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.