Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2013

StuieUK34

Great reports people!! Some good reads there
and cheers for extra info on GN !

I think its safe to say, GN pool is gonna be hit and miss for us, as staying there on Saturday-Monday on Memorial weekend means its gonna be super crazy! Still, cant complain, as i got us 2 nights at GN for $166 total, which is very cheap for the Sat/Sun night on Mem wkend!!

Was gonna goto Grand Canyon South, but wifey dont want to 'look at rocks' now!
So were off to LA for the day, most likely hitting Santa Monica beach, and then to plant my face on one of the stars on the hollywood road (cant recall the road name!)
I did read that the GN pool could be open until 1am, either main pool or infinity, so am guessing we come back from LA around midnight, so hoping for a quick dip in the pool then!

If the sunloungers (free ones) are all taken, where does everyone else sunbath ? towels on the floor maybe ?

oh and Lizzie!
On your plane, did you have screens/IFE system in back of chairs, or did screens come from ceiling and shared every few rows ? I'm flying US Airways, although 3-3 config from Amsterdam to Philly and then to Vegas.....

luci

nvh wrote: »

I think we're fast reaching the point that a few of you are at by doing two trips in a year... Money isn't so much of the problem - our biggest issue is getting the time off work an maximising time away to offset the plane journey and jetlag that accompanies it.

So (for example) instead of getting a week off work in May and a week off in September, we'll try to stay for as long as possible (ie. join them together and go for two weeks in September)... would love to do two weeks, twice a year but can't see it happening!

We were doing 2 weeks twice a year for a few years. However I found that I wasn't enjoying the September trip nearly as much as the May trip due to going back too soon. It is far too expensive to not enjoy it to the max as our flights are around £800pp with having to fly from a regional airport which means BA.

luci

nvh wrote: »

We do a list based on what we need to remember to do, but nothing regimented as such. It's cos i'm forgetful basically

So will have listed when I need to pick the car up, drop it off, restaurants we said we'd try, places we keep meaning to go to and such like.... things that we'll forget about when the bright lights and dazzle hit us

I think we're quite different to most (but we haven't been as many times as most people here!), in that as far as food is concerned, the last few trips (and the next one) is all based around solely going to places we've never eaten before... a re-visit to somewhere may sneak in there but with so many places to try, we like the challenge of trying something different

We are the same. Before I started using a planner, I found that after 7-8 days I had run out of things to do and places to eat. This was down to brain freeze and not that there weren't things / places, just that I couldn't think of them.

Since using a planner we now can't manage to fit in all the places we want to eat.

Like you, it isn't regimented at all as nothing is set in stone, apart from shows, it's just an aide memoire. If I didn't have it written down I would come home kicking myself for forgetting to go to a particular restaurant.

Two restaurants we have tried this trip for the first time are Gallagher's and the Prime Rib Loft and both were excellent. However that just adds to the problem of fitting places into 2 weeks with so many excellent restaurants.

We also tried Weera Thai for the first time for lunch and really enjoyed that, but you need a car (or good friends with a car ).

We really like MAG and have been known to go twice in one trip, but haven't been for a few years as there are so many even better places.

Froggitt

Restaurant.com.......I spent ages looking thru it but couldn't see my question answered......from memory, theres some restriction about using a voucher in one restaurant more than once in a month......or similar. Can anyone shed some light plz?

luci

It's in the general T&Cs for all restaurants. You can only use one certificate per restaurant per month. The only way round if is if the certs were bought on two different accounts.

martmonk

photome wrote: »

Yes and happy hour is 5pm to 7pm, cocktails have 25% off, they range from about $12 to $18 before the discount.

ps it doesnt open till 5pm

If you are on a budget like us, we walked from Caesers Palace, through Bellagio to the tram, tram to Monte Carlo, then walked through NYNY toExcalibur and then tram to Mandalay bay.

It still took an hour from our room to Mix

We made sure we went on one of the days covered by the three day bus pass at $20 each which was great value considering how much we used them. (Stayed Cosmo)

StuieUK34

R.com
I had the same query, as i have 4 'Fresh Grill sarnie @ PH vouchers' and x2 Stripburger vouchers.....

So i did the live chat with R.com... Lady said i can transfer the voucher to someone else, but i said "i cant transfer, i can only revert back to a credit/eGift, then gift that credit to someone else, who then buys the voucher".
Although that works, doesnt work for Stripburger as those vouchers sell out too quick....

So the lady then said you can just print the voucher and give it to your friend to use following day!
Kinda defeats the object of what there terms state!
I'll be trying to use more than 1 next week/wk after, so will report back if i get busted!
End of the day, all the cashier does is ring it through and enter code!

Brats64

luci wrote: »

We were doing 2 weeks twice a year for a few years. However I found that I wasn't enjoying the September trip nearly as much as the May trip due to going back too soon. It is far too expensive to not enjoy it to the max as our flights are around £800pp with having to fly from a regional airport which means BA.

Got to disagree with you there Luci.......there's no such thing as going back too soon to Vegas.:rotfl:
We were there at the end of Feb/early March for 9 nights...Then I went back late April/early May for 10 nights.
I probably should be embarrassed to say this....but I could happily go back there next week:D......Is there something wrong with me ?

To be honest we have 15 nights booked for Orlando in October,it was booked last year,and all I keep thinking is,I wish we had booked Las Vegas instead.Although to be fair,I understand your " going back to soon" comment,as I would say the same thing about Florida.
We have been alternating for some years between Vegas and Florida,and after a few visits to Orlando over the years,I feel it's not that long since we were there ( even though its probably about 18 months since our last trip).
As you say,these trips cost too much not to fully appreciate them.
I guess I just like Las Vegas a lot more now than I like Florida.I don't think we will visit Florida again,daughter off to Uni in September,so it won't be the same anyway....But don't think I will ever tire of Vegas.
I could happily go 5-6 times a year,if I had the money,but unfortunately I don't.:(

lizzielie

StuieUK34 wrote: »

Great reports people!! Some good reads there
and cheers for extra info on GN !

I think its safe to say, GN pool is gonna be hit and miss for us, as staying there on Saturday-Monday on Memorial weekend means its gonna be super crazy! Still, cant complain, as i got us 2 nights at GN for $166 total, which is very cheap for the Sat/Sun night on Mem wkend!!

Was gonna goto Grand Canyon South, but wifey dont want to 'look at rocks' now!
So were off to LA for the day, most likely hitting Santa Monica beach, and then to plant my face on one of the stars on the hollywood road (cant recall the road name!)
I did read that the GN pool could be open until 1am, either main pool or infinity, so am guessing we come back from LA around midnight, so hoping for a quick dip in the pool then!

If the sunloungers (free ones) are all taken, where does everyone else sunbath ? towels on the floor maybe ?

oh and Lizzie!
On your plane, did you have screens/IFE system in back of chairs, or did screens come from ceiling and shared every few rows ? I'm flying US Airways, although 3-3 config from Amsterdam to Philly and then to Vegas.....

Have a fab trip, and we had IFE. Might be different from AMS, you should be able to check on their website if your plane has it or not:

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/traveltools/intheair/entertainment/movies_current_na.html

lizzielie

traveller wrote: »

Brilliant reports everyone :T

Lizzielie-please can you tell me about your Anaheim segment? I'm going to Vegas in August, traveling to LA by Megabus bus for 3 nights. One of those nights we will take the train up to Anaheim to see the Cars Land stuff. We will only be able to spend a night. Thanks.

Hiya, if you are going from either LA or LV, you can also use Lux Bus, and put the package together yourself. We booked bus on the web and a package from Disney with tickets and hotel. Worked out a little better than the tour available from Vegas with Viator (they might have one from LA as well, but never checked). Anaheim was surprisingly small, and easy transport system to and from hotels. Most are also within walking distance, but if you have a long day on your feet...

We loved Adventureland where you find Carsland more than the main park, so have fun! You can do both park in a day, but you would be rushed. That said, we spent more time in Adventureland than in the other park. If you want to ride the cars, be sure to head there first to get your fastpass (as early as possible as they are gone within the first hour). Otherwise, prepare yourself for a looooong wait. Lowest we saw was 75 minutes...

Let me know if you need any specific info and I will try to answer as best as I can:)

Have a great trip!