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Feb 19 - 27. Good shows, fun with family, but too cool.

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by GottaLuvCruising, Mar 1, 2017.

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  1. GottaLuvCruising

    GottaLuvCruising High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Orlando FL & Vassalboro ME
    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    My Trip Report

    Quick review:

    We mostly used the monorail - at least 4 trips per day. Plus I walked 131,238 steps in 7 days. We took Bell Trans shuttle round-trip. Total ground transport cost $90.

    Harrah's - awesome as always, loved the newly renovated room, great view, best location on the strip.

    Tenors of Rock: glad we saw it, won't go again, amazing talent, some songs we loved, most just not for us. Excellent production quality, great personalities.

    Mat Franco - 5 stars for this young man! We booked the upgraded seats and are so glad we did - very comfortable and awesome view. Terrific show!

    Madame Tussaud's: Much larger, more to see than I expected. It was actually a fun experience. We won our tickets on MyVegas; I would never pay full price (BOGO is good.)

    Open Top Bus Night Tour: have done day tour twice and it was fantastic BUT wanted night tour to be able to sit on top and enjoy the lights. We got that...view was great. Tour guide this time was VERY disappointing. She seemed uncomfortable in her role, was reading script from her phone with no ad lib and absolutely NO guest interaction. We kept joking that we'd make a drinking game out of every time she called us (all bus passengers) "friends." Later we decided to yank out one of her multitude of piercings each time she said "friends." Just between the last two stops, she said it 13 times!

    Hoover Dam and Lake Mead via Grayline: Very good. Great driver / Narrator. Too many people on dam tour - extremely crowded elevators and couldn't hear guide, but still enjoyed it. Lake Mead cruise was very nice, delicious deli sandwich lunch included. Boarding photo was just a nuisance and a waste of their money & effort as we advised them we didn't want it.

    Reba / Brooks & Dunn: Not my music, so any one of the others should input.

    Shark Reef: We had free MyVegas tickets and it was a pleasant experience. Nice way to spend a daytime hour and good photo ops.

    THE BRONX WANDERERS: OH, YES! Best show of the trip...highly recommend. Will see this one again. Father, two adult sons and a couple other musicians doing 60s music. Wonderful, great talent.

    Brad Garrett: He's always hysterical and so personable, really knows how to play off the audience. I booked a group of seven tickets and was pleased that the club plans ahead for larger parties. The two other acts were OK, maybe even good, but nothing I'd want to see again.

    Westgate: Might do again for the right price ONLY because it's on the monorail. Property was OK; room was nice, but nothing special. Service was excellent!! We enjoyed the concierge lounge very much and if we stayed there again, it would be for concierge level.

    The Rat Pack is Back: Once is enough. I loathe maitre d seating, but when he offered us (paid for premium seats) way on the left, I just ask if we could have seats in the center and he moved us. We quickly tired of the hokey jokes. Dean Martin performer really looked like the original. Frank Sinatra performer sounded fantastic. The music was excellent, but jokes were tedious.

    Diana Ross: Thrilled to see her in person. Very good show but back-up singers compensating for her aging voice. Front row balcony seats were PERFECT!!! I hate it when people stand in front of me at a show and all orchestra section stood throughout the show (after paying big bucks for their SEATS.)

    Le Reve: Not cirque, but similar. Incredibly fit performers and non-stop action. Beautiful breath-taking production with acrobatics, diving, water and fire effects. Buddy loved it. Glad I saw it, but too artsy-fartsy for me.

    We did the High Roller for the 7th time. We actually bought a voucher to do it for the 8th time, too, but gave it to our daughter. We really like the experience (obviously) but paid for open bar - we were just tired and didn't want to drink any more.

    FOOD: Not a biggie for us. We look for tasty bargains. We did try In and Out Burger and I do not get the appeal - at all. Love Mirage Buffet and enjoyed it twice. We were staying at Harrah's so did their buffet twice. Bellagio's was very good, but nothing special.

    Senor Frogs @ Treasure Island was ridiculously expensive and a huge disappointment. They put the six of us at a tiny table. Food was edible but not impressive at all. Drinks were just OK. With tip, it was more than $200 and I'd never do it again.

    Pampas Brazillian Grill was just OK. The buffet / salad bar was lacking. The meats were tasty; both cuts of beef were fantastic. My husband liked the pork, but neither of us eat sausage. The seafood was brought on one plate, assuming that we wanted each of the options? The shrimp were supposed to be gulf shrimp, but they were more the size of Maine shrimp and were cooked with the shell on - we had to peel them and were not offered even a wet one (good thing I had some.) I did try my first and last mussel. The other fish was not identified but I assumed some cheap farmed fish like tilapia and didn't try it. The salmon was good, but I'm sure it was farmed. Service was nothing special either. Probably won't do that again.

    We walked to the Laundromat that was suggested in reply to my request (another post.) From bell service at Harrah's to the laundry (north on Koval, east on Sands until it becomes Twain - then it is on the SE corner) was 99/100 of a mile. Not kidding. My fitbit was 4.92 miles upon leaving and 5.91 upon arriving. The walk took 23 minutes. I'd definitely do it again, but would allow 2 1/2 hours (or a little more) for walking, wash, dry, fold.

    We had a lot of fun, but show selections weren't as good as some other trips. We have concluded that if we stay in Vegas the whole time (not Grand Canyon or visiting family in Utah) seven days is our max. Three or four are not enough, so next time will be five to seven days.

    FYI - All of our vouchers, rewards, reservations are done. So I'm not concerned about any security issues with the photo. Happy to help if anyone has any questions.
     

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    Last edited: Mar 1, 2017
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  2. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    Thanks for the report!
    My bride and I would love to try the "topless" bus ride at night. (My bride cringes when I call it that...:D)
    Sorry to hear you had a few disappointments, but for the most part it sounds like you had a great time!

    RICHARD
     
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  3. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    Wow you were busy! Thanks for the reviews. I just back too and boy was it chilly, coldest visit yet! I didn't use my sunglasses until the final day!
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
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  4. GottaLuvCruising

    GottaLuvCruising High-Roller

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    She might be more comfortable with "open top." Your experience really is impacted by your tour guide. I hope you get a good one. I was never able to locate a discount of any kind for the night tour.

    Thank you! We really did have a good time. There are always little things...
     
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  5. GottaLuvCruising

    GottaLuvCruising High-Roller

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    I packed based on the forecast and usually carried / sometimes wore a sweater during the day. At night I always wore a jacket and sometimes a sweater under it. I've never gone during winter before and don't think I will again. April & May are perfect!
     
  6. tsou89

    tsou89 Low-Roller

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    That's one busy Vegas trip! Hope the goods outweighed the bass!
     
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  7. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    You sure were busy; thanks for the show reviews! I purchased tickets to see Brad Garrett for our trip later this month and got an email that he is no longer appearing so I replied requesting a refund. Not interested in going if he isn't appearing. We enjoyed his show a year or so ago.
     
  8. hotreds

    hotreds Illegitimi non carborundum!

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    Very nice! Looking forward to seeing both the Tenors and Wanderers my May trip! I agree the wax museum is much more fun than I expected! Appreciate your restaurant comments- a few we'll avoid!
     
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  9. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Nice report! We were originally planning to fly into MCO today for Disney again, but made sense to put off. Blah.

    We were disappointed with Senor Frogs years ago. Half off Groupon wasn't even worth it. Same went for Carlos and Charlies, which I also saw on your very detailed itinerary, if you went there, hope it was better. I need to make an itinerary like that though!
     
  10. kkinwi

    kkinwi VIP Whale

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    Appreciate your show reviews, and glad the laundromat thing worked out! I remember hubby and I using one on Maryland years ago on a loonnnggg trip thru the southwest!
     
  11. GottaLuvCruising

    GottaLuvCruising High-Roller

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    You will LOVE The Bronx Wanderers - so personable. Young Vinnie is an incredible talent and also their musical director (and cute...did I mention "cute"???) The music and energy were awesome. The bass guitarist friggin' looks like he could be Elvis' son - but I did the math and he's too young.

    If you like ROCK music, Tenors of Rock will be great fun. Talent, personality and a terrific production. But very loud, too much screaming into the mic, just not my kind of music. Some of it was very enjoyable, but we are definitely oldies, pop and easy country folks. We actually didn't even recognize some of the songs, but appreciated the show quality.

    FYI - yesterday all August weeknights were comp for us, so I decided what to book and voila, this morning the comp nights are gone. I'll keep checking. I have Southwest credit that expires 8/27, so the 8/20-8/24 timeframe (before my sister returns to teaching) was great. Damn, I should have booked it yesterday.
     
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  12. Mrazzo

    Mrazzo Prince of Pai Gow

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    Thanks for the report! And thank you for sharing the pic of your schedule. My GF thinks I'm a nut when I write one out. Glad i'm not the only one who does this
     
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  13. Kobra2848

    Kobra2848 VIP Whale

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    I'll second that the Bronx Wanderers was great. We went to the show the day before you and the wife loved it. This was our first time going this early in the year and the wife said never again because it was way too cool. It really changed us being out on the strip once the sun went down. I think Mat Franco will be the next show we see. Thanks for the report.

    Mark
     
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  14. hotreds

    hotreds Illegitimi non carborundum!

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    Since one can cancel with no problems, I usually book the minute I see a good deal; there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to their pricing! I reckon the same goes with SW airfare- seems to change almost daily!
     
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  15. Geogran

    Geogran VIP Whale

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    I really enjoyed your review @GottaLuvCruising - your spreadsheet is so much like the ones I used to do for every trip/vacation with our kids. As to Vegas, I am now a degen and a spreadsheet would divulge how much time I really spend in front of a slot machine....

    Thanks for your perspective on the shows - you've convinced me to add Bronx Wanderers, Brad Garrett and Matt Franco to a trip down the road!

    Best of luck on those comp nights reappearing for your August trip - we've all seen them disappear and kick ourselves for not booking, lol.
     
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  16. kathiemc23

    kathiemc23 Low-Roller

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    I love the spreadsheet too, half the fun is taking the time to plan and create the itinerary. I have mine all done for my upcoming 2 week trip and keep making updates after reading trip reports. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
     
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  17. UncleBen

    UncleBen Low-Roller

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    I can't agree with you enough about The Rat Pack is Back. We really enjoyed the singing but the jokes were old and recycled and really not needed. I'd go as far as to say that would put me off returning for a repeat performance!
     
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  18. GottaLuvCruising

    GottaLuvCruising High-Roller

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    Agreed - I wouldn't go again or recommend the show to others because of the stupid jokes. Also the lounge seating was tight, seats uncomfortable and room was too warm. BUT the singers were good. Once is enough.
     
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