Las Vegas with kids 12 and 15?

Las Vegas can be a great place to visit for kids, you just have to be careful what they see. If you stay on the south end of the strip, you don't get as many of the guys handing out the escort cards. You will have no problem walking through casinos, just make sure your kids don't stop while on the casino floor. There is plenty of space to walk along the outside of the casinos if you prefer and that is where all of the shops are anyway. When we took our kids, they loved it! They are younger, though, and we showed them only the kid-friendly side of Vegas. To them, the casinos were just full of games that adults could play, and there were plenty of places with games that they could also play. We explained to them what gambling was, but your kids are old enough to know already. Most of the attractions in Vegas that are not clubs or adult only shows, are more geared toward kids. Here is a list that I can come up with off of the top of my head.

Midway at Excalibur

Swimming Pool

NY NY Arcade

Roller Coasters at NY NY, Sahara, and Circus Circus

Adventuredome at Circus Circus

Lion Habitat at MGM Grand

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

Dolphin Habitat at Mirage

Eiffel Tower Experience at Paris- over 25 stories high, not for those afraid of heights

Rides at Stratosphere- again REALLY not for those afraid of heights

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum at Venetian

Bellagio Fountains

Bellagio Conservatory- beautiful, located inside next to lobby

Mystere- Cirque Du Soleil show at Treasure Island

Tournament of Kings dinner show at Excalibur

Any comedy/magic show

Price is Right at Bally's

and more...

I think it will be a great experience for them and they will not be able to see anything like it anywhere else. We have plans to take our kids back soon because they loved it so much and we loved showing it to them. If they like shopping, Vegas is a shopping mecca, and it is very easy to get around by foot, bus, or monorail. If you need any more info, just let me know.

All the ads tell you about the casinos, gambling and shows. The real excitement is in the national parks that surround Las Vegas. Just to name a few: Red Rock, Lake Mead, Valley of Fire, even a ski area in the winter. Explore them before you come by looking at VegasNature.com Besides they are a lot less expensive to visit.

Not for that short of time. They will love Adventuredome Amusement Park at Circus Circus, Manhattan rollercoaster at NYNY, GameWorks by MGM Grand, and the buffets. You can take them to the following shows without issue

Mystere or Love cirque

Tournament of Kings dinner show

Blue Man Group

Terry Fator

Excalibur is definately extra for children. There is surely not anything at Paris for children. The Rio has a fine buffet for low-cost. Don't realize whilst you're going however the swimming pools near within the iciness and open in March/ April.

Take them along . . . just don't spend more than a day or two in Vegas. You will find TONS of things to keep the kids entertained . . . . just make sure that you have somebody that can watch them at night while you go win millions downstairs in the Casino

Unfortunately, Las Vegas makes no strong effort to block minors from passing through the casinos and I don't think this is right.

If you go, however, you might want to see some of the aninmals at places such as Mandalay Bay Shark Reef and others.

All in all, I don't really see much of a legitimate point to the existence of casinos and young people may be especially confused about the message that emanates from this entire tourist area.

Yes, I feel it is a mistake to take them.

I visit Vegas at least once a year and view it as an "adult playground".

Bring them when they're 18 and you can all enjoy yourselves.

no way i go there all the time and love it! just watch out for them and staying at the excalibur is a good choice

You misunderstood, it's only un-kid friendly if you live there, if you are just staying there for a couple days they'll enjoy it.