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6/17/2024 2 Comments

Las Vegas Trip Report: June 2024 - Is Las Vegas REALLY back?

Hey everybody,

Want to share a bit of fun from our Las Vegas trip this past weekend! Our main reason for going to Vegas for the first time since 2022 was to see the Beatles: Love Cirque Du Soleil show which is closing in just a few weeks. If you haven't seen it we HIGHLY recommend it.

On our trip we also made a quick stop at Buffalo Bills (not to ride the coaster and log ride), so we have some pics from there. Sadly, it's not good news.

New to us and new to Vegas is the new Spongebob Squarepants attraction at Circus Circus, so we of course have some pics and video from that all new family attraction at a resort that has definitely seen better days.

We also did a few other things we've wanted to do for awhile including the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay and Tournament of Kings at Excalibur.

And of course, with any Vegas trip, resort hopping is always fun. That will include a visit to the conservatory at Bellagio and a few other things.

But unlike a typical "trip report" I also have some thoughts on if Vegas is actually "back" to it's pre-Covid status. On a weekend that included a fight at MGM Grand, a concert at The Sphere, the final weekends featuring Adele at Caesars and of course the normal events in Las Vegas, I'll be honest, it didn't seem to be very busy inside any of the hotels or casinos all weekend.

But more on that later. Let's get to some fun stuff!

Buffalo Bills

As I mentioned, we made a pit stop in Primm, NV to, well, you know. But I also took some time to get some pics of the resort. And it's just sad what has become of Buffalo Bills.

I remember the days of stopping here on a Friday on the way to Vegas, or on a Sunday on the way home from Vegas and not being able to find parking. Even a few times having to park at Whiskey Pete's and take the monorail over.

That seems like another lifetime ago, as there were only maybe 30 cars in the parking lot. I wish I was exaggerating.

A few pics of the coaster, we didn't bother going to the back side of the hotel. Didn't seem to be much point.

The helix through the rocks, the train and if I remember correctly there is a bit of the log flume in there as well.

Moving inside, the station for Desperado. Nothing at all is going on here.

Exiting the station.

A look at the log flume. No activity here unless you want to count the plethora of spiders.

A lot of people were asking about the status of the flume, well here ya go. The flume is completely cracked. I don't see any way this ever reopens.

Something tells me water would leak right through at this point.

A look at the food court, which used to be absolutely slammed with people stopping for lunch. None of it was even open. Even the buffet is now a Denny's expansion.

Apparently the other hotels in Primm aren't doing any better. The Bonnie & Clyde vehicles that used to be at Whiskey Pete's are now here.

Apparently the Frog Hopper had to be shut down due to not passing inspection. I honestly did want to think Desperado could some day reopen, but after visiting I don't see it happening.

Spongebob's Crazy Carnival Ride

Alright, let's move to some fun stuff and take a look at the latest Sally Dark Ride, Spongebob's Crazy Carnival Ride at Circus Circus. I'll be honest, we had a hard time finding this. I had heard it was near the Midway, but it's actually just outside of Adventuredome.

Current Pricing of the attraction.

Overall we really enjoyed the ride, it's appropriately priced and the 2-ride deal is pretty great.

Unfortunately Circus Circus has seen better days. It was without a doubt the worst resort we visited all weekend, and the one that smelled like cigarette smoke the most. For a resort that claims to appeal to families this is frankly unacceptable.

For us, Circus Circus holds a special place as it's where we got married almost 29 years ago (thankfully the name of the chapel was different then). But our desire to ever visit this resort again is near zero.

Luxor Elite King Room

We decided to stay at The Luxor for this trip. I had stayed here before and I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of the Pyramid rooms. They're weird shaped (obviously), but more than that, they're quite loud with all of the noise coming up from the casino/other events.

So for this trip we upgraded to an Elite King room in the Tower, and it was fantastic. Would recommend.

Sorry for the darkness of the room, we weren't about to open the curtains and let the hot sun in.

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

Since our hotel was close we decided we wanted to do do the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. We had a nice walk through the Shoppes. Just a heads up, if you want to do this attraction it is at the very far end of the Mandalay Convention Center, but it's certainly worth it.

If you've done any of the Shark Reef experiences at a SeaWorld park you pretty much know what you're gonna get, but this is definitely a fancy version of that.

The experience took us about 30 minutes, but you can definitely make it last far longer than that.

There are more than just sharks here.

Coolest job ever

Of course, no shark experience would be complete without the Jaws 3D tunnel. =)

Tournament of Kings

Somehow we've never done Medieval Times, or any similar type dinner show. So we thought we'd go cheesy for our Friday night meal and check out Tournament of Kings at Excalibur.

We enjoyed it immensely although K isn't really a fan of eating with her hands. She powered through though.

We sat in Norway, we were honestly expecting the arena to be larger than it was.

I will not give up my favorite decoration. I like Captain Solo where he is.

Just like in the days of yore.

We had a fantastic experience, the cast was super fun and the lighting and effects were stellar.

Day 2: Resort Hopping

On day two we had a lunch date with two dear friends at Caesar's Palace so we slowly made our way from the Luxor over to Caesars, which meant a stop at one of our favorite hotels NY/NY for some gaming and a drink at the chocolate bar.

From there we made our way to The Bellagio to check out the always awesome Conservatory.

Hey MGM Grand! You're next on our list of hotels to stay at.

They are wasting no time demolishing the Tropicana.

No coaster this trip. I rode it in 2022.

Had a lovely Manhattan at the Chocolate Bar. K had something Chocolaty.

The conservatory at The Bellagio is always fantastic.

Ooooh, a Zeppelin!

This could almost be an original Buffay ...

Our lunch was at Gordan Ramsay's Pub and Grill! It was restaurant week in Vegas and a few places had extended their restaurant week offerings. All of the food below was only $40 per person.

Short Rib Nachos

Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. Which was yummy but definitely not Nashville Hot. Which makes sense since it was a British Pub.

Banofee Cheesecake

Sticky Toffee Pudding

As mentioned, Adele is ending her run in Vegas soon. Congrats to those who were able to get tickets. Looked into it, and yeah, I'd rather eat for the year. =)

The Mirage and Beatles: Love

As I mentioned, the main reason for our trip was to finally see the Beatles Love Cirque Du Soleil show. We've been wanting to see it for years and hadn't gotten around to it.

It was absolutely fantastic. This also gave us a chance to say farewell to The Mirage.

In our Lyft from Luxor to The Mirage. Believe it or not this was our first time in a Tesla.

Below is a video I took 17 years ago when the show opened and they had the Love Lounge. The first YouTube video I ever uploaded. LOL! Park Journey wasn't even close to being a thing yet.

The show itself was phenomenal. I can't see how they don't find a new home for this show, or even bring it back once the Hard Rock is open.

After the show we rushed out to see the Volcano but apparently it had an E-Stop or something. Oh well, we'd seen it before.

So long Mirage! See you again when some big ol' guitar is there. I hope it turns out okay.

Is Vegas REALLY back?

So as I mentioned at the top of this report I have some thoughts on the current state of Las Vegas, and if it's truly back to it's pre-Covid level. While of course the hotels and casino's would like you to believe it is, for me it's not quite there yet.

We were there on a Friday - Sunday. We visited 10 different resorts (Buffalo Bills, Circus Circus, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, NY/NY, Park MGM, Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Mirage).

The only time we ever felt any kind of crowd was when we exited the Beatles show, and that was because there was a second show waiting to come in. Other than that all of the casino's seemed very quiet, we never had to deal with any crowds, never had to wait to sit at a bar, or wait for a table to play at, etc.

And this was a fight weekend. Dead and Company was at the Sphere. And all of the other normal Vegas'y things were going on. And it was (for us), pleasantly chill.

Sure there seemed to be lots of people walking around the strip, there was a rather large crowd waiting for the Volcano show, but where Vegas actually makes it's money ... didn't seem to be very much going on at all.

I'm not sure what needs to be done to fix this. There just isn't any excitement going on inside the Casino's any more. I'm not sure if this has to do with the lack of noise or coins no longer being in use at the slot machines.

This "not quite back" Vegas works for us, we're very chill, we don't gamble all that much (although I'm a big fan of the Blackjack/Craps machines), we like to walk around, try different restaurants at various resorts, etc. But that is not what Vegas wants, and it will be interesting to see what happens if it stays like this for the extended future.

Have you visited Vegas recently? Did you get the same impression as us?

Hope you enjoyed this look at our weekend and commentary!

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