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Old 18 Jan 09, 10:25 AM  
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~ The Big Four-oh! Vegas & Orlando, Dec '08 - Day 3 ~

The Big Four-oh! Vegas & Orlando, Dec '08 - Day 3. 15th December 2008

Introduction can be found here.
Day 1 can be found here.
Day 2 can be found here.

Hello again and thanks for dropping by

DAY3

After dropping off so well last night with out the need to be rocked I proceeded to wake at 2.30, 3.30, 4.50 and in the end gave up at 6.30!

We decided a Dolce Cinnamon Latte from Star Bucks was in order to try and give us a boost for the day! The weather this morning had turned a little. From the Gorgeous sunshine of yesterday afternoon, we now found grey and drizzle in its place! We thought we would use today as a 'walk about day' visiting a number of hotels further up the strip.

We walked for about 15 mins looking for somewhere for breakfast but found a distinct lack of places to eat. There seems to be a choice of McDonalds or McDonalds if you didn't want the buffet. In the end we chose the Yellow M as this allowed us to get out of the rain!

After filling our bellies we walked on further. At this point I decided that the shorts and t shirt that I put on this morning was probably not my best bit of decision making I would make this holiday!

The rain was being very persistent and didn't look like stopping so we were grateful to get to Planet Hollywood Hotel because there was a big sign saying 'Miracle Mile' shops. Basically under the PH hotel they have a Mall that contains a mile worth of shops! This just goes to illustrate how vast this place is.

We wandered in and out of a few shops and noted that the price of clothes and jewellery was quite a bit dearer than the same items in Orlando. I popped into Fossil to look at a watch I bought last Easter in Premium outlet Mall In Orlando. I paid between $80 & $90 for it then and noted in this shop it was $120. In case you are wondering...and I know you are...I did check when I returned to Orlando the following week and it was $90! This was a sign of the times of most things here. When in Vegas you are expected to pay a premium.

As it was now 12pm we decided it was time for a beer As we wandered we (Craig & I) spotted a sports bar where all the waitresses were wearing cheer leader outfits with little mini skirts. Purely coincidence but this is where we decided that refreshments must take place. We were seated and ordered before Karen & Jane could protest!

After this little rest we decided that it was time to cross the road to check out The Belagio. I was really keen to see this place as it features so much in one of my favourite films Oceans Eleven!



I was a little disappointed when I first walked in because it was nothing like the film! Now I know from a security issue that they couldn't make an exact copy but I still thought it would look similar!

If the fact that it was different to the film disappointed, the place itself didn't! In the main entrance as you walk in is a glass flower sculpture that has every flower hand made. Now I know this picture really doesn't capture this the way the eye does but I am sorry, it is the best I can offer!



This shows a view from the other side of the lobby looking back at the front door.



I must admit that I wasn't that impressed with the Christmas Decorations in here. I was expecting big things but apart from a red tree and these three snowmen there wasn't much on offer. It did have a random snow fall over the snowmen from time to time but overall 4/10!





CONTINUED...
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Old 18 Jan 09, 10:25 AM  
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After our few photos in the Belagio we decided to walk through the Casino and out the other side. Next on our Hotel/Casino tour was Ceasars Palace. The rain was really coming down now so we didn't really hang around in between hotels. I did manage to get a couple of outside shots of Ceasars that show again just how big these places are.

Here is one of them.



I think that Ceasars was one of my favourites. Its location is very good as it seems to be in the middle and closer to a number of other 'attractions'

Inside Ceasars is another amazing shopping mall. It's now starting to hit a recurring theme as we notice that all the hotels seem to present you with vast areas to capture your time. Once in, they don't want you out! The first thing that hits you with the majority of the hotels is that the casino is presented to you instantly. Some hotels even make you walk with your luggage through the casino to get to the lobby and then again to get to your lift! There are people everywhere pulling suitcases which I am sure are not always full of bank notes! Once you have managed to get through the Casino they hit you with shops. Their shopping arcades would not look out of place anywhere in the world as stand alone malls. Ceasers is no different!

In here it is all laid out with Italian architecture and amazing statues and is called the Forum. The ceiling is painted to look like your outside with lovely blue skies. They even do shows within the malls. In this one they have a show based on Atlantis with animatronics, smoke and water. The books say it's a must and then afterwards hit the cheesecake factory. I say just hit the Cheesecake Factory!

The 'show' only lasts a few minutes so not too bad but really it's not Disney production! Here are a few shots inside the mall along with the Atlantis show.







We headed in to the Cheesecake Factory for a snack to put us on until Dinner. Between the 4 of us we had a Baguette, a club sandwich, 2 cheesecakes and 4 diet cokes. The bill including tip came to $60 so not exactly a cheap snack!

Time was a little against us now (4pm) so we jumped in a taxi outside Ceasars and took the short trip to the end of the the strip to the Stratosphere. We headed here because we had be been advised that there was a tribute show on called the American Superstars and that it was worth a viewing. The tickets were $51 each but they did include a Dinner Buffet along with an any time access up to the top of the stratosphere which we didn't think was too bad when (albeit much better shows) were charging well over $100 per person just for a show ticket.



After grabbing our show tickets we walked from the Stratosphere to the Sahara Hotel to get on the monorail back to the MGM. Tickets on here are $12 for a 24 hour access and it really does make life easier. The only downside to the monorail is that it runs behind the hotels on one side of the road so some of the stops mean you have quite a walk through a hotel/casino to get back out onto the strip. We arrived back at the MGM for 5.15 and arranged to have a quick shower and be ready again for 6.15 for our return trip back to the Stratosphere.

In hindsight we would've been better saying 6 because it all became a bit hectic. As I said earlier, the monorail stops at the Sahara and you have about a 10 min walk to the Stratosphere. That wasn't the main problem though. The main problem was finding the theatre in the stratosphere. We must have walked another 10 mins inside before getting to the Theatre about 2 mins before the performance started! Included in our ticket, as I said earlier was a buffet for after the show and tickets to go up the tower but it also included 2 drinks each. So on entry we got 4 Buds and 4 wines (as there was no interval) and took our seats.

In fairness the show was very good. The 5 'acts', were Elvis (of course!) Rod Stewart (not sure how qualified for an American!) Tim McGraw (a country star who we had never heard of or heard his music!) Christina Aguilera (Hot and very good!) and Michael Jackson who was simply fantastic! He played the whole routine even down to talking like him. Great energy! What I actually liked about the show was that each act only performed around 4 songs so you never got tired of one act. The whole show lasted about 1hr 1/4 and was just enough. I was going to give the show a 7/10 but due to the 4 dancing girls that performed through the entire show, changing outfits in seconds I will give it 8!



After the show we hit the buffet but to be honest we were all now so tired, it was hard to eat. The buffet itself was ok, it was like your average Ponderosa/Sizzler but we just couldn't keep our eyes open! Knowing that we still had to take the monorail back to the MGM we decided to head off and make our journey for a 3rd time. It was 9.30 when we left and we were safely tucked up in bed for 10.30 for our impending trip tomorrow to the Grand Canyon! That is of course if the helicopter wasn't cancelled due to bad weather as it had been today!

Check in tomorrow to see if we made it!

Day 4 can be found here.

Edited at 06:44 PM.
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Old 18 Jan 09, 11:01 AM  
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Another great report with lovely photos.
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Old 18 Jan 09, 11:08 AM  
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Another good trippie $60 was a bit steep for lunch though.
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Old 18 Jan 09, 11:40 AM  
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Loving your trippies cant wait for more
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Old 18 Jan 09, 02:42 PM  
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love your photos


Your report is bringing back memories of our trip to celebrate our silver wedding in 2007
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Old 18 Jan 09, 03:10 PM  
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Another great report & pics
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Old 18 Jan 09, 04:17 PM  
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Loving your trippies - can't wait for the next installment.
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Old 18 Jan 09, 04:59 PM  
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Have to agree with you on the cost of Vegas versus Orlando.
A while back [well a few years ] we found Vegas cheaper for food, and things in general.
But on returning to Vegas 2yrs ago, we remarked on how expensive it was now, especially compared to Orlando.
It appears they are now catering for a more upmarket clientele in Vegas,
The hotels are going upmarket too, more in the Bellagio/Wynds bracket.
Just wondering how the current econmic market will effect them.
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Old 18 Jan 09, 05:51 PM  
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Originally Posted by happy bunny View Post
Just wondering how the current econmic market will effect them.
Seeing the money that was changing hands and talking to a few locals they are adamant that Vegas will be the last place hit!
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