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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 Still MoreLas Vegas Family Attractions!Las Vegas Family Attractions -- Hoover Dam and Ethel M Candy Factory Tours
I have sad news to tell you: the Sandia Family Fun Center in Las Vegas is now closed. For families who had fun enjoying each other's company while playing a round of mini golf...or trying to soak each other on the bumper boats...a trip to Sandia Fun Center was one of the highlights of a trip to Las Vegas. Sandia---we'll miss you!On the rest of this page, we'll talk about other fun family activities in greater Las Vegas, Nevada---touring the Hoover Dam and visitors center at the Nevada/Arizona border....and taking the Ethel M Candy Factory and Cactus Garden tour in Henderson, NV. Las Vegas Family Attractions -- Hoover Dam Tour
Does your family enjoy industrial tours or educational types of fun? If so, try a visit to the giant Hoover Dam!A beautiful new visitors center awaits you for your "Hoover Dam Discovery Tour," a self-guided overview of the Hoover Dam that you'll enjoy at your own pace. On the Hoover Dam Discovery Tour, you'll see--- ***A movie about how this massive dam was built, and about the wonderful difference the water from Hoover Dam has made for desert agriculture and residents of the western USA. ***All sorts of exhibits, which include maps, diagrams, photos, murals, sculpture, etc. ***A viewing of the Nevada wing of the Hoover Dam's power generators, for which you'll descend 500 feet into the Black Canyon by elevator! After enjoying the visitor's center, you'll stroll along the top of Hoover Dam, enjoying the magnificent view. Both in the visitor's center and along the dam itself, you'll find guides for asking whatever questions come into your mind---and ALSO, these guides give regularaly-schedule talks throughout the day on various topics related to Hoover Dam (also called the Boulder Dam). The new visitor's center solves the "waiting forever in line" problem by letting folks start their tour whenever they arrive...and keep going at their own individual pace. PLUS the exhibit area in the new facility is MUCH larger than the old exhibit area was. What I'm suggesting, then, is that if you haven't been to Hoover Dam in awhile, it's worth your time to take a brand new peek! Contact information for the Hoover Dam is--- ***Hoover Dam address---Hoover Dam has no street address! You can find it by taking Interstate 515 from Las Vegas. I-515 turns into SR 93..which you'll simply follow until you get to Hoover Dam...about 1/2 hour to 40 minutes. You can see a map to Hoover Dam here. Well, actually it's a map to Boulder City, Nevada from Las Vegas. Once you get to Boulder City, then it's a straight shot to the dam on the Nevada/Arizona Border. To view that map, click here to go to...
a map to Boulder City, Nevada and to the Hoover Dam.
***Hoover Dam Self-Guiding Tour Admission and Ticket Prices--- ***Hoover Dam Parking--- ***Hover Dam tour discounts! Visit the Bureau of Reclamation's web pages for the Hoover Dam to find $1 off per person printable discount coupons! You can get to that...
Hoover Dam tour web page here!
Las Vegas Family Attractions -- Ethel M Candy Factory Tour and M & M's World
The Ethel M Candy Factory tour is one of the fun Las Vegas family attractions that you can enjoy along your I-15 road trip while passing through Southern Nevada. I've already discussed the Ethel M tour itself on another page, so if you haven't read about it yet, then click here to go to the Ethel M Candy Factory Tour review on...
the Interstate 15 Road Trip Planner page!
On THIS page, then, I'll talk about something else that's fun to see at the Ethel M Chocolate Factory besides the tour: the Ethel M "Chocolate Wonderland" at Christmas time! 
During the Christmas season (starting in mid-November and lasting until the first week of January every year), the beautiful Ethel M Cactus Garden (that you see in this picture to your right) is lit with tens of thousands of colorful, twinkling mini-Christmas lights! It's so beautiful! And for those who have never seen Christmas lights on cactus, it's quite an UNUSUAL spectacle, as well! You might even want to PLAN a December holiday trip to the Las Vegas area just to see it! On weekends throughout the Christmas holidays, Santa Claus comes to greet the children visiting the Ethel M Christmas Wonderland...and strolling carols make the scene festive with their renditions of favorite Christmas holiday tunes. Practical info for the Ethel M Chocolate Factory Tour--- ***Ethel M Chocolate Factory address--- ***Ethel M Chocolates telephone number--- ***Directions to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory Tour---The Ethel M address at "2 Cactus Garden Drive" isn't much help---Cactus Garden Drive is so short that it only shows up as a tiny speck on a road map of Las Vegas! Instead, remember that the Ethel M Candy Factory is at the intersection of Sunset Road and Mountain Vista. (Those streets you CAN easily find on a map!) Sunset Road is a major street running through Henderson; in fact, it runs all the way from Henderson, NV clear through to Las Vegas Blvd. From Las Vegas Blvd, so east on Sunset Road; from spots in Henderson, such as the Galleria Mall, or the HUGH Henderson Auto Mall, go west on Sunset Road. When you get to the light at Mountain Vista, turn north 1/2 block to get to the Ethel M candy factory and cactus garden. (Don't worry---there's a sign!) Want to see a road map to the Ethel M Candy Factory tour? Then, click here to go to... a map of the Ethel M Candy Factory in Henderson, Nevada. Since you'll be in the area of the Henderson's Galleria at Sunset Mall, you might want to "make it a day" by adding the mall to your itenerary. This large mall has 4 great "anchor" department stores...Macy's, Dillard's, JC Penney's and Mervyn's...plus a wide variety of specialty shops featuring merchandise of interest to all age groups in your family. Young kids will especially love the mall's Build-A-Bear Workshop! Note for old-timers, like myself---We used to "make a day of it" by enjoying all of the factory tours in the area. Sadly, though, the other tours are no longer in operation. They were the Kidd Marshmallow Factory tour and the Cranberry World West factory tour. These were really interesting tours, and it upsets me that the short-sighted individuals in charge of them have deleted these great Las Vegas family attractions from the public's list of touring options! You can't miss spotting the M & M's World building. Its exterior facade is outlandishly fitted with giant decorations! Inside, you'll find 4 floors worth of M & M's products on which to feast your eyes! The star attraction of the M & M's World is a free 3D movie presentation. (However, it hasn't been in operation the 2 times that I've been there, so I didn't get to see it.) Even if the 3D movie isn't operating, the off-the-top, whimsical M & M's merchandise itself can keep you entertained for at least an hour, easily! You'll see M & M's stuffed "animals," M & M's figurines, M & M's race cars, M & M's clothing for men, women, children and babies, M & M mugs, all sorts of whimsical M & M's dispensers...and OF COURSE, the real M & M's chocolate candy around which all this other merchandise is based! You'll see M & M's in all the colors of the rainbow! You'll find M & M's gift packs of all types, and appealing to people with different sorts of interests. Can't wait to see all these cute M & M's products? Then, click here to go to... the M & M's official website! While at their website, if you sign up for the M & M's newsletter, they'll send you the cutest holiday recipe and decorating ideas from time to time. Particularly interesting is their custom printed M & M's candy, which you'll also learn about on this website. If you pay a visit to the M & M's World in Las Vegas, you'll surely want to take in the other family attraction in the immediate area. It's steps away from the free MGM Grand Lion Habitat, the giant New York New York roller coaster, and the fun Excalibur Hotel's game arcade. Families can actually spend the better part of a day enjoying these various activities centered around the Las Vegas Blvd/Tropicana intersection!
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If you've been on a tour of the Hoover Dam in the past, none of these activities may sound familiar to you. That's because the old Hoover Dam tour was a guided "hard hat" tour. It was a great tour, but if you've taken it, then you KNOW how long the lines used to get for this very popular tour! For a Las Vegas family attraction that gets nearly one million visitors each year (!), the line was only doomed to grow longer and longer with the passage of time.
While in Las Vegas, candy lovers will also enjoy paying a visit to the huge M & M's World family attraction on the Strip in Las Vegas. (The address of M & M's World is 3785 S. Las Vegas Blvd, and the phone number is 702/736-7611.) The M & M's World on the Las Vegas Strip is located near the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana. You'll find it just a few steps north of the giant MGM Grand Hotel, which makes it also in walking distance of the New York New York Hotel and the Excalibur Hotel...both of which have family activities on-site.
