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Las Vegas Report 1/22-1/24

Jerroddragon

VIP Member
Jun 27, 2017
7,834
5,048
Went to Vegas this weekend and here are a few of my thoughts

Stayed at the Flamingo, Location wise it was perfect but everything else....I'll post note at the end about it. The Room and location worked though for what they were.

What I did
Area 15 - I drove into town and was there a little before 7 PM and went to Area 15, didn't pay for anything for FREE its a cool thing to come see and if you go with friends would be I'm sure even more a blast and somewhere I would have stayed longer but was worth it to check it out.

Twilight Zone Mini Golf (Balley's) and Kiss Mini Golf (Rio) - The only things opened on my Vegas Go pass (because of time of day and weather) was The Twilight Zone mini Golf, it was pretty cool. A fun course and the staff was great and gave me a free pass to play again or go to the Kiss Course....so with nothing else on my pass opened I drove to the Rio and did the Kiss Course which was also fun and the staff was also great. Either Course is a fun thing to do if you like Mini Golf

Woke up and eat at Denny's on the second store across from the Mirage Hotel...it has a nice view of that resort if you get a seat next to the window facing it, would recommend for quick/cheap breakfast with a nice view.

Walked down the Strip just to look at it and then drove to the Mob Museum Downtown. The Mob exhibits are great and the speakeasy seems like a great place to have a drink and hang with friends. Anyone into the history of the mob/vegas will have a great time here. Also liked the show they had on the second story which is all about the trials of the mobsters.

Parked at the Tropicana (because MGM charges for parking over an hour) and walked over to the MGM to go the Hunger Games Exhibit, for part of the pass it was fun and worth it for 50ish bucks not so much. It takes 30ish mins and while cool, I think it costs too much on its own. It was fun getting to walk and see all the set and costume stuff and the highlight for sure is the Bow Training at the end...it feels right out of the movies and is a lot of fun....I have never shot a bow and now want to do it with real arrows at a range.

Then went and did the Ziplining and High Roller at the Linq. The High Roller at night might be more worth it but even if I had this pass again I would skip it in the day...rather use my time to do other things. Ziplining is fun, I have never done it before and its cool....but would not wait in the GIANT line that forms in the afternoon...no thanks not worth that but if you can get tickets online and skip all that enjoy. (i went early so the line wasn't too bad...but after I was done it was HUGE)

Then I did the Marvel Exhibit at TI, it was kinda hard to find but the store is cool before you go into the Exhibit. The costumes and set stuff was like HG at the MGM, very cool and got some nice pictures. But for the 50ish bucks price point, I would not do it unless I got some deal...it is also 30ish mins and the end "game" sucks. Like the Staff is cool but man they need to make the ending game BETTER. You literally use a phone and press a button over and over. They need to make it VR and have you using Ironman gloves or something. But as park of my Vegas Go pass was fun and would go back with friends who love marvel like myself.

Took a break and little nap and went to Balleys again this time for the BODIES exhibit, it was pretty cool and LOTS of updates with COVID information so liked that alot. If you want to see how the body looks inside and works, enjoy if not then its not for you that is all the Exhibit is about.
Got some Mexican food at this Texas Mexican restaurant on the strip past the Paris hotel...and the food was good but....when I asked for chips/salsa they wanted money me to pay extra so said no thanks...seems like because business is slow they came back and gave me chips/salsa but think normally the place is a tourist trap and would go somewhere else for cheaper food. Saw Rain forest Cafe on my way back and it closed at 8....which sucks because I would have got dessert there and a drink because I like the atmosphere but it was closed already.....just way to early to close but I guess business must be slow.

Ended my night going to Circus Circus, i did a few rides and it was fun...but don't think I would head back without kids or to do the halloween mazes....because rides would just shut down for a time and they would not warn you about it...and just overall its made for bored kids who can't do anything else in Vegas and next time rather use my time and money on something else.

Used a Vegas Go pass and it worked great, would recommend if you want to do most the items listed on the pass.

COVID, the casino's were doing a GREAT job with it...but man was the city packed because many neighboring states are shut down. So just an FYI weekends seem to be busy and would think until this is all over will keep being busy if states are shut down with nothing to do.

Last Note while I had a great time and was nice to leave the house and clear my head...my only complaint is I didn't feel like a Guest at the hotel. I had to do accommodate them more than the other way around Flamingo parking garage is too small and has too many empty spots for Valet parking. The Owners of the Caesars Entertainment Company want to nickle and dime you on everything....if I want to park at MGM i have to pay...so park across the street. Fees are too high for what you are provided, hell only two devices can be connected to the Wifi before its 15 bucks extra. In no way at these hotels do I feel like a Guest but a piggy bank they shake coins out of and get nothing back in return. While I want to go back to Vegas when its reopen....I fear most hotels will be back to charging even more for basic things and not sure if I will want to give into that.

Anyway thanks for reading and have a good day
 
I also did the FlyLinq and High Roller when I was there. Wouldn’t do it again. The FlyLinq was fun but very time consuming. I did it at night and did superhero style, but the WAIT to finally get up there was over an hour! We booked tickets to a show that we walked in late to because I didn’t think it would take over an hour to just get up to the platform!
 
I also did the FlyLinq and High Roller when I was there. Wouldn’t do it again. The FlyLinq was fun but very time consuming. I did it at night and did superhero style, but the WAIT to finally get up there was over an hour! We booked tickets to a show that we walked in late to because I didn’t think it would take over an hour to just get up to the platform!
I got there when it opened so it was fine but by the time i was leaving the line was over an hour long
 
Last Note while I had a great time and was nice to leave the house and clear my head...my only complaint is I didn't feel like a Guest at the hotel. I had to do accommodate them more than the other way around Flamingo parking garage is too small and has too many empty spots for Valet parking. The Owners of the Caesars Entertainment Company want to nickle and dime you on everything....if I want to park at MGM i have to pay...so park across the street. Fees are too high for what you are provided, hell only two devices can be connected to the Wifi before its 15 bucks extra. In no way at these hotels do I feel like a Guest but a piggy bank they shake coins out of and get nothing back in return. While I want to go back to Vegas when its reopen....I fear most hotels will be back to charging even more for basic things and not sure if I will want to give into that.

Thanks for writing this up - I agree with what you wrote here. Vegas seems to have perfected the Disney model of convincing people that their hotels are a level above what they actually are. For me, there are only two five-star resorts on the Strip: Wynn/Encore and Venetian/Palazzo (I’m excluding Four Seasons at Mandalay and whatever the Mandarin Oriental is calling itself these days). Contrary to MGM’s branding efforts, Bellagio is not a five-star hotel and only a third of the rooms can see the fountain. It says everything that they usually house VIPs at Aria, which is also not a five-star hotel. Caesars doesn’t have anything better than Caesars Palace, which can be really dated if you're in the wrong tower. The bulk of MGM/Caesars room inventory is around what I would describe as a decent to crap Hilton/Hyatt based on how recently it was renovated, but they fee-gouge you as if they’re providing something above what you get for free at those.
 
Thanks for writing this up - I agree with what you wrote here. Vegas seems to have perfected the Disney model of convincing people that their hotels are a level above what they actually are. For me, there are only two five-star resorts on the Strip: Wynn/Encore and Venetian/Palazzo (I’m excluding Four Seasons at Mandalay and whatever the Mandarin Oriental is calling itself these days). Contrary to MGM’s branding efforts, Bellagio is not a five-star hotel and only a third of the rooms can see the fountain. It says everything that they usually house VIPs at Aria, which is also not a five-star hotel. Caesars doesn’t have anything better than Caesars Palace, which can be really dated if you're in the wrong tower. The bulk of MGM/Caesars room inventory is around what I would describe as a decent to crap Hilton/Hyatt based on how recently it was renovated, but they fee-gouge you as if they’re providing something above what you get for free at those.
I don' need it to even be 5 Star...but basic things like having more parking and not having waits to get a room. Like its way confusing how they don't have enough machines to check people in. Also Wifi should be free to all guests no matter how many in a room. The fee's really should cover that.
 
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