Trip Report 5/28-6/1 Aladdin (Long)

Sorry this is so long, below are some highlights from our trip:

We flew out on AA from DFW early Sunday, at 7:15. and had a bumpy ride but landed fine before 8am Vegas time. (Love the way the time change works going that way.) Took a shuttle to Aladdin, which was full, but we happened to be the first stop. We were at the Aladdin before 9am. Our room wasn%26#39;t ready and it wouldn%26#39;t be until 1:30pm, which was disappointing, but understandable since we were so early. I asked very nicely with my sweetest smile if we could have a room with a fountain view. I was politely told that I could for an extra $30 a night (not $20 as I had expected). Needless to say, we declined the offer.

We checked our bags and went right over to La Salsa Cantina in the Desert Passage Mall for the $2.95 breakfast special. Service was great and the food wonderful, well worth the money. We then set out to see what we could see. Walked down the strip, went into the M%26amp;M store. Found some terrific deals on the fourth floor where they have the clearance merchandise. Bought a couple T-shirts and baseball caps for about $4 a piece. Some of the stuff wasn%26#39;t great, but if you look you might find something. (There is a Bank of America ATM on the 4th floor where you can withdraw money for no fee if you are a BOA customer)

Went by the 1/2 price ticket booth in the coke bottle and got tickets for $46.00 each to see Hairspray that night at the Luxor. When you buy the tickets at the 1/2 price places, they tell you to go to the box office asap to get the best seat assignments and tickets (they give you vouchers at the 1/2 price place). So we went to the Excalibur to catch the free tram to the Luxor to get our real tickets. We ended up geting great floor seats, even though we only paid for mezzanine. Stopped along the way and played a few slots, and didn%26#39;t win anything and grabbed a hot dog at Nathan%26#39;s in NYNY.

We then returned to the Aladdin, checked into our room and freshened up. Our room faced the mountains, we could see the Hilton to the left. Not a strip view, but not that bad either. The room was very nice, clean and the bed was extremely comfortable. (The constuction was really a non issue.) We then headed out to the Luxor for the show. Hairspray was great, we really enjoyed it.

Returned to Aladdin, stopping at Cheeseburger Las Vegas in Desert Passage for something to eat - not very good at all. The burgers tasted like they had soy or some type of filler in them.

Daughter went up to bed and I stayed in the casino and played the wheel where you put a dollar bet on 1, 5, 10, 20 or 40. I started with $20, lost most of it then won back up to $34. Ended up going to bed about 2am.

Monday: Up before 7am (I don%26#39;t understand where all the energy comes from!) We went next door to Paris for breakfast at JJ%26#39;s Boulangerie. Pasteries were good and coffee was great. Walked around, going to different casinos, etc. Ate lunch at Planet Hollywood in the Forum Shops and received very attentive service and the food was great. We remained to do some shopping after lunch and went back to the room to freshen up for the evening.

Decided to go to Nine Fine Irishmen at NYNY for dinner. The food and servce were outstanding. The Shepherd%26#39;s Pie and Fish and Chips were delicious. Played some slots in the casino (no net gain) then went to the Bar in Times Square for dueling pianos. The two guys are great and it was so much fun, one of the highlights of the trip. Stayed late, don%26#39;t remember exactly until what time.

Tuesday: Again, awakened about 7am, daughter wanted to return to Paris for breakfast, which we did.

A friend at work gave me a monorail pass that she had left over from her trip last year that had 5 rides on it. We decided to go downtown and to cut down on cab fare we rode the monorail to the Hilton then took a cab downtown. We had a good time downtown, had a 99 cent shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate which was great.

Just a note: There was another group just ahead of us with a couple of boys about 12 or 13 who had to leave because you have to be 21 even to be in the restaurant section where they serve the shrimp cocktails. They had to get theirs to go.

We caught another cab to return to the Hilton (we planned to use the monorail tickets to get back to the strip, and my sons wanted stuff from the Star Trek store). The cabbie got lost, yes, he got lost on the way back to the Hilton. It cost us $8 to get there and $14 to get back. He was nice enough to only charge $10 (went ahead and tipped a little too.)

Rode the monorail back to the strip, got off at Bally%26#39;s and looked around a bit. Ate lunch at Max%26#39;s Grill in Desert Passage for lunch. The wings are great and such a deal at $4.

Went to the 1/2 price ticket place at the Hawaiian Marketplace outside Polo Towers and got tickets to Mama Mia for $55 (they were $110 tickets). Ended up getting great floor seats. The show is 2 1/2 hrs long (Hairspray was 90 min) but it is so entertaining, the time seems to fly. (There is an intermission) Since the show was long, we went to Red White and Blue at Mandalay Bay for a quick dinner. The crab cakes were okay, nothing close to the crab cakes I had in Maryland. Stopped in NYNY and MGM on the way back. Won about $18.00 in slots at MGM. We were hungry again by the time we got back to Aladdin. Had a Pink%26#39;s chili dog at Zanzabar Cafe. It was good, but about like any other good chili dog I have ever had. Stayed up late, played the wheel thing again, lost about $10 but met some intersting people and had a lot of fun.

Wednesday: (Our last full day) Planned to go to the Titanic Exhibit at Tropicana. I had heard of it before we left, and then saw it advertised on their marquee in front of the hotel after we arrived. We even called the hotel before we set out to make sure we didn%26#39;t arrive too early. Well, we got there shortly after 10am to learn that the exhibit wasn%26#39;t even open yet. They said the fire marshall had not given the okay yet. I can understand that, but they should not give the impression that the exhibit is up and running, especially since we even called the hotel beforehand. I suggested that they might add the phrase ';Opening Soon'; to their marquee, to which the clerk responded, ';well it%26#39;s not our fault it isn%26#39;t open';. She didn%26#39;t seem to get the fact they were doing false advertising. We were disappointed, but planned to catch the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Bellagio. We decided to go to the Venitian first since we hadn%26#39;t been there at all. We spent a great day just looking, shopping ,enjoying the Bellagio fountains and walked a lot as usual. We had a late lunch at Mon Ami Gabi, arrived about 3:30, had the choice of a table on the patio or inside. We chose inside right at the window with a beautiful view of the fountains. I had the filet mignon with merlot butter. It was, honestly the best steak I have ever had. Watched the fountains, played a few slots (lost) and enjoyed our last night. Stayed up tull about 2am.

Got up early Thursday, had breakfast at Max%26#39;s, a great deal at $3.99. We went back to the room packed and were off to the airport for our 11am flight back to DFW.

We had a great time, we aren%26#39;t big gamblers or drinkers, but we had a wonderful time.

Overview of Pros and cons:

Cons:

Tropicana and poor communication about Titanic exhibit

Not winning at gambling - didn%26#39;t invest much, so we really can%26#39;t complain.

Got a strawberry daquari during intermission at Mama Mia and paid $11 for it. I was mad at myself for not asking the price first. On the way back I saw that Excalibur had $11 daquaris in a huge commemerative glass - I could have gotten that, oh well...

Pros:

Mon Ami Gabi-outstanding!

Max%26#39;s Grille - wonderful atmosphere and the best bargin for the quality

La Salsa - terrific breakfast special

LeCreperie at Paris - Had the bananas foster dessert crepe-YUM

Nine Fine Irishmen

The 7-11 on the strip between the Aladdin and the Polo Towers - agreat place to get cold drinks and Slurpees (cheap) Walgreens along there also has fountain drinks available. (We did buy a case of water and a cooler at CVS for the room)

The Bellagio fountains

Dueling pianos at NYNY

Monorail - (we had free passes) the longest we waited for one was 5 minutes and it took 13 minutes to go from the Hilton to Bally%26#39;s.

The shows: Hairspray and Mama Mia. They were both great, but I would have to give the upper hand to Mama Mia.

We had a great time, and already want to go back...well, maybe not until our feet have recovered!

Sorry this is so long, I hope it helps!

Thanks,

Allie

Trip Report 5/28-6/1 Aladdin (Long)

nurseallie,

Did they give you any idea when the Titanic exhibit might open?

Thanks

Trip Report 5/28-6/1 Aladdin (Long)

Allie

great report how would you rate the aladdin overall out of 10

We were there from 5/29 to 6/3...slots were TIGHT up until 6/2 (Friday night). We had our kids, too, so we couldn%26#39;t really play too much other than The Aladdin...but we had a great time... Grand Canyon, etc. Nice trip report.

Kayla - The Tropicana told us the exhibit could open at anytime. They anticipated within one to two days, so maybe it is open by now.

Bluedog - I would rate Aladdin an 8 or 8.5 on a 10 scale. It was clean, bathroom was huge, very nice. What could have made it better? Of course, a fountain view, a room closer to the elevator and ice machine and better signage or information about checking bags. We wanted to clear out of our room, check our bags, then go eat breakfast on the morning of our departure. We took our bags to the bell desk where we checked them when we arrived, only to be told if we were leaving to go check them downstairs at the exit where the cabs and shuttles pick up riders. That was kind of a hassle.

Thanks

nurseallie, just curious, did you not gamble much because you had the kids with ya? Or just not a big gambler???

Nice report. It makes me want to try Mon Ami Gabi.

TomVegas - I just went with my daughter, who is 22, she graduated from college and this is what she wanted to do. I didn%26#39;t gamble much because I don%26#39;t know that much about it and honestly hated to loose what I had. If I understood craps I would have tried that for sure. I will learn about it before I go back. It seemed that people won more at craps than anything else that I saw while there.

Thanks,

Allie

I was in vegas for the 3rd time in 3 yrs 18/5 to 26/5 staying at the villas at polo towers which is a nice clean timeshare hotel next to mgm,studio rooms have a bed that pulls out of the wall but it,s ok for a week,if anyone is into watching live rock bands try the courtyard bar next to Harrahs,we saw 3 different bands and all very good considering they were free,also great band every weekday eve at big apple bar in new york new york,If anyone like a great day out try Annie Bannanies tours,it was the best tour i,ve done in 3 visits to vegas,a big texan guy who talks for the whole trip and was very informative of the area i.e red rock valley,valley of fire lake mead.If anyone wants any info please reply on this site

Nurseallie -- enjoyed your trip report!

Great trip report! There%26#39;s some great info here.

Thanks