean "took."


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## bailey (Jan 30, 2009)

I've been to Vegas in October and it was REALLY cold.  
I had also heard it was a "family oriented" place now.  Well if you consider folks handing out cards with pictures of naked woman on them on every street corner you walk past, then I guess so.  Didn't seem to matter how old you were.  The taxis have similar pictures on top of them.  

I took my kids years ago when they were like 12 and 14 maybe??  I guess it all depends on the kid.  My son ended up lost....really misplaced of his own accord.  Worst nightmare EVER!!  The police suggested I go home and they would call me when they found him.  (Oh sure, leave my 14 year in an unknown city full of hookers, druggies and who knows what!).   So take into consideration my jaded opinion of the place.  

Prior to all this excitement though, we did have a good time at the Cirque to Soliel, Siegfreid and Roy, the Pirate thing, etc...but then I think you can catch those things in any major city...


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## pcgirl54 (Jan 30, 2009)

If it's still there Gameworks is in the middle of the strip. http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/gameworks.html

Depending on your budget we did the upgraded Hoover Dam tour. There are also desert ATV adventures. http://www.awesomeadventureguide.com

It depends what one likes as we are not gamblers except for an occasional slot machine. I had wanted to see Vegas resorts from all the Travel Channel shows hype. So we stopped for a couple of days on the way to Sedona.

I am glad we saw Vegas and if I were in the area I would go for a weekend to see shows but I would not want to spend a week there. Our sons 17 and 19 did not really care to return. I would not want to leave a 16 yr old alone. The casino rules have already been mentioned and flyers that are handed out on the street was also the case on our trip which did not thrill me as a parent.

After our trip I read Vegas was going back to more adult theme from family friendly but this waa 5 years ago. Other Tuggers would know better who are frequent visitors.


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## krmlaw (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks for all the great advice. I think we are going to skip Vegas this year and head to southern florida, where hopefully the weather will be warm!


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## tombo (Feb 2, 2009)

DeniseM said:


> I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do "carried" and "carry" imply in this context?  Does is mean they didn't want to go?



It's not a dumb question, IT'S A SOUTHERN THANG! They got carried on trips when they were young whether they were dying to go or wanted to stay home, but now they mainly vacation on their own. Someday I will have grandchildren, and when they get old enough, I hope to be healthy enough to "carry" them on vacation with us too. I don't actually pick them up and carry them (unless they are very small). They are simply going on a trip with us, and we are providing the transportation, lodging, and meals. So we are carrying them.

Right now I got to go cuz I need to pick my Grits off of my Grits tree while I still hav daylite so I can have those grits reddy to cook for brekfest in the morning. Us suthern folks need to start our day with scrambld eggs and brains, grits with buttr and cheeze, salted countrie ham, and cat head biscuits with muscydine jelly. That ther is a brekfast gud enuff to make you wannna run thru the woods nekked in the wintr.  

Talk to ya'll later cause I got those grits that need picking.


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## ownsmany (Mar 1, 2009)

I am taking my 15 year old there for an event.
Please keep the suggestions coming.  Looking to keep her entertained for about 4 days.


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## Karen G (Mar 1, 2009)

In another thread on Vegas shows  see post #5 about afternoon shows. Another magician show I enjoy a lot is Steve Wyrick at the Planet  Hollywood.  His theater is within the Miracle Miles shopping area.

All of these shows are appropriate for all ages.


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