Las Vegas with toddler

[Anonymous]

Hi all: I searched and found some good posts but am wondering if any of you have been to Vegas recently? My husband and I are both going to conferences in the same week but on different days so we will each be alone with a 2-yr-old. I've found a lot of good information but have some specific questions:

--are there any drop-in child care facilities?
--are there any good play areas in-doors and out?
--are there any in-door pools that we can pay a day-rate for? our hotel has a great pool but only outdoor and it will be a tad cold.

What are the best FREE activities for the toddler? for example, i hear there are sharks but am unclear if it costs money to view them at madalay bay versus mirage.

--oh, are there any great petting zoos or zooish type things. I hear the LV zoo sucks (if online reviews are too be believed

Thanks all, it's my first time and I'm really excited to go even though I am not a big gambler...

[Anonymous]

Where is the conference? Are you staying on the strip?

There are couple of places the off the strip (Station Palace/Red Rock) that have KidQuest child care, but I do not know of any place on the strip that offers drop in child care facilities. They offer babysitting service coming to your room, but we never took advantage of that.

Never seen any good play areas, but I did hear Circus Circus is enjoyable for older kids.

Mandalay Bay has the aquarium, but you have to pay to enter (toddler might be free).
TI - the pirate show - outside and free
Mirage - volcano - outside and free
Bellagio - fountains - outside and free
Excalibur - my kids loved the entire casino, but nothing for them to do there

Honestly, we went to Vegas with our kids several time and we were at the pool with them or walking back and forth on the strip. As we were walking back into our hotel everyone else was going out. And when we were leaving our hotel for the morning walk everyone else was coming back from a night out.

I would check with your hotel and see what services they have to offer.

[Anonymous]

To add a few (all free):

- The Wynn has beautiful indoor gardens with larger than life, kid-friendly (ie not scary or boring) sculptures of plants, frogs, etc
- MGM Grand has lions in a glass enclosure
- New complex City Center has a monorail between a few of their hotels/shopping center that is totally free and you can ride back and forth as much as you want with some nice views (also pretty at night)
- Bellagio has a huge chocolate fountain (floor-to-ceiling) in one of their pastry shops that my 3 yr old got pretty excited about; it's on the way to one of the City Center monorail terminals

[Anonymous]

Mirage also has white tigers