Las Vegas – Disneyland for Adults

Vegas Baby!!! Sin City! Disney Land for Adults! This city is known by many names, and it’s one of the most prominent party travel destinations in the United States. But does it really live up to its hype?

Fun Things About Vegas

There are plenty of fun things about Vegas. You can carry your drink around with you outside in the streets! Isn’t that fabulous? There are nightclubs, bars, restaurants, shows, and gambling; the list is endless! Actually, the list isn’t infinite. There are a few novelty museums and attractions in Vegas, but that’s about it.

Related: Heading to Vegas? Get the best deals on flights and hotels with Skyscanner!*

 

Sin City is Over-Rated.

Booze and Games

There are only two main things to do in Vegas – Drink and Gamble. Both will cost you quite a bit of money. If you love gambling – love the slot machines, the sparkling lights, roulette, Texas Hold ’em, Craps, and all of those games, then Vegas is the city for you. No other city in the country can rival the gambling experience of Vegas. Well, maybe Atlantic City can, but I’ve heard it’s somewhat scuzzy. I’ve never been, though. 

Party Time!

Vegas has also done an excellent job of marketing itself as a party city. I guess this is true, almost every casino also has a club (lounge) or a bar that you can party in, but these clubs aren’t much different from those you can go to in your home towns or any large city. They also tend to be more crowded and more expensive. I tried to go dancing at one of the Casino clubs, but it was jammed so full of people that I could barely move. That isn’t dancing.

 

If you are going to Vegas for the party atmosphere, you could save yourself a lot of time and money by taking an Uber to your nearest city or college town, bar hopping there, and taking an Uber back. You get the party, don’t have to worry about driving, and don’t have to pay for a plane ticket or a hotel room. You can have just as much fun at a club in Kansas City as at a club in Vegas (I actually had more fun at the KS bars!). The saying “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” is just a marketing scheme.

*Cough Cough!*

Another downside to Vegas (to me, at least) is the smoke. Nevada is one of the few states that still allow smoking indoors. This will be great news for you if you are a smoker, so enjoy Vegas! If you are not a smoker and come from a city that bans indoor smoking, this will be a great shock. And it will not be pleasant.

Related: Road Tripping to Vegas? Check out the Canyons of the Ancients on the way!

Buy all the things!

Vegas is also very well known for its shopping. There are some vast malls in Vegas, most of which have all of the fancy designer stores you could imagine. It’s fun to window shop and imagine, but most of the items in these stores are priced far beyond the reach of any middle-class shopper. The malls cater to us poorer folk, too, though. They have H&M, Forever 21, and all the other typical mall stores. But I have all of these stores at home too. I don’t see the point of going to Vegas to shop.

Misery

Vegas in the middle of summer is miserable. The heat is incredible. You can hardly walk a block before being overcome with dehydration. Mixing alcohol with this heat is dangerous. The place to be in Vegas in the summer is the hotel pool. Most hotels have a nice pool with a great bar and cabanas.

You have to rent a cabana well in advance for who knows how much money (more than I can afford!). Many hotels also go so far as to make you rent a beach chair! I mean, I don’t hate because I understand why. The pools get very crowded very fast. Unfortunately, a fun pool party quickly turns into shoving as many bodies into a pool as humanly possible. It’s the only way to beat the heat, and it’s gross.

Seriously Though, You Should Go

Despite all of its downfalls, I recommend that everyone go to Vegas at least once. The shows are spectacular. I highly recommend the Cirque Du Soleil “Love” show (but I am a Beatles fan). The other Cirque Du Soleil shows I have been to have all been fantastic.

It’s also fun to see the dancing fountains of the Bellagio, the Pirate show outside of Treasure Island, and the dancing light show of Old Town.

The buffets are ok, they give you a lot of bang for your buck, which is nice, but the fancy restaurants are somewhat overpriced and pretentious.

A significant advantage to a vacation in Vegas is all the cool stuff nearby. You can visit Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, take a lower Antelope Canyon tour, and visit many other incredible places using Las Vegas as a starting point. There are tons of great day trips you can embark upon from Vegas, and those are probably the best reason to visit the city. 

Related: Heart set on Vegas? Check out all the fun activities to do during your trip here!*

As for the city itself, I guess the slogan “Disney Land for Adults” is rather apt. It is touristy, expensive, crowded, and fun for the first day. But, much like Disney Land, the magic fades, and it gets old fast.