Fun Things to Do in Las Vegas for Families
LT Globetrotter
Thinking of visiting Las Vegas, but have no one to watch the kids? Here’s why you should bring the kids along for the ultimate family getaway.
Of course, Las Vegas is known for state-of-the-art casinos and activities fit for bachelor and bachelorette parties. But this only tells a portion of the Las Vegas story. In fact, there’s probably too much amazing family-friendly Las Vegas activities to do in one trip.
So, walk hand-in-hand with the kids (make sure to stop for the amazing Bellagio Fountains!) and head out for these top fun things to do for families in the not-so-Sin City.
Contents
Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Botanical Cactus Garden
The Adventuredome at Circus Circus
The City of Fun Is for Everyone
Educational Fun
Las Vegas as an educational hub for kids? Better believe it. Here’s how the kids can have fun in the Entertainment Capital of the World and learn something while they’re at it.
Discovery Children’s Museum
Vegas is proof that museums can be just as much fun as they are educational. Here, kids can explore three floors of exhibits, interactive activities, and more, including:
- The DISCOVERY Lab, allowing kids to roll up their sleeves and get creative.
- The Summit, testing one’s mental and physical strength to get to the top for the view.
- Toddler Town, keeping even the youngest of the brood entertained and enthralled.
- Water World, the raincoat-included exhibit showcasing the scientific power of water.
This must-stop on your Vegas family vacation is the perfect way to slip in some educational fun.
Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Botanical Cactus Garden
What’s better than an immersive experience into the world of chocolate-making? A free one! Everyone loves free stuff, especially when the experience is tasty and eye-opening at the same time.
Take the family out to Ethel M Chocolate Factory just a short distance from the Las Vegas Strip and enjoy a free self-guided factory tour to see how this chocolatier brings its gourmet chocolate to the people.
Also free to the public, Ethel M Chocolates’ stunning Botanical Cactus Garden is the largest in Nevada, featuring over 300 species of desert plants. Learn about chocolate, desert foliage, and cap it off with a tasty treat.
There isn’t only one chocolate experience in town. Also worth visiting: Hershey’s Chocolate World and M&M’s World. In other words, Las Vegas has an embarrassment of chocolate riches!
Natural History Museum
Get a captivating glimpse into the animal kingdom and the progression of time at Las Vegas’s Natural History Museum. Through nine mesmerizing galleries, kids and adults alike will marvel at where we’ve come over the course of millennia.
See ancient fossils, experience interactive displays, all unveiling the mysteries of our world. Engaging programs for all ages bring science and history to life, a perfect educational break from the lights and sounds of the city.
For a city at the cutting edge of technology with high-wire acts of unbelievable entertainment, this makes for a great respite to pause and look back on how we arrived to such modern ingenuity in the first place.
Speaking of which…
Hoover Dam
This engineering marvel is both astonishing for its human ingenuity as well as for its appearance, sure to wow everyone in the family. Located in the Mojave Desert just outside Las Vegas, this massive structure is what powers water and hydroelectric power to millions of people.
Rising over 700 feet, it’s a wonder to behold, designed with a curved façade that is an iconic image of Las Vegas and the country as a whole. Take a guided tour or read up on it to teach the kids about its historical, architectural, and engineering significance.
Related: Bring the Kids: Family Vacation in Cancun
Fun for Kids
These adventures in this desert city are sure to keep the kids entertained, even if you may not be!
The Adventuredome at Circus Circus
A must-visit for families when in Las Vegas, this 5-acre indoor amusement park is a great way to have fun on a big scale. Twenty-five rides range from easy-going to daredevil, including:
- Canyon Blaster, the world's only indoor double-loop, double-corkscrew roller coaster hitting speeds up to 55 miles per hour.
- NebulaZ, the newest ride that brings guests to new heights, offering incredible views overlooking the park.
- Drifters, this hot-air-balloon-style ride lifts upwards in a Ferris wheel that goes up and around at a quiet pace.
Plus, a virtual reality room and many other attractions make for a day the kids will always remember.
Big Apple Coaster and Arcade
At the New York, New York Hotel & Casino right on the Strip, you’ll find Big Apple thrills. For the adventurous ones in the family, hop on the Big Apple Coaster and soar at more than 67 miles per hour, featuring a 180-degree “heartline” twist (also known as a barrel-roll) and 203 foot drop, the first roller coaster of its kind.
For those in the family who want to avoid such a heart-pounding experience, The Big Apple Arcade has them covered. Here, you’ll find the classics like Skee-Ball, air hockey, and a range of other games on a grand scale fit for the city that never sleeps right in the heart of America’s Playground.
Fun Dungeon Arcade Experience
This sprawling spot at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino puts the arcade experience into overdrive. It’s a true dungeon of delight, where you’ll find some familiar favorites (including the world’s largest Pac Man) and the latest arcade games as well, including King Kong Virtual Reality.
Featuring over 200 games, and open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., you can keep the kids occupied for a long stretch of time if that’s just what’s needed.
SlotZilla
Depending on your relationship with heights, the SlotZilla is a great activity to soar above it all. The High Roller Observation Wheel is one option, but the SlotZilla gets the heart pumping a bit more. This 11-story slot machine (yes, slot machine) zipline offers incredible views of downtown Las Vegas while soaring high above the bustling Fremont Street Experience crowds.
Unsurprisingly, this is the world’s largest slot machine, which makes it worth visiting alone. But you have your pick on how you’d like to soar from it in the air – either traditional zipline style (Zip-Zilla) or prone-style, aptly called the Super-Hero Zoom, higher up in the air and hitting speeds up to 35 miles per hour.
Related: Flying with Kids
Fun for the Whole Family
Not willing to sacrifice your own sense of fun, but need to bring the kids along? Vegas has you covered. These activities are great for everyone.
Madame Tussauds
Giant wax figures of your favorite celebrities? It’s just odd enough to be absolutely fascinating, no matter how many times you come. Step into the captivating world of Madame Tussauds Las Vegas with the whole family and get the chance to “meet” top stars in film, music, sports, and more.
This unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages also boasts the new Marvel Universe 4D movie to give kids the action-packed superhero fix they need. Meet Spider-Man and Captain America in wax-form and then watch an in-your-face movie experience featuring water-soaking and other special effects.
Container Park
When you’re in search for an area with just about anything you’ll need to keep everyone happy, downtown Container Park is the perfect remedy. This open-air shopping center offers so much more than shopping. As the name indicates, the venue is set in repurposed shipping containers, making it a fun sight to behold for both kids and adults.
Some notable features include a sprawling interactive playground with the kid-favorite Treehouse, free family-friendly entertainment, a number of restaurants, and a 40-foot-tall praying mantis sculpture that actually shoots flames from its antennae, reaching six stories high. Weather permitting, every night at sundown The Mantis is awakened by a drum circle celebration, an awe-inspiring experience for all. When in Vegas, you can expect things on a grand scale!
Note: the park becomes 21+ after 9 p.m., so plan on making this a day activity.
A Day at the Hotel Pool
This may seem like a tame addition to the list of most fun things to do in Vegas for the whole family, but this is Las Vegas, which means pools are built different.
For instance, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, you’ll find kid-friendly areas, a wave pool, lazy river, a beach with actual sand, live music, and convenient dining options nearby. In other words: don’t forget to take advantage of the incredible perks your hotel has right on site! Oftentimes, this will be the most fun everyone has on the trip.
World-Class Shows
What’s a list about Las Vegas without mentioning the world-class entertainment that makes this city so special? Here are just some of our favorites for everyone in the family.
- Cirque du Soleil: covering a range of themes, one thing you can always count on are stunning acrobatics, mesmerizing visuals, and unique storytelling that guarantees to leave audiences in awe.
- Blue Man Group: the iconic blue-hued trio brings music, comedy, and technology together to create a sensory experience sure to leave people of all ages laughing and on the edge of their seat.
- Jabbawockeez: an electric mix of pop and hip hop converge in a performance that reaches transcendent heights, a thrilling experience of choreography, sound, and visual effects.
- Excalibur Tournament of Kings: transport to medieval times, enjoy a hearty meal, and take in a show for the ages, with jousting, sword fighting, and special effects that fully take audiences to an alternate ancient reality of knights and dragons.
Plus, keep a look out or ask your Travel Consultant about top magic shows in Las Vegas, a specialty just as deep and storied in this city as anything else!
Related: Find the Best Caribbean Island for Your Family
The City of Fun Is for Everyone
The bottom line: feel confident cruising down The Strip with the kids in tow. Las Vegas doesn’t just accommodate the little ones – it’s the ideal family getaway, no passport necessary.
With rides, experiences, and shows all on an epic scale, the kids and the kid within will be sure to have a blast in the Entertainment Capital of the World. And—visiting Vegas doesn’t have to break the bank if you’re smart about it.
Quick tip: make it a road trip and visit one or more of America’s national parks before or after your fun-filled Vegas vacation. You’ll already be in the neighborhood!
