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Stay at MGM Grand, or New York, or Excalibur or Luxor.
There's a tram between Mandalay Bay to Luxor to Excalibur.
From Excalibur, you can walk to NYNY and MGM via over pass walk way.
Luxor, Excalibur, NYNY and MGM has arcade / kids entertainment inside.
Stuff for kids to see?
Luxor is a pyramid, and they have some rides inside (not roller coaster).
Excalibur is just an upgraded Circus-Circus.
NYNY has a Coney Island place, and a roller coaster inside. The food court is kinda cool also.
MGM has some lion exhibit that is free, and an arcade. They closed down their disneyland type amusement park.
In the corner of the MGM building, there's M&M World, and Gameworks arcade game.
Other hotels worth driving to for free:
Bellagio water fountain show outside, and their seasonal themed indoor garden is nice also.
Treasure Island pirate ship show
Mirage volcano fountain show
Driving on the strip to see the buildings, including the Eifel tower, and Ceasar's Palace.
Venician has a gondola ride, but its not free.
My kids enjoy most is the pool and just relaxing. The last time we went there, we stayed at the M hotel which was new but 5 miles away from the strip. It was less crowded and we liked the pool with lounge chairs in the shallow water. And the pastry shop had great treats.
I would second either the Grand Canyon or California (San Diego is nice - the Wild Animal Park is totally cool; also the central coast is beautiful as someone mentioned). Since the tix are free, I would take the opportunity to see a part of the country that is totally different from where you live. If sounded like you were trying to avoid overwhelming at least one of the kids with sensory overload so I'd probably avoid some of the busier places until they were older and more equiped to handle the trip and enjoy it. I would agree that Santa Fe is probably more adult/artsy....
I would agree that Santa Fe itself is more artsy and more adult-oriented, but it's still worth considering if you are willing to rent a car and explore the surrounding areas. The kids should like visiting downtown Santa Fe (I have good memories of eating corn in the plaza) and historic places like the Palace of the Governors. The really family-friendly options, though, are the national (and maybe state?) parks (and at least one living history museum that I know of) that aren't far away. If you do go with the Santa Fe option I'd think of it more as "New Mexico" in focus, rather than just Santa Fe. We ended up actually liking Albuquerque better than Santa Fe because much as I liked Santa Fe's architecture, the historic core itself was a little too gallery-focused for my taste.
Yellowstone is a great suggestion, but it's pretty hard to fly into..the closest major airport is probably Denver or Salt Lake City. I second the San Diego idea, we went there over spring break 3 years ago and had tons of fun..there's the beach (that water isn't exactly swimming temperature, but it's nice for walking on..), the zoo, and we tried the San Diego Wild Animal Park which is about 30 minutes north of San Diego. That was tons of fun! Another idea is Phoenix, AZ. We went there last year..we flew into Phoenix, drove up to Sedona, stayed overnight there and then walked around the beautiful red-rock formations. The next day we woke up yearly and got to the Grand Canyon at about 8:30, toured it and then drove back down to Sedona, stayed there overnight again, drove down to Phoenix the next morning and spent the remaining 4 days of our vacation in a really nice hotel in Scottsdale (there are lots..). It was a GREAT vacation because we got to see the beautiful Grand Canyon & Sedona, plus it was kind of a big city/resort kind of vacation as well.
Depending on when the kids spring break is, there may still be a fair amount of snow on the ground at Yellowstone. We usually can't get in on the road to open up our cabin just outside the park until May. My spring break in school was usually the last week of March. I don't think that early in the spring is the best time to see Yellowstone. I don't know the weather patterns for Rushmore, but I would guess that March/April would be pretty cold there too. If I were going for national parks, I would definitely hit somewhere further south.
We went to Albuquerque/Santa Fe/Taos when I was 11 and my sister was 8, we loved it. Yes, it would depend on the ages of your kids but I clearly remember visiting four corners and art museums.
Yellowstone is a great suggestion, but it's pretty hard to fly into..the closest major airport is probably Denver or Salt Lake City. I second the San Diego idea, we went there over spring break 3 years ago and had tons of fun..there's the beach (that water isn't exactly swimming temperature, but it's nice for walking on..), the zoo, and we tried the San Diego Wild Animal Park which is about 30 minutes north of San Diego. That was tons of fun! Another idea is Phoenix, AZ. We went there last year..we flew into Phoenix, drove up to Sedona, stayed overnight there and then walked around the beautiful red-rock formations. The next day we woke up yearly and got to the Grand Canyon at about 8:30, toured it and then drove back down to Sedona, stayed there overnight again, drove down to Phoenix the next morning and spent the remaining 4 days of our vacation in a really nice hotel in Scottsdale (there are lots..). It was a GREAT vacation because we got to see the beautiful Grand Canyon & Sedona, plus it was kind of a big city/resort kind of vacation as well.
Take them to Tucson, Arizona. First, visit the Sonora Desert Museum, then visit the various desert parks and habitats in the area. The Desert is a very under-appreciated environment full of fascinating life forms.
Depending on what time your Spring break is, if you do go to New Mexico, White Sands National Monument does something special at Easter. Its south, but not too far.
I live near ABQ and my children enjoy the museums and BioPark facilities. I am sure there is stuff up north as well but it will probably still be a bit chilly the further north you go. You can also go west to Sky City/Acoma Pueblo.
If you decide to come out here, I suggest the book Fun with the Family in New Mexico - it gives not only descriptions of things to do by region, but also details the appropriateness for different ages of children and gives explanations why so you can also decide on your own whether it is too much for your kids or not.
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