# Las Vegas Family Vacation - Yes, we took our kids...



## lprstn (Jul 5, 2009)

Las Vegas, Independence day weekend 6/27(Sat) 2009 – Sun
Family Vacation for Los Vegas (There were lots of people here with kids, A LOT...so we weren't the only ones with the idea)


Tues


Arrived at Cliffs @ Peace, off the strip about 5 miles, which was perfect for a family like ours that didn't want to be directly on the strip the entire vacation.  It had a small pool and hot tub, and the room was nicely decorated and large.  Only problem is, it only has a queen sized bed in both of the bedrooms, and a pull out couch in the living room.



We just relaxed for the day to recover from the 3 hour time difference.  Went to the pool and played until it closed at midnight.

Wed



Las Vegas Strip.  We took the tram and drove to the various casinos that had free activities.  We went to the free Pirate Show at the Mirage, the dolphin and lion garden.  We went to a Mardi Gras parade.  We saw the volcano erupt.  We went to the Venician to see the gondala rides.  We saw the water fountain display to music - beautiful.


Thurs



We did a day trip to the Hoover Dam, then to the Grand Canyon.  It took about 40 minutes to do the Hoover Dam, and we signed up for the tour.  They are building a bridge at the dam and it was amazing to see. Then we drove on to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon which was the most amazing thing I have seen.  It was awe inspiring.  The drive back to Las Vegas took us 4 hours with stops.  A very easy drive if you have 2 people.

Fri

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure!!!! It took us 3.5hrs to drive to 
Disneyland for the day and it was a nice fun surprise for the kids.  We rode all the rides that we didn't ride when we went to Disneyworld.  It was nice seeing the Rocky Mountains and the differences when driving from Nevada to California.  We also saw a Ghost town on the way.

Ok, I admit it. I am a Disney World snob... 

We went to our first trip ever to Disneyland California. Boy was I dissappointed. We do Disney World Florida every year and didn't realize how spoiled we had become.

Here is when we knew it would be an interesting trip to Disney LAND vacation:

- When we parked in the simba lot and realized that there was no tram to the park

- When a lady driver in the parking area almost ran into our car by turning in the wrong direction from what the disney cast member directed her

- When the disney cast member 'cursed at her'

- When we past by one of the Disney hotels to see two kids ages 6yrs and 10yrs wearing swimpers and playing in the sprinkler's

- When we saw kids that were 8 years old or larger, fighting to fit into strollers offered by the park that was way too small for them

- When we noticed that there was a plastic barrier around a ride that we see at all amusement parks which stops people from spitting on others - as we were told by the cast member who ran the ride (it shoots you up then drops you).

- When we saw the chipped paint, and some of the rude cast members at various areas of the park.

- When the crowd almost trampled my 5 year old when we were standing behind the parade trying to get out of the park and the people didn't even say excuse me.

- When we had to walk all the way back to our car in the simba lot

Lastly, when I made the decision that if I was going to spend $99 for a day ticket to Disney...it would only, ONLY be at Disney World 


Sat



Relaxed at the resort pool party where the kids danced and played games.  Then went to Circus Circus with the kids.  Then off

to see the fireworks for July 4th celebration.



*** Best Fireworks show I have ever seen!!!***

We stood on the top level of the parking lot at the Palace Station and could see Fireworks go off ALL around us.  It was amazing.  Simply amazing.  Imagine everywhere you looked for miles you see fireworks going off.  It lasted a good 45 minutes.  I would come to Los Vegas again for this.  Only thing is you have to get to these places early because parking can be challenging.



Circus, Circus was packed beyond belief.  It had a lot of rides in a tight space, but was rather dirty.  I had originally booked a night there and with the bad reviews I am so glad I cancelled it and got a room at the Wyndham Grand Dessert.


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## shagnut (Jul 5, 2009)

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Vegas is just amazing to me. I never get tired of it.  Kelli has always wanted to go to Disneyland. I had no idea there would be that much difference between the two. Sounds like I'm not missing much.  shaggy


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## Luanne (Jul 5, 2009)

shagnut said:


> Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Vegas is just amazing to me. I never get tired of it.  Kelli has always wanted to go to Disneyland. I had no idea there would be that much difference between the two. Sounds like I'm not missing much.  shaggy



Sounds like they had a bad experience.  I've never found any of that at Disneyland.  I've been to Orlando once and my personal preference is still Disneyland in CA.


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## JulieAB (Jul 5, 2009)

I'm a disneyland annual passholder and have never had those kinds of issues.  I don't go during the peak attendance and hot season though.  Everyone's too crabby.  Sounds like the parks were at capacity if you had to park in the simba lot!

I always read that WDWers get a big shock when they come to DLR and vice versa.  There are actually written guides for this purpose, to help with realistic expectations.


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## Karen G (Jul 5, 2009)

lprstn said:


> It was nice seeing the Rocky Mountains and the differences when driving from Nevada to California.



I'm so glad you had a great time in Las Vegas and the other places you got to see.  But, I'm curious about your statement of seeing the Rocky Mountains on your trip from Nevada to California.  The Rocky Mountains aren't that far west, according to  this article.

I think it must have been the  Sierra Nevada  range.  But, I could be wrong about that, too.  Hopefully, a geography/mountain range expert will correct me if I'm wrong.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jul 5, 2009)

Karen G said:


> I'm so glad you had a great time in Las Vegas and the other places you got to see.  But, I'm curious about your statement of seeing the Rocky Mountains on your trip from Nevada to California.  The Rocky Mountains aren't that far west, according to  this article.



Nope - no Rocky Mountains between Las Vegas and Southern California.  The mountains in that area are all part of the Basin-and-Range province (which lies to the west of the Rocky Mountain province in the southwestern US), until you reach the San Bernardino Mtns area west of Barstow.


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## wwomant (Jul 5, 2009)

It sounds like you had an unfortunate trip to Disneyland.  Fourth of July weekend has some of the busiest days of the year for Disneyland.  It often hits capacity and closes to new entrances this weekend.  I've been to Disneyland many many times and never encountered what you described, but I do stay away from Disneyland at peak times like this.  I think we all grow attached to the Disney we're used to.  Many Californians I know have come back from Disney World very disappointed and afterwards just stick with Disneyland.   They call themselves Disneyland snobs.


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## davidvel (Jul 5, 2009)

*More unfortunate*



wwomant said:


> It sounds like you had an unfortunate trip to Disneyland.  Fourth of July weekend has some of the busiest days of the year for Disneyland.  It often hits capacity and closes to new entrances this weekend.  I've been to Disneyland many many times and never encountered what you described, but I do stay away from Disneyland at peak times like this.  I think we all grow attached to the Disney we're used to.  Many Californians I know have come back from Disney World very disappointed and afterwards just stick with Disneyland.   They call themselves Disneyland snobs.


Disney World monorail crash kills driver - July 5


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## lprstn (Jul 6, 2009)

Oops...on the rocky mountain statement.

Honestly, I love Disney, but I have to spend A LOT of $$ for all of us to go.  I just think that WDW has more to offer for that amount of  $$ as far as experience goes.  Would I ever go again...maybe, but if I had to pick I would pick WDW... just my opinion.  I always say to people try it out yourself, your experience may be different.  My experience in Vegas was wonderful, not what I expected at all with kids.  The kids loved it also.

Although, I did notice some adults look at us in displeasure... as if we shouldn't be bringing kids there.


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## JulieAB (Jul 6, 2009)

lprstn said:


> Honestly, I love Disney, but I have to spend A LOT of $$ for all of us to go.  I just think that WDW has more to offer for that amount of  $$ as far as experience goes.



I think you hit the nail on the head.  I would never spend $100 on a 1 day park hopper, or $67 on a single park pass either.  Not only can you NOT see everything in one day, but you can't even enjoy it!  Before we had a child, we spent a minimum of 3 days for just the 2 of us.  Now we spend 7!  When you consider a 3 day hopper is $175 and an annual pass is $267, $100 for one day would be very disappointing.

Sure WDW has more overall (there are four parks, afterall), but when you look at rides per park, DLR has more in each of its two than WDW has in any of its four.  AND, you don't have to get on a bus and loose a half hour just to park hop.  At DLR, you just walk across the mall. Now that's priceless!  

(looking forward to my 2 week WDW trip in December 2010! )


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## ricoba (Jul 6, 2009)

I would never drive from Las Vegas to Disneyland and back to Vegas in one day and consider that a fun day!


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## tombo (Jul 6, 2009)

Vegas with Kids is a great trip. There are a lot of rides, shows, the casinos are so impressive to see at night, lots of shopping, and great meals. In addition there is the Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, and many more things worth seeing within driving distance. I took our children to vegas two times, and we all enjoyed both trips.

I am not a fan of any Disney resort. I would much rather go to Six Flags Magic Mountain than Disneyland because most of the Disney rides are boring to my family. We love the thrill rides. However if I was forced to go to a Disney Park again it would be Disneyworld hands down over Disneyland. Disneyland is jammed into the middle of a highly populated metropolitan area. In some areas of Disneyland I could hear diesel trucks on the highway, sirens, and even car horns honking. No huge lake to ride on a paddlewheel or to ride around on a monorail. No surrounding rural countryside like Disneyworld. Also the rides are older and the infrastructure is too at Disneyland and they have no room for additions or expansion. Disneyworld has miles and miles of land that is nothing but disney and wilderness which is more appealing to a relaxing vacation IMO.

My children had been to Disneyworld several times before we made their one and only trip to Disneyland. I remember my kids looking at Cinderella's castle at Disneyland for the first time and asking why it was so small. I told them that it was Cinderella's starter home, and that when she got older she built her dream castle in Disneyworld. They were young but they definetelly liked Disneyworld and the Orlando area better than Disneyland and the Anaheim area.

As I said I am not a fan of either Disney park, but Disneyworld is leaps and bounds ahead of Disneyland IMO. Having said that, given the choice I would rather spend a week in Vegas with the family than a week at either disney location.


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## applegirl (Jul 6, 2009)

I'm glad you enjoyed Vegas (where's Los Vegas?) but you sure had two very long day trips while you were there.  

I would never drive to Disneyland on a day trip from Las Vegas!  And what did you expect over a very busy holiday time in terms of parking and crowds and people's attitudes!?  We love Disneyland and have never had any of the negative problems you mentioned, although we never go when it's super busy either.  If I did, I would have realistic expectations.  I'm sorry you were disappointed with your experience but you should have expected most of what you encountered.

Janna


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## Blues (Jul 6, 2009)

tombo said:


> My children had been to Disneyworld several times before we made their one and only trip to Disneyland. I remember my kids looking at Cinderella's castle at Disneyland for the first time and asking why it was so small. I told them that it was Cinderella's starter home, and that when she got older she built her dream castle in Disneyworld. They were young but they definetelly liked Disneyworld and the Orlando area better than Disneyland and the Anaheim area.



Cinderella's one and only castle is at WDW.  The castle at Disneyland is Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Anyway, each to his/her own.  I love both resorts.  But Disneyland is easier to navigate.  It's much more compact and packs more rides into a smaller area, giving you lots of bang for your walking.  And you can get a (relatively) cheap motel right across the street, which makes it eminently feasible to go back to your motel for an afternoon swim or nap.  OTOH when we took our granddaughter (and her parents) to WDW a year ago, we stayed at HGVC International Drive.  Beautiful place to stay, great pool for the kid.  But not feasible to take an afternoon break, which she really needed.

-Bob


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## tombo (Jul 6, 2009)

Blues said:


> Cinderella's one and only castle is at WDW.  The castle at Disneyland is Sleeping Beauty's castle.
> 
> Anyway, each to his/her own.  I love both resorts.  But Disneyland is easier to navigate.  It's much more compact and packs more rides into a smaller area, giving you lots of bang for your walking.  And you can get a (relatively) cheap motel right across the street, which makes it eminently feasible to go back to your motel for an afternoon swim or nap.  OTOH when we took our granddaughter (and her parents) to WDW a year ago, we stayed at HGVC International Drive.  Beautiful place to stay, great pool for the kid.  But not feasible to take an afternoon break, which she really needed.
> 
> -Bob



 I will be spending a week on Site at the Swan resort during July on a company trip. I have already purchased tickets for numerous theme parks online, and none of those tickets are Disney tickets. I won't be visiting a single Disney park even though I have free transportation provided to and from The Swan. I will however drive about an hour to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens at least one day to enjoy the thrill rides. I am also going to get in the car and drive to Universal Studios, Universal IOA, and Sea World during my visit. As I said none of the Disney parks are attractive to me since I have no small children and feel most of the rides are boring. As you said, to each his own. I am very glad that most people prefer Disney since it lessens the crowds at Universal and Sea World.

I do stand corrected on the residents of the castles. I guess from the difference in the size of the accomodations that Cinderella is in a different tax bracket than Sleeping Beauty. I wonder if Cinderella negotiated a better deal than Sleeping Beauty or if there was something going on between Cinderella and Walt. :ignore:


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## Blues (Jul 6, 2009)

tombo said:


> I do stand corrected on the residents of the castles. I guess from the difference in the size of the accomodations that Cinderella is in a different tax bracket than Sleeping Beauty. I wonder if Cinderella negotiated a better deal than Sleeping Beauty or if there was something going on between Cinderella and Walt. :ignore:



:hysterical:   :hysterical:


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## wwomant (Jul 6, 2009)

lprstn said:


> Honestly, I love Disney, but I have to spend A LOT of $$ for all of us to go.  I just think that WDW has more to offer for that amount of  $$ as far as experience goes.



At either one of the parks a one day visit is a tough way to go.  You feel rushed and can't do everything, and it's really pricey per day.  But in comparing them for a 1 day value consider that a 1 day hopper at Disneyland is $94 and one day at WDW is $133 with tax.  Sure there are 4 parks at WDW, but in a day you'd never get to more than 2 anyway.  In fact it'd be harder to get 2 at Disneyworld because of the distance  between parks. And like someone said, believe it or not Disneyland has more rides packed into it's 2 parks than Walt Disneyworld has in its 4. 

Just don't let yourself be forever skewed on your impression of Disneyland by a rushed 1 day visit on one of its busiest days of the year, that involved a major road trip.  Under those circumstances just about anyone would have had a rotten day at Disneyland.   

We're currently planning  our family's first visit to WDW.  I don't know if we'll love it as much as Disneyland, but can't wait to find out.   



lprstn said:


> My experience in Vegas was wonderful, not what I expected at all with kids.  The kids loved it also.



Awesome!


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## lprstn (Jul 6, 2009)

Well, the drive wasn't bad for us at all.  My husband did it all and loves driving.  Also, we knew we wouldn't be doing a trip to that area for quite sometime so we wanted to hit the places that we thought our family would enjoy.  Honestly though, we enjoyed every aspect of the trip.


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## Karen G (Jul 6, 2009)

lprstn said:


> Honestly though, we enjoyed every aspect of the trip.


That's very cool--that's what we hope for on every vacation. Glad you all had such a great trip.  You certainly did and saw a lot of stuff.
Good for you!


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## wwomant (Jul 6, 2009)

lprstn said:


> Well, the drive wasn't bad for us at all.  My husband did it all and loves driving.



You are good road trippers then.  very cool! 



lprstn said:


> Also, we knew we wouldn't be doing a trip to that area for quite sometime so we wanted to hit the places that we thought our family would enjoy.



Makes sense.  



lprstn said:


> Honestly though, we enjoyed every aspect of the trip.



That's awesome!  And thanks for the trip report!  We had thought about doing a vegas family vacation sometime but had wondered what there would be to do with our kids there.  This gives me some great ideas.


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