Cribsheet guest blogger Tobi recalls a family trip to Las Vegas - Just remember, when the chips are down, you can always….er, go home. 

I just want you to know we - my husband and two little ones - are not wusses when it comes to traveling. Since our eldest was born 4 years ago, we’ve traveled with kids to Europe, Canada, the Caribbean and many times to the East Coast and back. Then there’s the time we traveled to Africa with no kids but came back from Africa with one kid, so I guess we get half-credit for that.

The trip to Las Vegas started innocently enough. We got an invitation to a distant cousin’s 50th wedding anniversary party in January. Big party, we were promised. Three generations of cousins, plus lots of kids for ours to run around with. So we planned to spend nine days there.

By Day Three, I was fantasizing about an early return home; by Day Four I was on the phone with an airlines rep, and on Day 5 we were on our way home. Here, dear readers, is the truth about traveling to Vegas with young children:

1) The unrelenting flashing, whirring and ringing of a casino floor is quite hypnotic for little eyes and ears. Unfortunately, kids are not allowed on the casino floor. Not at all. Not at any time. Not even to find one’s way to the potty. Not even if you are in a really big hurry to find the potty. Lesson learned: Pullups, for everyone under 21. In fact, the distances in Vegas are so huge and the hotels are such mazes, you may want to wear some pull-ups yourself.

2) Highchairs are things I used to take for granted. No more. Many places that would be considered family restaurants anywhere else didn’t have a highchair to offer. Those that did made us play a charming game I like to call “Play Hide and Seek With a Waiter.” The rules are simple: Stand like an idiot holding a squirming baby in front of your table while your spouse tries to find a waiter who will then try to find a highchair because at every restaurant we went to, the person who seated us announced, with indignation, that it’s the waiter’s job to get the highchair. Lesson learned: Bring a portable booster seat to Vegas. Better yet, don’t go to Vegas with anyone who needs one.

3) Vegas shows that seem like they’d be fun for kids are actually off limits for kids. I had to sneak my 4-year-old into Cirque de Soleil’s new show, Love (featuring Beatles music) because the minimum age is 5. Once in, however, we had a great time (and usher was super nice - he even brought my son a booster seat - now where was he at dinner?!) Lesson learned: Wait for the Cirque folks to bring Love to the Twin Cities so you and your preschoolers can enjoy it together without fear of being arrested for underage theatergoing.

4) The Bellagio fountains are superb. Both our kids grooved to the music and our son said WOW each time the fountains “touch the sky!!!” However, the show is only five minutes long. Yes, five minutes. Of course, you could stand there for half and hour and wait for the next one to start, but that assumes your kids will not bolt into the pedestrian and auto traffic on the Strip. Lesson learned: After the Bellagio fountain show, take a long walk (hope you brought your stroller) down the strip to M&Ms World, replenish your supply of travel M&Ms, then walk back to the Bellagio. The round-trip will take you about an hour, just in time to watch another fountain show. WOW! (Seriously, we loved the fountains.)

5) There are no indoor pools in Las Vegas. Not even in community centers. And in winter, it’s not warm enough to use outdoor pools. Lesson learned: Shoreview’s water park is much cheaper than a trip to Vegas.

6) Live, continuous circus acts at Circus Circus. Sharks at Mandalay Bay. Dolphins and exploding volcanos at The Mirage, Jousting at Excalibur. Lions at MGM Grand. We figured we could get several days and nights of kiddie joy out of these. But to be honest, it was just too…too hard to navigate a stroller around the crowded Strip, too exhausting to find a place to change a diaper, too long to wait between acts/shows, too disappointing! Lesson learned: Drive out to Red Rocks Canyon instead for a couple of hours of natural, neon-free fun (bring a picnic). Or spend a couple of hours on the monorail at the Strip and your choo-choo enthusiast will have fun. It’s even free for young kids. (Better yet, take the light rail from MOA to Downtown Mpls - just as much fun.)

7) There’s no place like home.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 at 10:20 am and is filed under Family Life, Guest Bloggers, Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.