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See pictures, get details of fun Las Vegas attractions for kids, teens & adults to enjoy together! Updated March 29, 2010. Related info--- Family-Vacation-Getaways.com HOME :: Latest News :: I-15 Maps & Info :: Las Vegas Attractions for Kids :: More Las Vegas family attractions :: Still more Las Vegas family attractions :: Madame Tussaud's Las Vegas :: Stratosphere Tower Rides :: Las Vegas Outlet Store Finder :: Las Vegas Premium Outlets :: Las Vegas Outlet Center :: Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas in Primm :: Fun Las Vegas Family Attractions!Terrific Animal Displays at the Mirage, MGM & Mandalay Bay HotelsIn the slide show above, you're viewing pictures of the Dolphin Habitat and Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this lovely setting, you will learn about these beautiful animals while spending a fun afternoon with your family. Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat
Who doesn't love dolphins?They're cute, they do tricks, and they always have smiles 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. They sit side-by-side at the back of the Mirage Hotel. You may even have stayed at the Mirage before without noticing them. But family travelers to Las Vegas will definitely want to find Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden...and put it on their "must-do" list of attractions! 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. 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! Swim with the Dolphins in Las Vegas!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. Are you interested in swimming with the dolphins at the Mirage in Las Vegas? For complete information about this program, here's a link to the Trainer for a Day Program info page from the Dolphin Habitat's website. Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden infoAfter viewing the Dolphin Habitat, you'll head to the very back of the Mirage property to enter Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden. As you can tell by viewing the slide show at the top of this page, you will see beautiful white tigers...and even rare "white lions," too! Other animals are available for viewing in the habitat, but the eyes of the crowd follows the famous felines here most closely. In the gift shop, you'll be able to find white tiger souvenirs by which you may remember your visit.Contact information for the Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage Hotel Resort--- * Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Address * Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat phone number--- * Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Hours of Operation--- * Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat Ticket Prices--- The Mandalay Bay Shark ReefIn the slide show above, you're viewing pictures of Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef. This exciting and well-decorated attraction features a series of aquarium exhibits. The "stars" of the show aren't even sharks...but the attraction's collection of rare golden crocodiles from Thailand (which appear one or two at a time.) 
The VERY attractive Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay Hotel Resort is another must-see Las Vegas family attraction for animal lovers. Sharks aren't the only animals that you'll discover here, either. Mandalay Bay's rare golden crocodiles, slithering monitor lizards, piranha tank, fragile jellyfish and touch-able rays will touch your sense of wonder, as well!The Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef features over 2,000 animals representing about 1200 different species of aquatic life. At Mandalay's Shark Reef, you'll see--- * Sharks! (Of course!) You'll view them in huge aquarium exhibits...and even walk through a "shark tunnel" where they'll be swimming on all sides! 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, too. * Reptiles---The "pride and joy" of the Mandalay Bay's reptile exhibit 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 crocs on display in the entire Western Hemisphere! In addition to the rare crocodiles, you'll see other reptiles such as green sea turtles and water monitors...relatives of the fearsome 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 get some "up close & personal" time with the 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 exhibit 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 A LOT about these sea creatures! Here's the contact information you may need for this Las Vegas family attraction--- ***Mandalay Bay Shark Reef address---3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd.Las Vegas, NV 89109 * 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 exciting Las Vegas family attraction, you may use the following link to view the Shark Reef Aquarium website. Las Vegas Family Attractions -- See Lions at the MGM Hotel!
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 1/2 inch 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 best 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. (The handlers 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 all too soon...it's 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! Several people have emailed this blog asking why they didn't see TIGERS at the MGM exhibit. That's because the MGM's free lion exhibit is strictly a LION exhibit. If you'd like to view gorgeous tigers...both golden tigers and white tigers...then you'll need to visit the Mirage Hotel. (See the section above on this page about Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden for further info.)
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* Fish---You'll see more fish species than would fit into a list! You'll find both fresh and saltwater fish in the various Mandalay Bay aquariums. One special aquarium tank is devoted to the piranha exhibit! (The staff has to feed the piranhas 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!
