New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

Several of the hotels have bowling alleys and movie theatres. You may want to go that route to avoid the crazy people. Perhaps Circus Circus theme park? You should also just google NYE, Vegas and kids and see what comes up. Google free las vegas, too and you will get tons of ideas. Hoover Dam and Red Rock State park are worth a trip. Ever been to the Ethel M chocolate factory?

The strip is pretty ridiculous stay away from there. Maybe the fremont area. I live here in vegas and i tend to stay away.

Hi B.---

Hello from Las Vegas. I've lived here for 20 years from southern California.

New Year's eve is a very busy time. The freeway adjacent to the strip is closed as is the strip. Crowds will be huge. Not the place to take young children. The fireworks from the hotel roofs will be awesome though. If you can get a place where you can see the fireworks that is worth staying up for. I'd recommend the new M resort. It's actually some distance from the strip but it has spectacular views of the strip. Rooms may also be available there as it's a new place.

If you have a car, i would highly recommend a place not too far out of town called Red Rock. If your daughters like beautiful scenery, this is the place. There are plenty of opportunities for hiking and climbing rocks. There are picnic areas and if it's not too cold that's a really nice thing to do out there. It's about a half hour-45 min drive from the strip. In addition, in the vicinity is Spring Mountain Ranch and there's an "old town" and small zoo nearby there too. It's definitely not the same touristy Las Vegas stuff. A trip out to the Hoover Dam is also pretty interesting and the new bridge across is nearly done...that's spectacular to see.

Hope you enjoy your time here in Las Vegas. Email if you have any more questions. Happy to help.

Kind regards,
L.

There is the Lied Children's Discovery Museum. You can find their website on the internet. It's about 10 minutes off the strip. Our kids ages 8yrs, 5yrs & 20 months love it there and we even brought our teenage cousins once. And the Ethel M Chocolate Factory which is also off the strip. They give you a tour, but it's more interesting if they are in the middle of production. You also get a free piece of chocolate. The Flamingo Hilton has a free Wildlife Habitat. And the Mandalay Bay has the Shark's Reef Aquarium. The Orleans Hotel has a bowling alley, movie theater and huge arcade. Have fun in Vegas!

We go yearly to Vegas and our kids really enjoyed the Variety show at Planet Holleywood. It is not a big place and you sit in regular chairs with a little table. It has a little bit of everything.

Sorry I don't have any advice but it sounds like fun!!!

Honestly, I'm not sure what you can do with children on NYE in Vegas. I don't recommend being on the Strip, way too many drunk people and the casinos won't let you in unless you are staying there after a certain time to avoid problems with the crowds (they have security manning the doors and you have to show your room key). Hopefully you can find somewhere low-key that you can go that is fun and safe for the kids.

If you have any other questions just ask, I lived in Vegas for 12 years :)

Hoover dam, ethel M chocolates, and didn;t vegas just open something downtown? there is a heavt advertising campain.

Wow you are very brave NYE in Vegas is crazy. A lot of the hotels won't even let you in if your not staying there because they get too crazy. I would do all your activities early on NYE and make sure you are in your rooms by like 8-9pm. It can be really scary especially for the 9 year old. There is a place called Palace Station (its not on the strip) that has a "daycare" type place its like a Large Chuck e Cheese type play place has videos kareoke (sp) games slides tunnels they also have a large movie theatre there we always stay there if we have the kids with us. You can see the shark exibit at Mandalay bay. The tigers at Mirage. Good luck!!

Boy, I hate to say it, but I've been to Vegas on New Year's Eve and it's a nightmare :(

Sooooo crowded, etc. I did not go with children, and did not have a good time because of the crowds. If you do go, get your activity reservations in place immediately otherwise you will not get into anything. My advice would be to do things where you are staying as you will have priority on dinner reservations, show reservations, etc. If you do go, I would suggest one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. Your kids are at an age that they would enjoy those.

I love Vegas and have been there many times on NYE, it is NOT for kids of any age. Between the all normal riff raff you mix drugs, alcohol with crowds like that, nothing good happens. Hotels are locked down, if you are staying there you can get in otherewise you have to hit the streets. Women are sexually assultated just walking out in the open. Drunks are fighting in the streets and petty theft is off the charts. I would NOT expose my daughters to that kind of craziness.. it's hard for an adult to handle. If you are going to spend your night in a hotel room then you might as well go someplace nice and safe.

Hi B. :)

I live in Las Vegas, and don't do the tourist thing much. However, we love the fireworks on New Year's Eve. We watch them on tv, but staying in a hotel will give you and your family a real advantage. Depending on the hotel, there could be a great place to watch from the roof or in your room. Lots of people flood the streets and get a great view. We don't, we don't want to fight the crowd to get home. You will have a great show!

My extended family lives in Colorado and we live in California. Between traveling there or meeting my family for a get together in the middle, I have spent a lot of time in Vegas while my children were growing up. It’s far from the perfect place for kids, but it can be fun. I don’t know of anything particular for kids on New Years Eve, however, the fire works are amazing. If you stay on the strip with a room facing the main drag you get wonderful view without leaving your room. It is very crowded on New Years Eve. I like the shopping area in the Venetian. If you have never been, there are singing troupes and gondoliers traveling through an area made to look like Venice. There are wonderful little shops to look at, including an incredible photo gallery. If you don’t mind spending some money, there is a wax museum there, there is a shark exhibit at the Mandalay, several exhibits at the Luxor that are really worth seeing. The one on the human body was riveting.

hi.. i have a very active 4 year old. He can do many things. I just got back from Las Vegas two days ago with him and swore I would not go with him again until he was like 18 .....just really not a place for children. Home in front of the tree with movies and music and home cooked food...maybe it it not too late to cancel.....stay home..if you have plane tickets see if you can use them another time..all you need is 48 hours to cancel hotel reservations... it is safer and will probably be more memorable for all!

The rest of the responses are right -- Vegas on NYE is crazy. I think they close LV Blvd down and don't allow vehicle traffic so check that out if you are planning on driving anywhere. You didn't say where you are staying, but you may want to make plans for hotels off the Strip. South Point has a large bowling alley and movie theaters, also check out the Stations and Palace casinos. Two good web sites are vegas.com and vegas4locals.com (not just for locals). My guess is that most of the shows are sold out. A fun one for families is the Tournament of Kings at Excaliber.

Even though I don't live in Vegas anymore, but I do remember the crazy new year eve on the strip. First of all, please be careful. Second, the city shut down the strip on new year eve, so found out when and where so you are able to get out if you like. There are alwasy, I mean always, accidents on the strip at new year eve. Third, decide ahead of time where do you want to be on new year's eve, once the people are start showing up the strip, you pretty much can't go anywhere far.

Don't give me wrong. Las Vegas is a great pleace for grown ups, mostly, but there are still places that children can enjoy themselves. Like Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, Tournament of Kings at Excalibur, any of Cirque du Soleil shows...

Enjoy your trip.