Day 5 - Miracle Mile Shops and Planet Dailies

We didn’t get to do a lot of shopping the day before at Fashion Show Mall, so we headed across the street to the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.








It "rained" here periodically.



Our first stop was Urban Outfitters. It was an amazing, huge, multi-level store. We probably spent an hour or so in there, and came out with three dresses each. However, Dad obviously wasn’t familiar with the price tags at Urban Outfitters and flipped out at the receipt, saying that we didn’t have $300 dollars worth of clothes in the bag (pfff… he knows nothing about clothing value!). So, he cut us off… when we were in an inexpensive store (Poppy something or another)! He later apologized and said we could still shop, but the guilt was enough to hold us back. I bought a cami from H&M, but that was it.

While we were shopping, Dad, of course, visited his favorite store, Tix 4 Tonight, and bought us dinner at [b]Planet Dailies[/b] (he bought us tickets valid for half-off all entrees). It was late (nine, I think), but we still hadn’t eaten dinner – we hadn’t eaten since breakfast!



It turned out that Planet Dailies was AMAZING. It was a contemporary restaurant with a lot of entrée choices. I opted for Mexican (forgot the name of my entrée), and it was SO GOOD. We were all very happy with our dinner. It was the best meal we ate all week.

Day 5 - Adventuredome at Circus Circus

Adventuredome is probably the most recent addition to Circus Circus. It’s a loud, enclosed theme park – a great place to send your kids when you want to drink and gamble among interesting characters.





Since we were there, we had to do it. Dad bought all-day passes for Rachel and me, and he and Mom went off to drink coffee and such.

Rachel and I weren’t sure what to do first. We settled for the first thing we saw – Spongebob 4D (they also had this attraction at Excalibur).





We waited in line for a good thirty minutes before finally getting in the theater. We sat down in a cheap motion vehicle with other kids and teenagers. The ride operator told us that if we unbuckled our seatbelts, the ride would stop. The 4D adventure started, and it turned out to be the exact same version of the Spongebob 4D attraction at Carowinds in Charlotte, NC that we’d been on a dozen times before – only smaller and dinkier. Well, just as Spongebob gets stung by jellyfish, the ride turns off. The ride attendant asks in a monotone voice, “Who unbuckled their seatbelt?” No one would confess, but we all knew it was the boy behind me or his friend because he had to buckle his seatbelt, again. The boy complained, “Hurry up and start it, again!” Then this teenage girl beside Rachel turns around and says, “Ehmahgawd we wouldn’t have to do this again if you’d just kept your seatbelt on.” So, the ride started again, and this time we made it to the end.

The next attraction in our rotation was laser tag. We stood in line for five minutes or so then realized we were going nowhere and decided to skip this for the time being. We decided to do the feature attraction – the purple rollercoaster.





It was fun and surprisingly rather frightening. This ride definitely had the best loading time of all of the rides in the park. We did it twice in a row, then decided to go on the swinging pirate ship (Rachel loves this ride).



Once we got on (another ten minute wait), the ride attendant said that if you get scared and need to get off, raise your hand. Well, some little kids freaked and raised their hands halfway through the ride. The ship stopped and they left, but we got to stay on. Rachel and I decided to switch rows (because these children were squooshed into us). The ship started again with a few new people, and this time we made it all the way through.

Next, we did some spinny carnival ride. It was pretty fun, but I felt a bit sick after. We did some more spinny carnival rides. One practically stole a phrase from Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain (“Hang onto your hats and glasses because this here’s the wildest ride in the Wilderness!”) – “This here’s the wildest ride in the West!” Pffff….










circus show we walked by

After all of the spinny rides, we decided to give laser tag another shot. We made friends with this kid by himself who was being harassed by another kid by himself. It was weird, but somewhat amusing. We ended up waiting about half an hour, so we needed something to keep our attention.

I did surprisingly well at laser tag once I figured it out – I ended up being third (and I’m terrible at laser tag). I hid behind a barrel with Rachel and shot unsuspecting victims. Rachel, on the other hand, didn’t score at all.

After laser tag, we left Adventuredome to find Mom and Dad. It was fun because we like amusement parks. We didn’t, however, take into account crowds. We figured we’d be able to walk on rides, but we ended up having to wait at least ten minutes for everything. It took around three hours to do seven rides. Once again, our parents were bored at a crappy casino.

We left Adventuredome and walked to the Sahara to take the monorail back.


The Sahara had a pretty cool-looking rollercoaster.


We did the rides at the Statosphere on a previous trip.


Balconies of the Sahara.

Dad insisted that getting off at the Flamingo was closer to our resort than getting off at Bally’s. Mom and Rachel didn’t believe him, but we all got off with him, anyway. It was probably about the same distance.

Day 5 - More Kiddie Gambling

To further our true Vegas experience (this is mainly a bring-back-memories motive), we had to visit the arcade area. It was grosser than I remembered (though I don’t remember much). It could be really cute – it just needs a major remodel. Most of the arcade games were broken and had duct tape over them. I saw no prize I needed (thank goodness!) at any of the carnival booths. In the center of the crazy, loud arcade was a small circus ring with minimal seating, where shows are performed periodically throughout the day.



The games were almost exactly the same as those at Excalibur. I recommend doing one arcade or the other (if either).

I played some Ski Ball and a jump rope game that was rigged, but after that, I felt no need to stick around.

Day 5 - Circus Circus Buffet

On our fifth day, we decided that in order to get the full Las Vegas experience, we needed to trek it to a cheap buffet. So, we made plans to visit Circus Circus’s “inexpensive” buffet. At $10 a person, we’d be getting more food for about the same price we spend to get some fruit and pastries from our resort. The only problem in our money-saving scheme was that Circus Circus was nowhere near our resort. In order to get there in good time, we’d need to take a cab (my suggestion). But no – Dad would have no more lengthy cab rides. He decided that we needed to ride the monorail which took us down the strip towards Circus Circus.

So, we crossed the street and walked to the very back of Bally’s to buy monorail tickets. They were more expensive than advertised. It cost $50 for all-day passes for the four of us. After a short wait, we boarded the monorail (which was nothing like that of Walt Disney World’s) and took the slow, rickety journey from Bally’s to the Hilton Las Vegas.

We got off at a rather shady part of town. We had to walk three blocks from the Hilton through a construction site and across a road that had no “walk-man” for the cross-walk.

Once we got to Circus Circus, we had practically walked what seemed like the length it would’ve been directly from our resort.



We quickly found the buffet, but had to wait in line for about ten minutes. Our company was quite amusing (keep in mind that this resort is going about $30/night). If we were staying at the resort, we could’ve eliminated the wait time and purchased a VIP pass – similar to Universal’s Express system.

We were seated, but of course, had to wait in line for food. Mom, Rachel, and Dad went in the line closest to us, and I ventured to the opposite side of the restaurant, which was slightly less crowded. I felt completely piggish piling food onto a plate (I shouldn’t have felt bad – Rachel got two plates!), but knew that this was part of the “experience.”








A lame attempt at theming. This buffet could be really cute - they just need to fix it up to look like a Circus tent (imagine Circus McGurcus Cafe Stupendous in Suess Landing at Islands of Adventure).

The food was decent. I am not a food connoisseur, so that’s the extent of my food critique. It wasn’t anything to die for – typical breakfast food. I ate about a third of what I picked up, mostly nibbling. For some reason, all-you-can-eat makes me eat less. I feel like I got my money’s worth, but I definitely didn’t get a “deal.”

We stayed long enough that they opened the lunch line. I couldn’t resist getting a Diet Coke.

Day 4 - Cirque du Soleil's "Ka"

Having seen Mystere last time in Vegas, we were excited to see another Vegas Cirque show. These were the only tickets we really booked in advance - because two were included with our room reservations. "O" was sold out when we booked, so we opted for "Ka" over "Love" (Dad feared Beatles songs would get on his nerves after half an hour).

We took a cab from our resort to the MGM Grand. We had to stand in a long line to get in the theater (we had been to this theater for F-ex [or something like that] which we were very disappointed with). After they opened the doors, we quickly made our way inside. We had to split up, since our seats were booked seperately. Mom and Dad took the seats further to the back, but in the middle, and Rachel and I had the seats closer to the front, but at an angle.

The theater consisted of elaborate walk-throughs - almost like a jungle gym. In place of the stage was a giant firepit that would explode every few minutes. I was fascinated with the set and excited to see how they would use their theater in the show.

Rachel and I showed our tickets to the host, an elf or something from the land of "Ka." He looked at them and says, "Aye don't know where that ez." Great. Then he grabs our tickets from us and says, "Nevermend - it's over nayer tha ferst peeylar." We follow his instructions, to be greeted by another odd Ka-folk. She looks at our tickets. "No, no... you er sposed to be over theer." Then the Ka-guy that helped us before comes up and starts fighting her, telling her we could get there either way. We just go the way she told us and find our seats.

Now, Mystere had pre-show actors to entertain the audience before the show. I suppose the Ka-folk greeters were their equivalent. Later, some Ka-folk came out from the ceiling and maze structure to chant and beat drums. It wasn't nearly as entertaining as the "child" and the guy that looked like Barry Manilow harassing the guests before Mystere.

They instructed us not to take pictures at any time during the show, but I figured the show hadn't started yet, so what the heck... I'll take a picture of the theater without flash.



Before the show was an amusing skit demonstrating what you should not do during the show. As the Ka person was instructing guests not to use cell phones or take pictures during the show, a "guest's" cell phone rang loudly, and the Ka person answered it then threw it in the firepit. The guest then took a picture of the Ka-person, and the camera was thrown in the firepit, as well. The Ka-person then shoved the guest in the firepit. Quite amusing.

The story was about a young girl and boy (brother and sister) who would soon get separated and how they grew up. Seemed simple enough, but we found it rather difficult to follow throughout the show.

The feature technology of the show was the moving stage - a large one that rotated and tilted. This was very versatile, as the characters could use it as a climbing wall, slide, ocean, beach, etc. When the set on the large stage was being changed, they slid out a smaller stage. This, however, was the extent of the set. The amazing jungle gym was hardly used at all.

The most entertaining part of the show was when three men spun in hamster wheels - that were attached to a main axel that they then spun as three. It was a great balancing act that was fun to watch. However, that was the extent of the entertaining performers.

We felt that Ka incorporated more technology than talent. When we think Cirque du Soleil, we imagine cortorsionists, tightropers, super strong guys, and balancing acts. The stage was multipurpose, but it didn't allow for traditional Cirque acts. The constant climbing and sliding soon got old.

We also believe that the plot limited the use of talent. With Mystere, there really was no plot, but it was completely entertaining and amazing to watch. But while watching Ka, we were trying to figure out who was who and what was happening. When you don't have to worry about understanding the plot, you can just enjoy what's going on.

Also, the ages of the performers proved to be distracting to my dear sister. She confessed that she spent the entire show trying to figure out whether the boy and girl were really kids or if they were just small adults. I'll admit.... I did the exact same thing! They use children in Disney's Cirque du Soleil show, La Nouba, so I figured they might use children in Ka. The performers were very small, so there was a good chance they were children. I also tried to figure out the nationalities... I'm quite positive that the girl was either Polish or Swedish. (If this show was more entertaining, I wouldn't have had the time to ponder on the ages or nationalities of the performers.)

In the end, we were quite disappointed with Ka - and we weren't the only ones. As we left the theater, I heard several other guests discussing how confusing the storyline was and how boring the acts were. Halfway through the show, I was bored and wondering when it would be over (and Rachel lost her patience much sooner than me). My mother thinks it must have something to do with the theater, considering it's the second disappointing show we've seen there.

Day 4 - The Flamingos at the Flamingo

Since we were at the Flamingo, Rachel and I suggested we go visit the Flamingos.

Day 4 - Margaritaville

We decided to give Margaritaville (at the Flamingo) another try and went there for an early dinner. Our seating location wasn't the best - we were seated in the outer loop, verses the main room. We could still watch the music videos on the flat screens on the wall, and we had a clear view of the blender. We noticed that the Las Vegas location had two smaller blenders, while Myrtle Beach and Orlando both have one larger blender.

We got kid menus because the bird masks make great souvenirs.



When Mom and Dad ordered drinks, I figured Rachel and I might as well get something special. Rachel was in the restroom, so I ordered a Jolly Mon (strawberry and banana smoothie) for her and a Princess Marigold for me (coconut and pineapple smoothie) and Diet Cokes for each of us (I did not consult my parents before ordering!). As for food, ordered what I always order - the Cheeseburger in Paradise. Once again, I do not recall what anyone else ate. I just know my cheeseburger was really good.

It had been nearly an hour, and the volcano still hadn't erupted (this happens every half hour in Myrtle Beach - I'm thinking every quarter hour later at night... seems that thing is always going off!). We asked our waitress, and she told us it wouldn't go off until 7:00. We went into the gift shop to find tee shirts (we started collecting Margaritaville tee-shirts from the ports on our Caribbean cruises and needed a Las Vegas shirt for the collection).

While we were there, the volcano was due to erupt, so we stuck around.

Turns out the Vegas show was unique to its location.






She slid from the top of the volcano into the blender.


And was lifted out on a hook.

Day 4 - Maddam Tussauds (Part 2)

The next room was sports-themed.













And then there was a racing room.




You could rev the engine on the bike.









Then a music room.








You could sing for Simon, and he'd critique you.







Next was an optional scary haunted house-like walkthrough portion. It was pitch black and you had to hold the shoulders of the person in front of you. The actors weren't allowed to touch you, but they'd get up really close and breath on you. Rachel chose to sit this part out.



Next was the Vegas room.






You could actually play the pipes with Blue Man Group.











The next room was a combination of American heroes and well... non-American heroes (Princess Diana)... and dead people. I suppose you could call this a leaders/heroes room.












My feet are in their footprints, but you can't see that.






They had their own photographer for Obama and tried to sell us this picture. No, thanks.

The wax museum was a lot of fun. I loved how interactive it was. I believe this might've been my Dad's favorite part of the trip.