The Grand Tour...Day 19 Vegas

charly77 · 4 Apr 17, 04:48 PM

I let everyone have a lye in today although I was awake at silly o’clock. The plan was to have a pool day! DH and I set off for the pool at 9.30, we then discover it doesn’t open until 10am, however there was already a massive queue so we joined it. It was soooo hot, we hadn’t even had a drink yet and were starting to become quite uncomfortable. We had our eyes set on a couple of loungers under a palm tree which we did manage to bag once the gates were open. One thing we noticed is that there was very little shade anywhere unless you had pre-booked a cabana.

Anyway we secured three loungers which were in a semi shaded area and DH set off to grab coffees and something for breakfast. We were smack bang in the middle of the rapids by a ‘waterfall’ so it was nice and picturesque.

DH arrived back with a box of cakes and coffee (I trained him well) and the kids arrived ready to hit the pool!

We had fun taking it in turns to hit the rapids, it was a welcome relief from the intense heat. Our base was great until a very annoying kid, I say kid but he was probably about 12/13 started ‘bombing’ in the shallow water. Not only did he soak everyone and everything but he really upset some little children who were playing nicely with their parents. The lifeguard asked him to stop but was ignored… Not long after this incident we chose to leave, mainly due to the fact we had no shade and it was extremely hot.

After we had showered we hit the shops as kids wanted to purchase a few things, DH and I used up some of our free play on the slot machines. We did well, so cashed in whilst we were up by a few $! We grabbed a subway for lunch, it was very pricey. I experienced my first salad and the others had a sub @ $40!

We thought we’d check out Top golf that had recently opened and it was fab, we have one local to us in the UK but give me Vegas any day! Again it was very pricey, think it was around $75 for a downstairs bay…

On our way back towards the hotel lobby we bypassed Wet Republic where Calvin Harris was playing, we heard that it costs $100 a ticket and drinks are $30 each! Not sure how true that is though…

We popped outside to the pickup area as we were being collected by a Humvee for our next adventure! The camouflaged Humvee turned up in time with our fully kitted out driver, we were off to Battlefield Vegas! We did have very mixed feelings about this activity but decided to stick together. I for one was sat on the fence but did want to experience the feeling of shooting a gun.

When we arrived DS was very excited but suddenly I got a bit overwhelmed and was unsure if I wanted to partake, this then unsettled DD. It was all a bit surreal. We were assigned a Range Safety Officer (RSO) who was so good. He explained everything and said at any point if we felt uncomfortable to say.

Next step we entered the shooting range, now don’t get me wrong here but it really was not what I was expecting, I think I’ve watched too many US TV shows! I expected our own secured ‘booths’ within the range but it was open with separate areas for the individual parties but it was open so basically if someone from another party got trigger happy they could take anyone out! I did feel very nervous and DD was not happy…the boys, well boys will be boys!

Don’t get me wrong it was very well done, the RSO’s are appropriately trained and were fantastic but it still scared the living daylights out of me! The noise was deafening even with headphones on and the way your body jolts when a shot is fired, it’s very strange. I think what I found strange is how happy everyone was around us, all I felt was fear and apprehension.

It was explained fully and demonstrated to us and the RSO did not leave our side throughout the shoot. DS went first and loved it!

DH also had fun, now it was my turn… It was an odd feeling, more so as it’s a feeling I had never experienced. I can’t say I enjoyed it, I found it to be very bizarre experience that I don’t need to ever repeat.

I know this is going to sound silly or just naïve but I didn’t realise the empty shells flew out of the gun, they were everywhere and I now understand why you have to wear goggles.

DD was next but really didn’t want to do it which was fine but then she did want to! So she went over to our RSO who was lovely and said if she wanted to stop that was fine just let him know. She shot the Glock 17 first but unfortunately for her the shell went up and then landed down her top and burnt her…that was it she didn’t want to do anymore so the RSO finished her rounds and DS finished her turn using a Colt Commando and Uzi 9mm.

It was over very quickly and secretly I was pleased about that. We left and collected a t-shirt each which was included plus our shot targets.

We had a look around then requested a lift back to our hotel.

Once back we dropped our goods off and changed then went off to Panda Express which was based in the Showcase Mall. It was so good. I often wonder why these sorts of restaurants don’t open in the UK as I’m sure they’ll do well…

From here we took a slow, hot walk down to Mandalay Bay as tonight we were seeing MJ One!

Some of us were very excited! We had a little wander about until doors opened…

We grabbed some drinks at the bar before finding our seats, they were very expensive but came with a souvenir plastic cup! When booking we paid for the ‘cheap’ seats and were very lucky, we had a great view as the theatre was not overly big.

The show was absolutely amazing, I cried…lots! It was so much better than I could have imagined and was very well done. I am a massive MJ fan and one of my best childhood memories was seeing him at Wembley so seeing this show complimented my memories. I think it finished around 11pm so we caught a taxi back to MGM Grand.

Steps today; 19,705

Floors climbed; 22

*Tip of the day *Be brave and try new things...

Melbatb · 4 Apr 17, 07:41 PM

I think I am with you about the shooting range. Well done for trying it - you are braver than I am!

Glad the day ended on a high!

k4ti3-x · 20 Apr 17, 09:31 PM

Glad you enjoyed the MJ show. I was too scared to shoot the guns when we went so just watched but like you was amazed that if someone wanted to they could turn around and just shoot you! We went a few days after a young girl accidentally shot her instructor so I was majorly on edge.

Jake71 · 21 Apr 17, 02:41 PM

I think DH would like the shooting stuff, I think I'm a bit apprehensive about it, but it's something to think about.

CrispyA · 21 Apr 17, 10:59 PM

We went to Battlefield Vegas - I was really impressed with how well organised they were. I wish I'd known about the shells flying around though - I ended up with one down my top!

4 Apr 17, 04:48 PM	#1
	4 Apr 17, 04:48 PM charly77 Very Serious Dibber
charly77 Very Serious Dibber Join Date: Feb 08	The Grand Tour...Day 19 Vegas I let everyone have a lye in today although I was awake at silly o’clock. The plan was to have a pool day! DH and I set off for the pool at 9.30, we then discover it doesn’t open until 10am, however there was already a massive queue so we joined it. It was soooo hot, we hadn’t even had a drink yet and were starting to become quite uncomfortable. We had our eyes set on a couple of loungers under a palm tree which we did manage to bag once the gates were open. One thing we noticed is that there was very little shade anywhere unless you had pre-booked a cabana. Anyway we secured three loungers which were in a semi shaded area and DH set off to grab coffees and something for breakfast. We were smack bang in the middle of the rapids by a ‘waterfall’ so it was nice and picturesque. DH arrived back with a box of cakes and coffee (I trained him well) and the kids arrived ready to hit the pool! We had fun taking it in turns to hit the rapids, it was a welcome relief from the intense heat. Our base was great until a very annoying kid, I say kid but he was probably about 12/13 started ‘bombing’ in the shallow water. Not only did he soak everyone and everything but he really upset some little children who were playing nicely with their parents. The lifeguard asked him to stop but was ignored… Not long after this incident we chose to leave, mainly due to the fact we had no shade and it was extremely hot. After we had showered we hit the shops as kids wanted to purchase a few things, DH and I used up some of our free play on the slot machines. We did well, so cashed in whilst we were up by a few $! We grabbed a subway for lunch, it was very pricey. I experienced my first salad and the others had a sub @ $40! We thought we’d check out Top golf that had recently opened and it was fab, we have one local to us in the UK but give me Vegas any day! Again it was very pricey, think it was around $75 for a downstairs bay… On our way back towards the hotel lobby we bypassed Wet Republic where Calvin Harris was playing, we heard that it costs $100 a ticket and drinks are $30 each! Not sure how true that is though… We popped outside to the pickup area as we were being collected by a Humvee for our next adventure! The camouflaged Humvee turned up in time with our fully kitted out driver, we were off to Battlefield Vegas! We did have very mixed feelings about this activity but decided to stick together. I for one was sat on the fence but did want to experience the feeling of shooting a gun. When we arrived DS was very excited but suddenly I got a bit overwhelmed and was unsure if I wanted to partake, this then unsettled DD. It was all a bit surreal. We were assigned a Range Safety Officer (RSO) who was so good. He explained everything and said at any point if we felt uncomfortable to say. Next step we entered the shooting range, now don’t get me wrong here but it really was not what I was expecting, I think I’ve watched too many US TV shows! I expected our own secured ‘booths’ within the range but it was open with separate areas for the individual parties but it was open so basically if someone from another party got trigger happy they could take anyone out! I did feel very nervous and DD was not happy…the boys, well boys will be boys! Don’t get me wrong it was very well done, the RSO’s are appropriately trained and were fantastic but it still scared the living daylights out of me! The noise was deafening even with headphones on and the way your body jolts when a shot is fired, it’s very strange. I think what I found strange is how happy everyone was around us, all I felt was fear and apprehension. It was explained fully and demonstrated to us and the RSO did not leave our side throughout the shoot. DS went first and loved it! DH also had fun, now it was my turn… It was an odd feeling, more so as it’s a feeling I had never experienced. I can’t say I enjoyed it, I found it to be very bizarre experience that I don’t need to ever repeat. I know this is going to sound silly or just naïve but I didn’t realise the empty shells flew out of the gun, they were everywhere and I now understand why you have to wear goggles. DD was next but really didn’t want to do it which was fine but then she did want to! So she went over to our RSO who was lovely and said if she wanted to stop that was fine just let him know. She shot the Glock 17 first but unfortunately for her the shell went up and then landed down her top and burnt her…that was it she didn’t want to do anymore so the RSO finished her rounds and DS finished her turn using a Colt Commando and Uzi 9mm. It was over very quickly and secretly I was pleased about that. We left and collected a t-shirt each which was included plus our shot targets. We had a look around then requested a lift back to our hotel. Once back we dropped our goods off and changed then went off to Panda Express which was based in the Showcase Mall. It was so good. I often wonder why these sorts of restaurants don’t open in the UK as I’m sure they’ll do well… From here we took a slow, hot walk down to Mandalay Bay as tonight we were seeing MJ One! Some of us were very excited! We had a little wander about until doors opened… We grabbed some drinks at the bar before finding our seats, they were very expensive but came with a souvenir plastic cup! When booking we paid for the ‘cheap’ seats and were very lucky, we had a great view as the theatre was not overly big. The show was absolutely amazing, I cried…lots! It was so much better than I could have imagined and was very well done. I am a massive MJ fan and one of my best childhood memories was seeing him at Wembley so seeing this show complimented my memories. I think it finished around 11pm so we caught a taxi back to MGM Grand. Steps today; 19,705 Floors climbed; 22 *Tip of the day *Be brave and try new things... __________________ Whistle-stop Tour Of Copenhagen Feb 2017 The Grand Tour (West to East trip) 2016 The 'Bombshell' Trip to NYC @ Christmas 2014 Trip report, Our first time to WDW Sept/Oct '08;

21 Apr 17, 10:59 PM	#5
	21 Apr 17, 10:59 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	We went to Battlefield Vegas - I was really impressed with how well organised they were. I wish I'd known about the shells flying around though - I ended up with one down my top! __________________ West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022