theDIBB - Las Vegas, Anaheim, etc. - Day 3

I had booked three days worth of tours while in Vegas, since neither of us are really gamblers, but today was a free day, so we wandered down the Strip checking out the hotel themings, etc. We didn’t bother having breakfast in the hotel and decided to have a big lunch instead. However, by the time we got from the Aladdin to the MGM-Grand in 100 degree heat we were parched, so just had to visit the Rainforest Café there for something cold and refreshing :D

I’d been to Vegas twice before, the most recent in 1997, but there are always changes and it was good to see it all again. We visited the Mandalay Bay and went to the aquarium – not worth the money in my opinion, but it was decent enough. We then went to the Luxor and did one of the 3D movie things (technical term there!), but not the 3D ride. The movie was ‘Haunted Mansion’ (no, not the Disney one!) and it was really, really good – the 3D glasses were fab too, very ‘space age’, just wish you got that type at Disney for Muppetvision!

Since the rest of our Vegas time was going to be busy, we decided to pack as much as possible into the first day so, after getting lunch somewhere (can’t remember where) we visited Treasure Island, the Mirage (refusing to look at the tigers since they are kept in a hideously small environment) and then went to the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and had dinner at an Italian restaurant there.

At night, we took a taxi to the Hilton and did the Star Trek Experience (I still love this ride, even though it was about the fourth time I’d done it – I stayed at the Hilton last time and rode it a few times). As we browsed the gift shop afterwards (both Trek fans), we were visited by Quark, who took great delight in commenting that females aren’t supposed to wear clothes (any Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans will know what I mean). Kat asked him for a photo with him and he agreed, but said not to post it on the internet as it would damage his reputation if it was known that he was with a female in clothes. <g> Seriously, the guy doing the character was fab – he even went back and forth between the photo booth and the gift store spreading rumours to try and cause trouble. I was highly amused and helped him cause a bit of trouble while Kat had her photo taken for about the tenth time until she found one she liked enough to get superimposed into a cast pic of Voyager so that she looked liked part of the crew. (I’m not THAT big a fan!)

Deciding we were feeling brave enough, we walked from the Hilton to the Sahara and did the ‘Speed’ ride, which basically shoots you out like a rocket launch and then takes you up a vertical track so you can see the Strip, before doing the whole thing again in reverse – fab! These were the only rides we did in Vegas, apart from the main coaster at Circus Circus, as I felt the coaster at New York, New York wasn’t worth the money and I’m not insane enough to do the rides at the top of the Stratosphere Tower.

We had an early start the next day for the first of our tours, so finally headed back to the Aladdin around 11pm and crashed.

Next up... the Grand Canyon!