Thursday, May 16, 2013

Fashion Show Mall: The Best Shopping On The Strip

Located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, the Fashion Show Mall is one of the best places to shop in all of Las Vegas. With hundreds of places to shop and many great places to eat, the Fashion Show Mall is a great place to visit while in Vegas. Whether you just want a bit to eat or you want to pick up some souvenirs for your friends and family at home, the Fashion Show has it all. From the many small booths and stands to the 8 large department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Niemen Marcus, and Nordstrom, there are shops of all kind at the Fashion Show Mall. In fact the only Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus stores in the whole state of Nevada are located in the Fashion Show Mall. If you forgot to bring an extra pair of socks, there are places to buy clothes. If you need a new case for your iPhone, there is an Apple Store. If you want a quick meal there is a food court. If you want a nice sit down dinner, there are fancy places to eat like Maggiano’s Italian restaurant. There are even special places where they hold special events and shows, like the fashion shows that are held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So depending on when you visit the Fashion Show Mall you may see something different every time you visit. And no matter when you visit, there is always a lot for you to see and do. There are even massage booths and comfortable massage chairs in which you can sit down in and take a break while you get massaged and your mate gets to go shopping.

With almost 2 million square feet of retail space covering 3 floors, whatever it is that you are looking for; you should be able to find it at the Fashion Show. And it is located right on the Las Vegas Strip, right across the street from the Wynn Hotel and Casino at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road, so it is close to just about anywhere on The Strip. Originally opened in 1981, the Fashion Show Mall has undergone many changes throughout the years. Currently the front of the mall looks as if a giant UFO had landed right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. Hours are 10 am – 9 pm Monday thru Saturday and 11 am – 7 pm on Sunday. However some of the restaurants have separate entrances and may be open longer hours than the rest of the mall.





Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Adventuredome Theme Park at Circus Circus Las Vegas, Fun For the Whole Family

Circus Circus’ Adventuredome theme park is a huge indoor theme park that is geared directly towards families and kids. It is like a mini Disney Land or Six Flags right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip, complete with rides and games galore. So if you plan on bringing your family to Las Vegas, the Adventuredome at Circus Circus is one of the best places to visit. Although Las Vegas is known as Sin City and historically there are not many places to take your kids in order to have fun in a safe kid friendly environment, the Adventuredome theme park is an exception to that rule. You can bring your kids and be comfortable and safe in the gigantic air conditioned dome that makes you feel as if you were outside but it has all the comforts and benefits of being indoors, such as air conditioning and less chance of being sunburned by the direct sun. Although you still may want to wear sunscreen and you should definitely put some on younger kids and make sure to limit their time in the sun whenever possible. The dome may block some of the harmful rays of the sun, but definitely not all of them, so it is a good idea for you and your kids to wear hats and sunscreen if you plan on being there all day. There are many rides, games, arcades, and much more for you and your family to enjoy in the Adventuredome. You can be sure that your kids will be safe and won’t be subjected to some of the seedier, adult oriented sides of Vegas while inside the Adventuredome. In fact, the entire Circus Circus hotel and casino is kid friendly and geared towards families. The Circus Circus is themed after – what else? – a circus carnival. With clowns and carnival games all over the place, this is one of the best places to bring your family in the entire town. So if you want to enjoy Las Vegas with your kids in tow, definitely consider staying at the Circus Circus Hotel or visiting the Adventuredome theme park while in town.

Along with some great carnival style games where you can win prizes and toys such as stuffed animals, there are some great theme park rides in the Adventuredome. You can ride rollercoasters and water rides – whatever you want to do. You can pay per ride or you can get a wrist band with unlimited rides. There are also arcade games galore that you can play and win tickets that you can put towards prizes as well. You always want to keep an eye on your kids wherever you go, no matter if it is in Las Vegas or in your home town. But in the Adventuredome you can be sure that your kids are safe going on a ride without you if you feel a little queasy going on rollercoasters and other motion rides. Just wait by the exit of the ride and they will come out as soon as the ride is over. The Adventuredome has won top safety awards from places such as the Safety Awareness Award from Recreation Engineer Inc. But of course anything can happen anywhere so always keep tabs on your little ones no matter what city you’re in.

If you visit Las Vegas during the month of October, the Adventuredome turns into what they call ‘Frightdome’ for Halloween and the entire place turns into a giant haunted house. This may be scary for the younger kids, but for tweens and teens (and even older ‘kids at heart’) the Frightdome is a great Halloween themed place to go for your Halloween frights and scares. There are many different haunted houses to visit inside, games to play, and all kinds of things to do. There are even actors around the entire complex that dress up in different costumes to try and scare visitors. As stated before, be careful with younger kids as they can get very frightened from some of these actors since they can seem very realistic in the darkness of the Adventuredome at night. Some even have real chainsaws (without the actual saw part) that they pretend to attack people with so be sure you warn your kids that it is not real before you go. But if your kids are mature enough to realize they won’t get hurt it can be a very fun place to visit during Halloween time.

Some of the different types of rides available at the Adventuredome are family rides, kids rides, and rides for larger kids and adults. The family rides are for the entire family, fun for kids and adults alike. Included in the family rides are a ferris wheel and a merry go ‘round. There are junior rollercoasters available for younger kids. And some of the larger and premium rides include bumper cars, swinging ship, laser tag, tower ride, big rollercoasters that go up to 55 mph, 4D Special Effects movies featuring Sponge Bob and Dora the Explorer, spinning rides, tilting rides, and much more.

On most days, the park is open from 11 am to 6 pm on weekdays, and 10 am to 12 midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The regular price for an unlimited ride pass is $28 and for kids under 48 inches it is $17. Ride tickets can also be bought separately. The Adventuredome has won awards from many different places, such as the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Best Family Attraction Award, Best Indoor Playspace from Nickelodeon Parent’s Picks Award, Safety Awareness Award from Recreation Engineering Inc.




Thursday, May 2, 2013

McCarran International Airport: Las Vegas' Main Airport

If you have ever flown in or out of Las Vegas then you most likely went through McCarran International Airport. The airport was named after former Nevada senator Pat McCarran. It now has 4 runways and is one of the top 25 most popular airports in the world in terms of people coming in and out of the airport. Since the airport is in Las Vegas, it is only fitting that the airport has slot machines for people to gamble when they first arrive in town or when they are waiting for their plane to go home, and McCarran Airport has over 1,000 of them. Originally the Las Vegas Airport was on the sight of what is now Nellis Airforce Base. In 1942 George Crockett built what was known as Alamo Airport on the site that is now McCarran Airport. Then it was bought by the county in 1948 and the airport was renamed to McCarran Field. Since then the airport has undergone many changes and remodels to become what it is today. It went from a small little airport in the 40’s to a huge multi-terminal international airport that it is today. In 1957 there were an average of 10,000 departures per year and now has over 500,000 takeoffs and departures each year. The airport also handles other types of flights beside just passenger flights. McCarran Airport handles over 200 million pounds of cargo per year. Military and government aircraft also use McCarran, making it the 8th in the world for most aircraft movements.

Nowadays, McCarran has many high tech amenities such as free wireless internet access for passengers who are waiting to takeoff or those who are waiting for a ride from the airport once they arrive. This is can be a great thing when you are waiting for a lay-over and you have many hours to kill as most airports and other places charge a fee either hourly or daily for internet usage. When the wireless internet network was installed at McCarran Airport in 2005, it was the largest free internet installation in the world, covering over 2 million square feet. Another new feature that helps passengers is something called SpeedCheck which lets people get their boarding pass from a kiosk instead of having to wait in line and go to a person at a counter to get their boarding pass. There are also SpeedCheck kiosks at other places where travelers frequent, such as the Las Vegas Convention Center. You can also print out your own baggage tags at these kiosks in order to further speed up the boarding process.

There are also many other interesting things about McCarran Airport that most people don’t even know about. For instance the airport was featured in many films, including the 1971 James Bond flick Diamonds are Forever starring Sean Connery. Also there is an aviation museum located on level 2 above the baggage claim area. Admittance to the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum is free, so if you are stuck at the airport waiting for your plane, you can check it out to kill some time until your flight is ready. There are also displays of public art around the airport as well as many high end lounges for the more high-end fliers.