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See pictures, get details of fun Las Vegas attractions for kids! Updated March 24, 2007. Related info--- HOME :: Latest News :: I-15 Maps & Info :: Interstate 15 Road Trip Planner :: Las Vegas Attractions for Kids :: More Las Vegas family attractions :: Still more Las Vegas family attractions :: Las Vegas Factory Outlets More fun Las Vegas Family Attractions!Super Animal Displays at the Mirage and Mandalay Bay Hotels
Who doesn't love dolphins? They're cute, they do tricks, and they always have a smile on their faces! And, if you ARE a dolphin enthusiast, you can enjoy watching these graceful animals right here in the Las Vegas desert! At the Mirage Hotel on the famous Las Vegas Strip, you'll find a spectacularly lovely attraction called "Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat."The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat are a "pay-one-price-for-both" pair of family attractions, actually. And first, we'll talk about the Dolphin Habitat; then, we'll talk about the Secret Garden further down on this page. The centerpiece of the Mirage Dolphin Habitat in Las Vegas is a 2 1/2 MILLION gallon pool where their 7 playful dolphins live and swim. You'll be able to observe the dolphins from either above the water OR from below-water-level viewing areas. And, of course, you'll want to do both! Along with the dolphin-viewing and photographing, you'll learn information about "dolphins in general" and also "THESE dolphins, in particular." It so happens that all of these dolphins were captive born and bred...some of them right here at the Mirage's Dolphin Habitat. The oldest dolphin at the Mirage Hotel's Dolphin Habitat is "Duchess." You'll be able to see a video of Duchess the dolphin giving birthe to her offspring, "Squirt," who also lives here in the Mirage Dolphin Habit. (He's now over a decade old!) Unlike at SeaWorld San Diego, you won't be able to see shows of the dolphins doing tricks. These dolphins are left alone to "do their own thing" naturally, and haven't been trained to perform. Nevertheless, dolphins are playful animals, and you just might be lucky enough to catch the dolphins doing tricks spontaneously! Just as at San Diego's SeaWorld, you'll get to work directly with the dolphin handlers and learn all about dolphin behavior in the wild---what dolphins eat, their predators, their habitat range, etc. You'll get to help prepare the dolphin's food and get to help feed the dolphins, too. And OF COURSE you'll get to swim with the dolphins! As a souvenir for your very memorable day playing with dolphins, you'll receive a CD of photos (which they'll take of you with the dolphins throughout the day) at no extra charge. The Mandalay Bay Shark ReefNext, we'll talk about another aquarium-style exibit in Las Vegas...one that features fearsome SHARKS instead of cuddly dolphins! 
If you're a visitor familiar with Las Vegas, Nevada, then you already know that I'm referring to the Mandalay Bay Hotel's "Shark Reef!" The VERY attractive Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay Hotel Resort is another must-see for animal lovers. And sharks aren't all that you'll discover here, either!The Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef features over 2,000animals representing about 1200 different species of aquatic life. At Mandalay's Shark Reef, you'll see--- ***Sharks! (Of course!)...too many different species for me to want to list them all! If you didn't realize it, not all sharks are big and ferocious...and the Mandalay shark exhibits have many of the smaller sharks in their tanks. (As well as a few bigger ones, too, of course. It's just that the Mandalay ads for this attraction always feature giant sharks, and I wouldn't want you to think that these are what you'll see most of. Actually, the smaller sharks outnumber the larger sharks by far.) The exhibit area features a walk-through clear tunnel...just like the "Shark Encounter" exhibit at SeaWorld. And, just as at SeaWorld, you'll find this to be a visually stunning and emotionally captivating way to view the sharks and their other sea friends.
***Reptiles---The "pride and joy" of the Mandalay Bay's reptile exibit are their 5 Thai "Golden" crocodiles...and with good reason! These golden crocodiles are VERY rare! In fact, the golden crocodiles on display at the Mandalay Shark Reef are the only golden crocodiles on display in the whole Western Hemisphere! In addition to the rare crocodiles, you'll see other reptiles such as green sea turtles (friends of Pixar's "Crush?) and water monitors...a relative of the Komodo Dragon. ***Aquatic invertebrates---Examples of these animals would be the eels, the rays and the jellyfish. In addition to seeing these animals inside of the aquarium tanks, you'll be able to do some "up close & personal" touching of rays, hermit crabs...and even some small sharks...at the Touch Pool! Then, to enhance YOUR education about sharks and the other sea creatures that you'll observe here, YOU'LL get to here interesting tidbits about the various animals on display...right as you walk along. Each admission includes an audio tour...which means that when you reach various stations along your self-tour, you can hear an informational blurb about what you're seeing. It's more fun than just reading the exibit signs alone! Got a question? There are highly trained employees stationed by the various exhibits, just for YOU! They'll answer any further questions that you might have...and they do know ALOT about these sea creatures! Here's the contact information you may need for this Las Vegas family attraction--- ***Mandalay Bay Shark Reef address--- ***Mandalay Bay Shark Reef telephone number--- ***Mandalay Bay Shark Reef hours of operation--- ***Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Admission Ticket Prices--- For further information about this Las Vegas family attraction, you may use the following link to view the
Mandalay Bay Shark Reef official web page.
Las Vegas Family Attractions -- See Lions!
Now---for a FREE attraction! You're looking at photos from the Lion Habitat at the MGM Grand Hotel (on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Tropicana). At the MGM Grand Lion Habitat, even a little bitty baby can safely come face to face with a man-eating lion! (Separated by a 1 1/2inch clear partition, that is...)You can view the lions in their habitat at the MGM Grand Hotel daily from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. It's really not all that big...so if it seems like a case of "animal cruelty" to you, take comfort in the fact that the maximum "shift" that a lion can "work" is 6 hours tops. The rest of the time, these MGM lions live at an 8 1/2 acre ranch, where there's plenty of room to roam. (Although, according to the trainers, there have been cases where individual lions preferred the hotel's lion habitat over ranch living so much that they didn't want to go home!) There are nearly three dozen lions in all...and only a few of them are on display at the MGM Hotel's lion habitat at any given time. Thus, each individual lion gets plenty of R & R between "shifts." The good thing about the Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel's lion habitat is that it exists at all---most people will never get this close to a lion any other way! The lion habitat is also decorated nicely, visually enhancing the main casino area not far from the MGM Hotel's front door. The bad news? Well...there's not much to see. The lions are pretty lazy and just sit around. (They informed us that lions can sleep for up to 20 hours per day!) The other "minus" is that there's generally a crowd. You'll have to wait your turn to get up close to the glass. After you look into the exhibit from the casino area, then it's time to walk through the tunnel---directly underneath of a lion, if you're lucky! This is the most interesting part of the Lion Habitat exhibit---seeing these beautiful animals as closely as you possibly can get, and feeling "totally surrounded" by lions! And then...it's all over! You'll exit into a lion-themed gift shop...which may seem a bit pushy, but at that point, the visitor really IS interested in lions. So, a look around at both the serious and the whimsical lion souvenirs is all part of the fun! Las Vegas Family Attractions -- Rare felines at the Mirage!In the Mirage Dolphin Habitat paragraphs above, I promised to explain what's in the "Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden" part of the attraction. Well, it's lions, tigers and leopards! At the MGM Grand's Lion Habitat, you'll see the more-usual tawny, yellow lions....whereas at the Secret Garden, you'll see those rare white lions and tigers that have become famous as Siegfried and Roy's trademark, pets and "friends."In addition, at the Mirage Hotel's Secret Garden, you'll see black panthers, several species of leopards, an elephant, and one other rare tiger...called the heterozygous tiger. (What's interesting about this heteroaygous tiger is that it's a traditional, gold-with-black-stripes tiger...and yet because of its genetic makeup, it's capable of producing 3 different colors of offspring: gold/black, white/black or pure white--with no stripes at all!) Can't wait to see these beautiful animals? Then, follow this link to...
www.miragehabitat.com and see photos now!
***Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Address ***Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat telephone number--- ***Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Hours of Operation--- ***Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Ticket Prices--- For those who can't affort to take the family into the Secret Garden to see the beautiful white tigers, don't worry---you're not left out completely! there's a smaller exhibit at the Mirage Hotel called the "White Tiger Habitat" that you can view for FREE! As with the lion exhibit at the MGM Grand Hotel, the tigers are rotated in and out of the White Tiger Habitat in "shifts" throughout the day. Quickly add this page to your Social Bookmarks:
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***Fish---Once again, you'll see more fish species than I care to list! You'll find both fresh and saltwater fish in the various Mandalay Bay aquariums. One special aquarium tank is devoted to the pirhana exhibit! They have to feed the pirhanas 3 times a day---just to keep them from EATING EACH OTHER! (Don't stick your fingers in there!)
On your right, you'll see a photo that I took while a lion was resting on top of a clear floor...just a foot or two above my head as I walked through the "tunnel" underneath!
