Las Vegas Trip - Day 3

The next morning was New Year's Eve. We had a lot of choices of what we wanted to do, and mutually agreed to explore the southern portion of the Strip that we hadn't gotten to the first day.  

Mandalay bay - Shark Reef

We took the monorail to MGM Grand and then the tram to Mandalay Bay and bought tickets to Shark Reef.  Again, we explored Read style,meaning we took over two hours, on a display most people breeze thru in half an hour.  There was a small touching area with stingrays that entranced Kyle.  An octopus holding a PVC pipe that I fell in love with, a jellyfish tube and more. Probably the best part was the large shark room. 

Huge 1.3 million gallon, two-story aquarium filled with Nurse Sharks, large turtles, Reef Sharks, Rays, Sawtooth sharks and more.  We found a spot on the floor and just sat and watched the incredible scene.  The previous three days had been full and busy, and it was very relaxing to just chill and watch the aquarium for a bit.  

We then went on the Polar Express, a small display about the arctic areas. 

It had some fun interactive displays, ad well as a "4D experience" that was a little silly, but still pretty fun.  

Kyle was thrilled that a casino would spend the time and space to put up a display basically warning about the dangers of global warning.  



Shops
We the explored some of the near by shops, including the Hershey store, with its Statue of Liberty made from Twizzlers and the M&M store.  But the favorite attraction had to be the Coca Cola store.  In the soda fountain area, they offer a selection called the "International", which gives a sample of sixteen Coca Cola products from around

the world.  Plus they have a "Float" sampler with eight American Coke products, each with a dollop of ice cream to make it a float. 

We were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked the Grape Fanta float.  And were all incredibly disgustedly the Beverly, from om Italy that tasted like grapefruit rind.  It felt good to sit and chill for a bit and try all the different flavors. 

Silverton Casino - Seasons Buffet
For New year's Eve dinner, we decided to return to the off-strip casino from the previous night. The kids really wanted to try a Vegas buffet, and this place had a really delicious sounding Seafood buffet with lobster and crab. Having learned our lesson yesterday about the danger of late meals, and concerned about traffic on the strip later that day, we decided to head directly from the Southern strip to the buffet, around 4pm.  We got to the casino early and I had read that there was a small buffet discount for Silverton Casino Player's Club members. So,with time to spare, Dave and I signed up for the free card... And were told that, as part of the sign up, we were given two 50% off coupons for the buffet. Sweet!!  Then, while waiting in line, an older gentlemen asked if we all had coupons to the buffet.  We told him we had two coupons. It turns out he was a local, with plans for the night, but he had been comped two free buffet passes. So he got Dylan and Kyle in for free.  So, for the price of one meal, all four of us enjoyed lobster, fish, crab and more.  And to make the deal even sweeter, they handed out NYE tiaras, hats and beads.  It felt like a total win.

Mirage Volcano and the Wynn

We then headed back to our hotel to rest before the NYE fireworks.  Dylan and I wanted to explore a bit more, so we went to check out the Mirage's volcano at 8pm.  It was truly amazing with fire, fountains and music.

I had also read about the Christmas village display at the Wynn and also wanted to check that out, so Dylan and I walked down the strip to check it out. Walking on the Strip on New Year's Eve was a really fun experience, because all auto traffic on the Strip was closed.  And since it was still early, the place wasn't packed.  So we leisurely strolled down the street, enjoying the party goers and festive atmosphere.  

The Wynn was amazingly beautiful with lighted waterfalls and the gorgeous Christmas village.  And probably the nost fun was the combination of party goers. There were the families, all bundled up to enjoy the fireworks in freezing temperatures.  But there were also the nightclub goers, in their fancy outfits of sequins and heels.  

We the headed back to the hotel to show Dave the Volcano display, but for whatever reason, the show didn't work.  He got to see one small blast from the volcano, and then in ended.  Disappointed, we returned to the hotel to warm up. 

NYE Fireworks

We had scoped out the top of the parking garage to watch the fireworks from. After Kyle's Freemont experience, we were afraid the strip might too much for him. So we found a less busy spot to view the fireworks. 

So a half hour before midnight, we left our warm hotel room and went up the elevator to the top floor of the Treasurer Island Parking garage,  It was cold and windy, but as it turned out, the parking garage was probably the best view on the Strip.  We had a full view down the Strip, and were able to see all seven of the firework displays. 

There were about 50 or so people who also had the same idea, so the atmosphere was festive, but not overwhelming.  And the fireworks display was amazing!!!

Kyle then went to our room, while Dylan, Dave and I went back to the Strip  to find a pina colada.  The scene at the hotel was crazy and festive and fun.  We returned to our room to collapse in bed.  The end of another successful vacation day!