Las Vegas With Kids: A 3-Day Plan Parents Can Actually Follow

Day 1: Strip animals and pools

Morning at the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay — 9am opening, 90 minutes, $30 adults and $25 kids. Lunch at the Mandalay food court or Rick Moonen's RM Seafood if you want a real meal. Afternoon at your hotel pool. Sunset gondola ride at the Venetian — $34 per person, four to a boat, 15 minutes indoor or outdoor. Dinner at Grimaldi's or the Grand Lux, both inside the Venetian. Bed early — the desert wears kids out.

Day 2: Off-Strip adventure

Morning at Red Rock Canyon — the 13-mile scenic drive with three easy stops (Calico Hills, Sandstone Quarry, Ice Box Canyon trailhead). Kids can walk 20 minutes at each without complaint. Back to the Strip by noon. Discovery Children's Museum Downtown for the afternoon ($16.50, three hours easily). Dinner at the Peppermill on Sahara Boulevard — the fireside lounge is a spectacle and the portions are enormous. Home by 8.

Day 3: High Roller and a show

Morning at the High Roller observation wheel — $25 daytime, 30 minutes, kids love it. Then the LINQ Promenade for lunch and the Fly LINQ zipline if your kids are over 60 pounds. Afternoon pool. Family-safe show at 7pm: Mystere by Cirque du Soleil at Treasure Island (no scary moments, tickets from $80) or Blue Man Group at the Luxor. Sleep three nights at Excalibur, New York-New York, or Park MGM — all have kid-appropriate rooms, big pools, and no casino to cross to reach the elevators.