there is nothing quite like landing in vegas

Maybe I'm alone in this but there has always just been something magical about landing in vegas.
Your airplane touches down and everyone on the plane is so anxious to get off the plane and let the games begin!
Sucks when you are at the back of the plane though lol. You get off the plane with your duffle bag and enter the airport.
First thing you see is all the people who look sad that they have to leave Las Vegas.
Don't laugh at em guys because you are next in a few days haha.
You walk through the aiport and take the escalator down to the monorail/rapid train.
Usually a big crowd by the monorail so I tend to wait for the 2nd mo orail to come.
You finally get on and it's crowded but you could care less because you're in Vegas!
Those monorail doors open and you head down the escalotor. As you slowly head down, you can see the limo drivers holding signs up with last names.
Now you're in baggae claims and you can't wait for your bags to hurry the heck up!
Now you got your bags and head outside into that hot Las Vegas heat.
Some of you do limos and some of you do cabs. I have always been a shuttle guy.
First thing I do is head over to the bell trans shuttle window and buy my ticket.
Hand the shuttle driver my bags and get on the shuttle.
Now I know it's Showtime............

 

Although I hate flying in to Vegas at night (I feel like I've lost a day in Vegas) there's no other sight in the world as you near it. Peering out in the pitch black of the desert, you suddenly see a pinhole of light ahead. It grows and grows until it explodes into the neon that's Las Vegas. Nothing like it.

Another thing I've always said. At McCarran, you can always tell who's arriving and who's leaving just by the looks on their faces.

 

I took a Gray lines shuttle once. It made my face look like those leaving Vegas. Problem was I was arriving.

Never again.

Taxi or limo.

 

OK for you guys, we have to endure an hour of shuffling through immigration first!

They should have slots in there so we can get started

 

Lol sorry about that experience. I'll make sure to avoid them in the future haha. Bell trans is great if you decide to give shuttles another shot

 

Yes, I have to resist the temptation to kiss the ground when I get there. And I try to avoid looking at all the sad faces of the people waiting to go home knowing I'll be one of them in 3-5 days

 

yes i have taken bell trans and grayline both. and grayline made me sad enough to want to give up shuttles. luckily i went back to bell trans! but i only book one way and take the taxi when coming back.

 

I am so darned happy when I arrive that I have never noticed any sad faces.

 

Just look to your left as you're on the moving walkways heading to baggage claim and transportation. Those heading the opposite direction.....not a smile anywhere, except maybe the person that hit it big and is bringing home the winnings.

 

There is no excitement like looking out the window and seeing Las Vegas approaching in the distance, just over the top of the mountains, then seeing your first glimpse of the Vegas hotels as the airplane is taxiing on the runway.

I usually go during the warmer months, so there is always that familiar burst of Vegas heat as the door to the plane opens.

I fly Jet Blue, which goes into the new terminal, so there is no more monorail to catch. I just walk out of the gate and directly over to escalators that descend down right into baggage claim, which is pretty awesome!

 

arriving at night in vegas cost you a day but is an outstanding experience to see lights of vegas coming out of the dark desert

 

Love this sight, day or night. Even love catching the final glimpse of the strip as we're leaving knowing that the new countdown has just started.

 

Love that blast of heat...I know then I have entered a new dimension.

 

So true. Although I miss those pre 9/11 days when it seemed like the plane went crazy with clapping, hooting and people acting all goofy when we landed.

 

Also pre 9/11 we came in on an AW plane that I swear, the wings were even with the rim of the Grand Canyon. That won't ever happen again.

 

Gotta love that feeling when you see Vegas out of the window...I know I do!

 

We had clapping once post 9/11, but it was because it was so windy the pilot didn't land on his first attempt due to the wind and came around for a different approach. Between that first attempt and subsequent attempt and land I've never heard a plane so quiet. Even on the second attempt he hovered the runway for quite a while before finally touching down, to which the plane erupted with sighs and then clapping. Though, those were short lived as the pilot hit the brakes hard, considering how far we were down the runway, and everyone leaned way forward for a while.

That whole flight was pretty interesting, even before that we had a couple sudden drops while coming in over the mountains. Things got better from there.

 

Only flown in a few times, but gotta agree it's a sight, day (geography) or night (audacity). Those of us who drive in from the south get the same feeling rounding the bend in Sloan.

Another cool thing is driving north at night on the 15. The bazilions of finite lights give way to one big orange-white glow that spreads out across the rearview mirrors, and then north of the speedway it totally disappears.

 

I love flying into Vegas and I always try to get a window seat for that reason. The view flying in over the desert is absolutely breathtaking. I usually try to arrive during the daytime just so I can enjoy it.

 

I'll be landing there in 2 months from tomorrow...this thread is making the wait unbearable!

Funny you all mention the sad faces heading home - we always notice that every trip.

The OP captured the arrival experience perfectly!