Monday, August 16, 1999
Last night's headache was with me in the morning. I decided to hang out in the room and try to rehydrate or something. Dan took off to check out Circus-Circus and to get some information at Wet and Wild for me.
Dan:
Unlike Sonya, I am not a webmaster who gets to set his or her own hours. During the week, my employer likes me to there during the same hours that most employers prefer their people to be there. So when I am vacation, my body clock tends to run on the same schedule. That means that I am up when Sonya is still dreaming of royal flushes and comps at Mandalay Bay.On this day, I was to use this extra time get some shots of places that aren't quite important enough for both of us to visit. The first stop was at Wet N' Wild, located between the Sahara and the El Rancho or as the sign reads, the "Fut_re Hom_ of Co_ntry_and."
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This family attraction is a waterpark, with a couple of towers with waterslides, and a Lazy River. The admission price seems kind of steep - $26.95, but I'm told they have good coupons that make it more affordable for families. At that price, I wasn't going to buy a
ticket and enter for pictures, but I did get some good shots through the iron fence. (Sonya - There are some great discount tickets for Wet & Wild in any of the giveaway magazines like Showbiz, Las Vegas Today or What's On. The coupons include a half-off after 4pm and a $59.95 valuepack for four admissions that makes it much more reasonable for a waterpark of its size.)
I also got some shots of the El Rancho and its deteriorating sign. I thought it might be my last chance, as there are rumbles that the litigation that has kept this property empty for many years might be coming hopefully implosive end.
Next, I went to Circus-Circus. I parked in the parking structure and emerged in the Mid-Point casino, a smaller gaming area in the tower, across Circus-Circus drive from the main casino and hotel.
The Midway Casino has no live table games - slots and video machines only. It is also being renovated, as evidenced by bare walls where wallpaper had been torn off. The Circus-Circus tram took me to the front of the main casino. As I walked back toward the AdventureDome theme park, I was thankful that Circus-Circus used to be the place I visited during my infrequent Vegas visits. Not because it is nice, but because I now had a fair ability to navigate through this casino. Circus-Circus is one of the worst examples of convoluted casino sprawl where you could lose your friends on the first day of your visit and not find them again until it's time to drive home. As I walked through the crowded claustrophobic hallways and casino sub-chambers, it was hard to believe that this was once one of Vegas's 1st tier resorts. You can see Circus-Circus in its heyday in the James Bond thriller Diamonds are Forever, and a not-too-exaggerated parody in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In its original configuration, circus acts were performed directly over the casino floor. Eventually, management observed that players took too long adding up their cards with trapeze artists flying over their heads, so the low ceiling was installed.
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When I arrived at the AdventureDome, it was obvious where Circus-Circus had been spending most of their upgrade dollars over the past 10 years. An entire theme park with a good variety rides for both teenagers and little tykes is tucked under a pink glass dome, protecting everyone from the elements and bathing the whole place in a happy pink light.
Although the parking structure was only a short distance from the parking structure where I parked, there didn't seem to be any way to get there other than out through the front of the cramped casino. They've made a fine place for kids, but they still make parents drag them through the smoky crowded gaming area.
I recommend visiting the Circus-Circus AdventureDome if you have teenagers or small children. Grown-up children will have more fun elsewhere.
When Dan returned, he brought up some sandwiches from the coffee shop at Main Street. After eating, we took off for Mandalay Bay. On arrival, the valet was full, so he dropped me at the door and went to park the car in the garage. I was supposed to pick up something from someone in marketing. They didn't leave me an envelope, but the secretary, Trish, was very helpful and pulled a packet together for me at the last second.
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We spent quite a while wandering around the hotel and looking at the different areas. I really like the look of this casino/hotel. I know that many of the plants are silk/plastic, but the art deco motif works for me and I thought it was better than Bellagio by far. It still had that upscale and classy feeling, but I didn't feel out of place with my low gambling budget and wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
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We spent some time in the lobby looking at the birds and the sharks in the aquarium. Then we moved through the casino and checked out the restaurants and shops. The décor of the restaurants is amazing. There's quite an attention to little details that make things just a little bit more special. From the oval-tunnel windows in Aureole to the fiber-optic type lights in the front of the China Grill.
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Walkway to Border Grille
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China Grill
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Weird tunnel window into Auerole
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Bay Side Buffet
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Headless Lenin Statue and Rumjungle's
fire & water wall
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Frozen bar at Red Square
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We walked up towards the Border Grill and took some pictures out the window of the pool. Dan got a coffee (because it's 107 degrees) and I got to enjoy the lecherous drooling of Beavis and Butthead checking out the girls at the pool through the windows.
Dan:
Not 107 inside Mandalay Bay! In addition to beer, I also appreciate good espresso. If you are a coffee connoisseur who feels that Starbucks is to fine coffee what McDonalds is to fine dining, then you'll like the coffee place inside Mandalay Bay. Now, I personally like Starbucks, so I was happy, even though it was a tad bit warm outside.
We found Rumjungle and the Red Square (and a headless Lenin) as well as the Bay Side Buffet and ended up wandering back to the lobby to go to "Beach Level" and the pool.
We walked around the exterior of the pool area. The elephant fountains are interesting and the misters on the elephants and along the base of the fountain were a welcome addition to our rest in the summer heat.
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We veered to the right at the security check at the pool and our intention was to walk around, taking pictures through the fence. At another security checkpoint, I asked if I could go inside to take pictures of the lazy river going by. The security guy (well, cute young stud in a bathing suit that was sitting at the gate) said I could go inside and take pictures if I wanted to. Of course I did!
We checked out the cabanas you can rent for the day (complete with tv's, bar,
fan and misters) and the lazy river. We also walked around the beach area, the
other pools and the wave pool. Dan was really impressed with one pool and cabana
area that was off limits except to those who rented one of the cabanas in the
fenced in area. We were looking at this really hairy guy and wondering how much
money he had. He looked like he had plenty!
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Cabanas for rent
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Waterfall behind wave pool
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View from walkway to Border Grille
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Wedding Island Chapel
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Wave Pool
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More Wave Pool
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Another pool
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Lazy River |
I had hoped that we could stop and get something cool to drink at the snack
bar area, but the line was very long and we decided not to wait. Instead, I
parked Dan in a shady spot under a mister and went to take a couple more pictures
before we left.
I
was coming down the steps when I met the infamous (?) Jason and Chad of Las
Vegas. I heard a young man say, "Will you take our picture?" I turned
around and saw two guys who didn't appear to have a camera of their own. I told
them that I didn't live in Las Vegas and would have to mail them any picture
I took of them. They said that was okay, and instead, I could just tell everyone
I showed the picture to that they were "Jason and Chad of Las Vegas".
They seemed excited at the prospect of being on my website, so I promised to
have their picture online. So - Jason and Chad, I hope you remembered the URL
and found yourselves online.
Chad insisted that he could get comps to Mandalay Bay for all his friends, but I didn't believe him much. They seemed like a couple of guys having a good time at this tourist's expense. It was good-natured and Dan and I got a couple of giggles out of it later. Especially when we got our pictures back and saw the shot of these two. Lock up your daughters.. Jason and Chad are in town!
After about 30-40 minutes out at the pool, we'd had enough heat for the day and headed back inside. Dan wanted to check out the House of Blues and I wanted to get a slot club card. I signed up and met him at some video poker. We played for a little while, but the heat had gotten to me and I needed a break. I think we only played about 20-30 minutes and then we left.
Dan got the car from the garage while I cashed in our coins. He picked me up at the valet which was still full and jammed with limos and taxis. We jumped onto I-15 and headed back downtown.
On the way, about a mile north of Charleston, we saw a hit and run accident just one or two cars in front of us. I didn't actually see how it happened as I looked up as it was happening. Somehow a Suzuki Sidekick ended up between a semi-truck and a pickup truck. When the driver of the Suzuki realized he was merging into a semi, he swerved into the other lane and smack into the pickup. The bounced off each other and cars swerved all over the place to avoid hitting each other.
The pickup truck (which had been in the slow lane) pulled onto the shoulder and the Suzuki pulled over in front of it. At the last second, the driver of the Suzuki accelerated back into traffic, cut in front of the car in front of us and over into the 3rd lane and was off. I saw the driver turn around to see if the truck was following him, smile and laugh at his passenger and drive off. We got the license plate number and wrote it down in my notebook. (See? Those notebooks aren't just good for writing down items in the buffet!)
When we arrived back at Main Street Station, I stopped at the front desk to ask whom I should call. I wasn't sure if Nevada had a highway patrol or what. To save me the $0.50 for a local call from my room, the desk clerk dialed the Highway Patrol dispatch on her phone.
I spoke to the dispatch officer who took down the license number and my name. She wasn't sure they would contact me because I was from out of state, but I gave them my phone number and other information anyway. They had the guy in the pickup truck on another line and seemed happy I could provide a license number. I hope they caught him.
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I was wiped out and took a 30-minute break in the room. Dan went down to catch the Fremont Street Experience (The Odyssey). When he got up to the room, I'd freshened up a bit and was ready to go out to the Venetian. |
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Again, we found the valet to be a mess. We ended up getting turned around and going back into the garage where we found another valet - the "Mall Valet" on the 3rd floor of the parking garage. We got our ticket and the guy drove away with our truck. The service was quick and I was surprised it was that easy. (Evil, scary foreshadowing music should be entered here)
It was just a quick walk past some construction and into the mall. It wasn't that pretty going in, but once we were inside, it was gorgeous. Venetian has taken that fake sky that I like so much in the Forum shops and put it in their own mall. I like the effect, but I still think that Forum shops does it better.
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We heard singing and found a gondolier with an Asian family in his boat. I don't know why, but I feel like that's a little bit corny. I think that if it were less expensive I might be able to get more enthusiastic about it, but $20 a couple seems too steep.
We walked through the shops to the front of the hotel. I was really surprised at the amazing details inside the building. The painted murals on the ceilings really are unbelievable.
Out in front of the hotel we saw the volcano going off across the street at the Mirage. We did some people watching out front and decided what to do next. We were in Lake Tahoe for 4th of July and had done the "Play and hour on us" promotion at Harrah's. I lost a lot of money during that hour and had received a check from Harrah's for $100 to reimburse me for that hour. We decided to walk down to Harrah's and cash in the check and put a little action on our slot cards.
We walked over the bridge and to the street and to the left past Casino Royale. I used to recommend people watch the volcano at Mirage from near the Denny's if they didn't want to be in crowds, but that doesn't apply any more. Now that's where the moving sidewalks bring you into the Venetian and it's quite crowded there.
We went into Harrah's and it was packed with people. I got in line at the cashier and turned in my check. I got my hundred bucks and we decided to each play through a $20 at video poker to put some action on the cards. I got a $20 kaluha and crème and Dan had a $20 Corona. Ouch! I guess I'm not lucky at Harrah's.
Back to Venetian with our drinks in hand. We rode up the moving sidewalks, eager to get away from the extremely drunken guy drinking out of the 40 oz. in front of Casino Royale. I also noticed that the porno guys are back with their leaflets, but only in front of Casino Royale, not in front of Venetian (there also were no pickets in sight).
At the top of the moving sidewalk, we stopped at Madame Tussaud's and talked to the security guy there with a wax Arnold Schwartzenegger. Although we never did find the time to get into the museum, I am anxious to go on another trip. It's $12.50 to get in and the interesting thing about the museum is that they encourage you to touch the figures, put your arm around them, feel them, and take a picture with them. I offered Dan $10 to tongue kiss Arnold, but he refused. Wussy!
We went up the next moving walkway and back inside the hotel. We went down the escalator and into the casino where we signed up for the slot club and found a row of Bonus Poker machines. We played for quite a while and were having a good time. I got dealt four 2's and wished I had been playing a deuces machine! Not too long after that, I got dealt 4 aces for $100! Hurray! We had put in $20 each and cashed out $187.50. Not too bad. I think I like the casino at Venetian.
By this time it was nearly 11 p.m. and Dan was starving to death since the only food we had was a sandwich in the room at 1 p.m. We went into the stores to try to find a restaurant. Apparently the food court is not yet open and the taqueria was closed for the evening. They told us there was some Italian restaurant that was open late in the Something-something Square if we just kept walking. We got there to find it was closed too.
The only thing open was the coffee shop and Dan didn't seem pleased, but any kind of food was all right with him at that point. I knew some things about the mere "coffee shop" that he didn't. I knew he would be pleased. We made our way back down to the casino level and found the Grand Lux.
We were seated promptly inside and it wasn't long before we had chosen. Dan picked the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which was more of a wrap, and I chose a small quesidilla from the appetizer menu, as I wasn't very hungry.
While we waited for our food, we talked about the differences between Mandalay Bay, Bellagio and Venetian. I still think that I like Mandalay Bay the best, as I feel the most comfortable there. Of course that opinion might change as Venetian is finished and as Mandalay Bay ages. Circus Circus (now Mandalay Resort Group) doesn't have a great track record for keeping up their resorts. Check back with me in a year and see if I still feel the same way. I have to admit that the problem with Mandalay Bay is the location. It's made a bit less of a problem with the monorail to Luxor and Excalibur, but it's still very far south of everything else. There isn't anything quite like that center strip location and that's a big drawback.
Of the three, I think that Bellagio is my least favorite. I think that Venetian is trying to do something wonderful and is almost there. I think that once it is finished and all the shops and restaurants are open, they will have more appeal. Of course, Paris will be open by then and I think they'll have some pretty stiff competition.
Don't get me wrong, I love some of the things about Bellagio, but I don't look forward to my next visit with anticipation like I am with Venetian and especially Mandalay Bay. I love the fountain show, but there's not much else that appeals to me there. The restaurants are mostly out of our budget at about $75-100 for two and we're not keen on buffets. The slot club won't give us credit for our $0.25 video poker play and the rooms are more money than we want to spend when we get free room offers from Rio and Main Street Station. I'm sure we'll be going there in the future, but I'm not sure if we'll drop any significant amount of our budget there.
Dan pigged out on the bread the waiter brought and when his huge platter came with his sandwich and a mountain of fries, he was afraid he'd made a mistake by eating so much bread. The plate was huge and the sandwich was gargantuan, but that didn't stop Dan from digging right in.
My small quesidilla was about 6 inches across, but it was about 2.5 inches thick! It was several layers. On the bottom was a tortilla, then some shredded chicken and some sort of sauce, another tortilla, cheese and tomatoes, then another tortilla and a black bean concoction. The whole thing was topped off with another tortilla, some sort of cheesy sauce and corn salsa and fresh sprigs of cilantro. It was very big for an appetizer and delicious!
We had a wonderful meal and enjoyed talking about what we'd seen and done and our thoughts about the clientele Vegas is trying to draw now. We had a mild disappointment when Dan found a hair in one part of his sandwich, but it didn't bother either of us as much as you would think it would. In fact, it was a big joke with us for a while. Maybe we were just too tired to fight, or maybe we were having too much fun to be upset about it.
Surprisingly, our dinner with drinks came to a whopping $24.95. Not at all the price I would expect to pay for something so yummy and in such a nice setting. I recommend the Grand Lux to anyone who's in the neighborhood. Bring your appetite because the portions are HUGE!
By this time it was well after midnight and we were ready to go to sleep. We walked back up through the mall and out to the parking lot. We got to the Mall Valet to find a sign saying that we needed to go to the front Valet to pick up our car. I think they probably should have mentioned to us that they close when the mall closes at 11 p.m. I was exhausted and parked my butt on the bench. I told Dan to go get the car, as I wasn't walking another step.
He left the doggy bag with the remaining piece of his sandwich and the camera bag with me and went to find our car. I watched what appeared to be 5 construction guys remove and repaint a handicapped parking space for about 15 minutes.
From where I was sitting, I could see the valet going up and down with the cars coming in and going out. I was wondering if I'd see Dan's car going out. I did. At one point, one of the valets stopped and asked if I was waiting for my car. I told him that I had sent Dan to get it and that I'd just seen another valet get into it, so I was fine. They were very nice.
The valet who brought down Dan's car had to come back up with him to remove the barricades to get me out. We tipped him and extra couple bucks for the effort. We drove down the strip towards downtown and got to Main Street and our bed about 1-1:30 a.m.
