MGM Grand, Las Vegas

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If you are a collector or not, this is a wonderful place to explore for anything Coca Cola. Lots to choose from and the prices are very reasonable too. So just stroll in and explore. We always buy something here. This time we bought some glasses, coffee container, pens, and they were selling promotional t-shirts for only $5.95. So we bought one. We even enjoyed some coca cola floats. Yummy!

What is sad, is there use to be a really neat museum and a actual bottling mini plant. They had this huge fountain area set up so you could sample coca cola from all over the world. It has been gone for quite some time.

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The MGM Grand Las Vegas, which opened in 1993, is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, as a Hollywood themed resort. Owned and operated by the MGM Mirage company, the 30-floor main building is 293 feet (89 m) high and features five outdoor pools, rivers, and waterfalls that cover 6.6 acres,[1] a 380,000 square foot (35,000 m²) convention center, the MGM Grand Arena, CBS Television City, and the Grand Spa. It also houses numerous shops and night clubs, 16 restaurants, two food courts, and the largest casino in Las Vegas, which occupies 171,500 square feet (16,000 m²). The hotel rooms are located in several buildings including: The world's largest hotel building, with 5,044 rooms (4,293 rooms and 751 suites), The three The Signature at MGM Grand towers each with 576 suites, SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand with 51 lofts, The Mansion at MGM Grand with 29 villas. The MGM Grand is just that grand!

Everywhere you look information is pouring into your brain and you cannot quite figure out what’s going on. The signs tell you to go left and then right and then oh I’m confused. The hippest clubs, world class eating, amazing spa, large rooms and real life lions. If you want to see Las Vegas and completely immerse yourself in the culture there is no better place to do that than the MGM Grand. This is the mega-resort you have heard of. Upwards of 10 world class restaurants. Emeril’s New Orleans Fish house is definitely a place to visit as is Sea blue and Craftsteak., a Cirque du Soleil show and clubs and bars that will make you blush, make this resort one of the best in Las Vegas. You might never leave.

Located on the Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection, pedestrians are not allowed to cross at street level. Instead, the MGM Grand is linked by overhead pedestrian bridges to its neighboring casinos: to the south across Tropicana Avenue, the Tropicana, and to the west across the Strip, the New York-New York.

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There are two lions being kept at the hotel's casino at MGM. The lions are in a mimicked environment: rocks, trees and a waterfall. While we were there, the two lions were just fed and they were resting behind the rocks.

One of the lions, however, attacked one of the caretaker a few years ago and the MGM management tried to be more careful now.

This is where we brought my niece Sophia so she can be distracted from her tantrums while we were touring around Las Vegas. When she saw the lions, she stopped crying!

This is definitely a must see if you have children. The only problem, however, we you come here, there's not enough room to watch the lions especially since it gets crowded sometimes. And, there are not place to sit down. Sometimes you have to wait for a long time for the lions to come out from their hiding place.

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On our list of "things to do" was to visit the MGM Lion Habitat. I'm glad we did that, but I wish that the window pane you have to take a photograph through would not cause such problems. I took at least seven photographs, and all of them were "smokey or blurred" because of the scratches and murky film on the windows.

I guess I'll have to paint a picture of what we saw. First, it was obvious that the lion habitat is symbolic of the iconic MGM lion and that all the lions here were descended from the original MGM lion who was called Metro. I find that so "cool". For a free attraction, this is a really good one.

The 30 lions are usually housed at a ranch outside of Vegas and they rotate them between the Habitat and the ranch. What a life for the lions; they spend approximately six hours a shift of entertaining the crowds of visitors who wish to take their photographs. Then, the working lions go back to the ranch for a two-day vacation. Here the cats are bathed and dried to look their best for the next shift.

The baby lions were adorable and kept in a more secure area where photographs were not allowed. Of course, so they could make money, you could have your picture taken with the cubs for about $30.00 or $40.00. Needless to say, we did not to so.

On the day that we were there, it was extremely crowded, even in the lion-themed souvenir store.

Because I could not come up with a clear and decent photograph, I am using the golden Lion outside the MGM Hotel/Casino symbolic of the live creatures and a picture of the golden lion inside the Hotel/Casino.

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Celebrating the iconic MGM lion, the lion habitat at the south side of the casino complex is one of the premier free attractions of the Las Vegas scene. There are over 30 lions available, all descended from the original MGM lion, Metro. Most are kept at a ranch outside of town, with several a day transported to the habitat where they spend six hour shifts surrounded by gawking tourists to whom they have grown supremely indifferent. Each lion gets a two day vacation at the ranch between showings, then is bathed and blown dry before retuirning.

The habitat is scientifcally constructed to replicate their African homeland which of course none has ever seen -- three stories high and with three discrete levels containing Acacia trees, a pond, rock overhangs, typical native plants, and four waterfalls (best on image 4). The enclosure is by 1.5 inch thick plexiglass and includes a tunnel for visitors to look at the undersides of the lions - very big feet. Of course, a lion-themed store for souvenirs is readily available. This is a crowded exhibit - easy to understand why.

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Walk of stars on Las Vegas Blvd. On the walkway in front of MGM if you look down you should see some wonderful monument of stars dedicated to the famous celebrities of Las Vegas past and present. The Las Vegas Walk of Stars consists of four miles of sidewalk to the East and West of Las Vegas Boulevard South between Sahara and Russell.

Each star will be made of polished granite, 36" x 36", weighing 180 lbs., inlaid with the recipient’s name and specialty. As many as 3,000 stars could eventually be installed.

There are 36 stars dedicated. Some of the past honorees include Wayne Newton, Liberace, Rich Little, Frank Marino, Line Renaud, Siegfried & Roy, Vicente Fernandez, Los Tigres Del Norte, Trini Lopez, Veronica Castro, Sammy Davis, Jr., Elvis Presley, Tony Sacca, Richard MacDonald, Wayne Allyn Root, Society of Seven, Bobby Darin, Mafalda, Dick Feeney, Donny Lee Moore, Jose Jose, to name a few. Several top-star ceremonies are being planned for 2009 http://lasvegaswalkofstars.com.

Las Vegas Walk of Stars
P.O. Box 15129
Las Vegas, Nevada
89114-5129

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The lion exhibit at the MGM is free and allows you to really get close up to lions. It's very cool to see but be prepared for the crowds of people who also want to see the lions up close.

From 11am - 10pm daily.

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Yes, you may check this out at the Lion Habitat at MGM Grand. It is open daily from 11:00AM to 10PM. Trainers regularly perform presentations with the lions that will allow you take terrifc photos of the show.

I actually did not see this on my first visit to Las Vegas but definitely be considering on my next. This tip is posted as I have seen this luxurious hotel and I believe the information I gave will be of help. Moreover, for more detailed information and online reservation, visit the website I provided below.