Joe Cummings

September 17, 2016

Top 10 Things To Do In Vegas With Kids

This is for you, Joe. The Avengers. Don't pretend otherwise — This is for you, Joe. The Avengers. Don’t pretend otherwise

Ok, the long awaited list is here. Is Vegas kid-friendly? Are there things to do with kids in Vegas?

The answer to the last question is, yes.

The Avengers Tour – ok this one may be recommended just because I’m a complete Nerd and super Avengers fan, but it’s tons of Hulkie fun. If you like reading or listening to audio tours. And I do. Or if you want a chance to lift Thor’s hammer or see all of Ironman’s suits, then this is for you. I had a blast here.
NY, NY for lunch or supper. I love the Village Street Eateries. Great place for burgers or pizzas, and for the adults, a fantastic faux-street with shops and restaurants.
So much to see and buy in the candy stores besides, you know, actual candy

Hersheys Chocolate Store – First of all… chocolate!!! Second of all, they don’t even call it a store. They call it Hershey’s Chocolate WORLD! But, hey, it’s a store full of chocolate and, like the world, it’s free to get into. It can be a lot of fun looking at all the variations of chocolate bars or candy you can buy, and searching for that perfect peanut butter cup cup or Hershey Kiss pillow.
Coke Store and M&Ms store – Not that they’re the same, but they’re right beside each other. 3 stores of products that relate to products. Coke glasses. M&Ms candy dispensing machines. Coke shirts or stuffed Coke Polar bears. M&Ms licence plates and key chains. All the vital stuff every person needs.
The Adventure Dome –Ok, it’s not Disneyland or even Legoland, but for the price, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon or the whole day. It’s $32 US per person and that allows you to stay all day. All day. Think of it like a carnival come to town. But if you want to save a bit of money, have one parent sit out the rides and video the experiences.
The fountains at the Bellagio

Fountains at Bellagio – It’s free. It’s fantastic. And it’s in the middle of the strip, so it’s easy to get to, either by walking or by taking a bus or cab. Watching the fountains spray and pulse and wave to music is simply magical.
The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay – Not the cheapest thing out there, about $22 a person, but you can make of it what you want. You can touch slimy things. You can see real life piranha. And you can spend as much time as you want either staring at a croc or watching the sharks glide over you, under you or around you. It’s more of a zen thing, really. Like watching waves come in. Or golf.
See something Cirque – We went and saw The Beatles – Love and the boys loved it. the Michael Jackson show might be another good choice. But take a look at seeing at least one. If you’re cash-strapped, look for the least popular and get last minute tickets for a show like a cirque du soleil – the holocaust.
The High Roller – A great party place, too, but the boys loved going high above Vegas and seeing it all. It’s a slow ride and anyone with a fear of heights or problems with movement needn’t worry, it’s the most stable, safe ride out there. Again, it’s not super cheap, but it’s one of those neat experiences that will be remembered. Especially if you take lots and lots of pictures.
Get out of Vegas – Lots of fantastic tours to the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam, or be like us, and rent a car. The surrounding area is gorgeous and bleak, but so worth seeing. And that Grand Canyon, wow, it’s still one of the most impressive things you’ll see in your life. Nature kicks ass, folks, yes she does. It really shouldn’t be missed.

Sometimes just being with your family is fun. No matter where.

But hey, being anywhere with your family should be kinda fun. Even a mall.

Because that’s what makes vacations fun.

Not the glittering lights or walls of M&Ms, but the time spent with friends or family, simply doing ‘stuff’ together. Sharing experiences. Creating memories. Holding hands.

Those are the best moments on a trip.

Or in life.

Things we did not do, but seem kinda cool…

Madame Tussaud’s

CSI Experience

Gondola ride at the Venetian, but man, that’s an expensive 15 minute ride.

or check out these sites… 39 things to do. 23 things to do.

April 23, 2014

Traveling With Kids – San Diego Seaworld – Fast and Wet

The Manta, Wet Times and Atlantis

Rides. Who goes to Seaworld for rides? Well, let me tell you, everyone should. The Manta is a full-on rollercoaster. The oldest HAD to go on it. He’s completely unafraid of those things. The Prettiest-girl-in-the-world HAD to go on it. If there’s one thing she likes to do, it’s go fast. The youngest, though, wasn’t scared, no not scared, but someone, you know, had to kinda stay behind and take pictures.

So I did as well. It’s the great thing of having 2 adults, (or, in our case, one adult and one 200lb confused older being). One can do one thing with one and one can do one thing with the other. Say that three times fast.

So, I stayed with the youngest, gave him my phone to take pictures, yelped, holy hell! when he dropped the phone, and took a few pictures myself. The oldest and the Prettiest-girl-in-the-world loved the speed, loved the ride. The youngest told me that he wanted to go on it, but he didn’t want me to be alone. When I said I wanted to go on it, he said, “well, actually, maybe it’s too fast for you.”

But one ride he really wanted to go on. It was called the Shipwreck Rapids. It got anyone who rode on it soaked. And if there was one thing he loved more than cotton candy, it was getting wet.

After my shivering experience at Legoland, I wasn’t keen to get watered down, again. But the sun was out, there were NO lineups to get on the ride so how could I say no? But I had a plan. The ride looked like I could spin it around and so I thought I could maneuver it and stay dry (and soak the living heck out of the youngest.)

Turns out, I couldn’t. The ride had preplanned rotations. And a waterfall.

So, despite the fact that the sun was out, the water was polarbear cold and somehow the ride knew which one wanted to get wet and which one didn’t. Amazingly enough, both the oldest and I were drenched after the first ride. The youngest only marginally wet. Like someone sneezed on him.

!!!!

What the heck?

So we switched seats and went again. The youngest sat where I sat. And yup, he escaped nearly all the great splashes, while I got plastered with water. He wanted to go, again, but I was done. There is only so much water I can take pooling in my underwear.

We had one more ride to do. The mighty Atlantis. A rollercoaster with a good drop, a couple of testicle-shrinking curves and a big splash.

Perfect.

The youngest wasn’t scared. No, not scared, and the Prettiest-girl-in-the-world refused to have her underwear filled with water so he had a chance to stay with her to, you know, to take pictures.

But not this time.

No. He decided to give it a try.

Here’s the thing. He was nervous. You could see it in his face. In his body language. The rollercoaster was awful high and fast, but he could get wet at some point and that, I think, was the deciding factor.

He talked the whole time in the very short line. Talking kept his mind off the screams. That and bouncing up and down like his feet are on fire.

But he didn’t back down. Not when the rollercoaster pulled up. Not when they led us to our seats. Not when he was belted in. And then it was too late.

I looked behind me to see if he was ok. I gave him the thumbs up. He gave me the thumbs up back.

And the rollercoaster shot off. Up the track, then into a tunnel and DOWN. Fast. My stomach shot through my ears, I gripped the hand rail. The oldest shouted with excitement. I prayed the youngest was ok and looked back right at the moment we hit the water.

He was terrified and thrilled at the same time.

Exactly the experience all rollercoasters should provide.

So we went again.

And again.

Each time, the youngest got more and more excited. Each time the fun became more powerful than the fear. Until, at the end, he LOVED the rollercoaster. He wanted to go on all of them. Everywhere.

But it was getting late so we played around with a few arcade games, won mustaches, the boys hugged a big milk container, then we drove back home.

We’d all had a great, great time, but seeing the youngest overcome his fear and learn to love the wild rides made the whole day worthwhile.

Disneyland was looking more and more like a possibility next year.

April 9, 2014April 8, 2018

Traveling With Kids – Legoland – Highlights

Legoland Highlights

So what were the highlights for people?

The Prettiest Girl in the world– the lego movie stage.

All the lego sets were there, her youngest wandered around like he had fallen into heaven, and the oldest decided on what would love to do for the rest of his life

.The Writer – The Egyptian Ride

–I loved beating everyone at the ancient Egyptian shooter ride. Yes, I am that shallow.

The youngest – The Splash Battle Ride

– He loved being shot with water. He laughed and laughed and laughed and never once complained that his lips were blue and he looked like we’d tried to drown him.

The oldest – the Lego store.

He shopped like a pro. He found the best bargains. He didn’t spend all his money in an orgy of excitement. He kept his head and walked away with some amazing box sets.

As a secondary highlight, I loved my new hat. Ok, it was the oldest’s hat, but he didn’t want to wear it so I wore it, at first to keep it safe then afterwards, cuz it looked kinda cool.

Did anything go wrong?

Hey, if I’m part of anything, the chances are pretty good, so, errr, yes.

My worst moment came while standing in line for another water ride with tboth the boys. The oldest and I were watching the log thingee come splashing down while the youngest climbed up and down on the railing. What could go wrong?

Well, the youngest managed to whang his chin on the railing.

Not unusual. If there’s a day he doesn’t get a bruise or a scrape or a volleyball in the head, it’s a pretty special day. But here’s the thing. I didn’t see him whang himself.

The boys on their last wet ride. Even they look cold

A parent behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said he’d hurt himself. I looked down. There he was, head bowed, big tears in his blue eyes.

Long story, short, it was nothing bad, but clearly I need to pay more attention. I would never have thought he could have gotten into any trouble. It was like I hadn’t met him.

All-in-all, though, we had the best time! None of the rides were too scary, none of them were too lame, the crowds weren’t that bad and the toy store, well, that pretty much made up for any deficiencies.

Compared to Disneyland or Disneyworld or the soon-to-be opened Disney Mars, it was pretty tame, but it was a great introduction to the world of rollercoasters, long lines, greasy pizza, awesome displays and fun, family adventures.

Without the boys, without the Prettiest-girl-in-the-world, this would have been a 2 for me. 2/10. With them, with all the laughs had, the rides tried, the meltdowns avoided, the cool lego bought, I would give it a 9/10. If I had bought that hobbit hole lego set, it might have been a 10.

Now, all we had to do was get home and find a place to eat. How hard would that be with 2 starving kids in the car?

*****

Has the first day of your family trips been as successful? Let me know.

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