Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
604
suggest not spending too much time in there and instead hustling outside to the slide,
the little roller coaster, and best of all, the four go-kart tracks. The staff is utterly friendly,
and the pizzas at the food court are triple the size and half the price of those found in
your hotel. The one drawback: It's far away from main Strip action—here's where you'll
need that rental car, for sure.
Note:
Kids have to be at least 36 inches tall to ride any of
the attractions.
1401 N. Rainbow Rd., just off US 95 N.
&
702/259-7000.
www.lvmgp.com. Ride tickets $6.50 each, $30
for 5. Mon-Fri 11am-9pm; Sat-Sun 10am-9pm.
Liberace Museum
Moments
You can keep your Louvres and Vaticans and
Smithsonians;
this
is a museum. Housed in a strip mall, this is a shrine to the glory and
excess that was the art project known as Liberace. You've got your costumes (bejeweled),
your many cars (bejeweled), your many pianos (bejeweled), and many jewels (also bejew-
eled). The museum is now better than ever, thanks to a costly renovation. Unless you have
a severely underdeveloped appreciation for camp or take your museum-going very seri-
ously, you shouldn't miss it. The museum is 2
1
/
2
miles east of the Strip on your right.
1775 E. Tropicana Ave. (at Spencer St.).
&
702/798-5595.
www.liberace.org. Admission $15 adults, $10
seniors over 65 and students with valid school ID. Free for children 10 and under. Free for Nevada citizens
2nd Sun of month. $2 discount on admission for those who arrive by taxi or bus and present valid receipt.
Admission includes 1-hr. guided tour (call ahead for tour hours). Tues-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun noon-4pm.
Closed Mon, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
MGM Grand Lion Habitat
Kids
Hit this attraction at the right time—when
the crowds aren't here—and it's one of the best freebies in town. It's a large, multilevel
glass enclosure, in which lions frolic throughout the day. In addition to regular viewing
spots, you can walk through a glass tunnel and get a worm's eye view of the underside of
a lion (provided one is in position); note how very big Kitty's paws are. Multiple lions
share show duties, so what you observe is definitely going to depend on who is in resi-
dence when you drop by.
In MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
&
702/891-7777.
Free admission. Daily 11am-7pm.
Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat
Kids
Get up close and personal with
white tigers, lions, and plain old gray elephants here at this minizoo; or better still, watch
dolphins frolic in the neighboring Dolphin Habitat. There is nothing quite like the kick
you get from seeing a baby dolphin play. Ask the staff to play ball with the dolphins; they
toss large beach balls into the pools, and the dolphins hit them out with their noses,
leaping out of the water cackling with dolphin glee.
In The Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
&
702/791-7111.
www.mirage.com. Admission $15 adults, $10
children 4-12, free for children 3 and under if accompanied by an adult. Mon-Fri 11am-7pm; Sat-Sun
and major holidays 10am-7pm. Hours subject to change and vary by season.
18
Speed: The Ride/Las Vegas Cyber Speedway
This popular stop has two
attractions. The first is a remarkable 8-minute virtual-reality ride,
Cyber Speedway,
featuring a three-quarter-size replica of a NASCAR race car.
Speed: The Ride
is a new
roller coaster that blasts riders out through a hole in the wall by the new NASCAR Cafe,
then through a loop, under the sidewalk, through the hotel's marquee, and finally
straight up a 250-foot tower. At the peak, you feel a moment of weightlessness, and then
you do the whole thing backwards! Not for the faint of heart.
In the Sahara, 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
&
702/737-2111.
www.nascarcafelasvegas.com. $23 for all-day
pass on both rides. Cyber Speedway (simulator) $10 (you must be at least 54 in. tall to ride); SPEED: The
Ride (roller coaster) $10 for single ride. Daily noon-10pm; hours may vary.
