Thursday – June 1st, 2023
Our last full day in Vegas and finally today we didn’t have anywhere we had to go or anything we had to do it was all by choice. We had the Go City Las Vegas Pass and intended to make full use of it. But to start the day off we had a 2-for-1 voucher to use at the Excaliber Buffet. So we started by heading over to that.
Excaliber Brunch Buffet
The Buffet at the Excaliber has emerged as a bit of an unlikely hero in the Las Vegas Buffet Wars. Once upon a time, pre Covid, The Excaliber Buffet was essentially unknown. No one would venture down here just for a low-cost less than average Buffet. But with so many Buffets closing post-Covid the Excaliber has emerged as one of the best that remain. It’s leaped ahead of many other options such as MGM Grands and Luxor as the best, low-cost strip Buffet.
It’s not hard to see why. We dined on Fresh Mexican Taco, Various Oriental dishes, Great Carvery meats including a freshly cooked Brisket that literally vanished in seconds, fresh omelets, Pizza, Seafood, Breakfast Items, and just about everything you expect from Buffet. All hot and fresh. It wasn’t amazing, but for the cost, the quality and variety were really good. Then there was Dessert.
The fresh Crepes were to die for and there were loads of dessert items on top such as Pies, Cakes, Cookies, and pastries. The price was also really reasonable and with our 2 for 1 My Vegas it was a bargain. Compared to Bellagio Buffet, at well over twice the price it was an absolute Steal.
Following this we also had 2-for-1 drinks at the Centre Bar. Cocktails were only $12 each which is a bargain for Vegas and at 2 for one a real steal. We had an old-fashioned and a Cosmopolitan as there was no menu so it was just a case of ordering the classics.
Discovering King Tut’s Tomb at the Luxor – $33 (Go City Pass)
After this, we headed next door to the King Tut exhibition at the Luxor. We rarely get this far down the strip so and have not been to the Luxor (or the Excaliber) for quite a while. So while King Tut’s Tomb has been here quite a while this was our first visit.
The Experience is pretty cool as a full replica of King Tutenkamuns Tomb has been recreated in the bowels of the Pyramid at Luxor. You learn about the Mummies of Egyp the Carter Excavation that discovered the Tomb and the whole process of Mummification. It’s really interesting and fitting to the location. We have a real interest in this as we are huge Downton Abbey Fans and the Real Lord Caernfon whom the Program is based on, financed Howard Carter and was part of the Expedition to find the Tomb. We have seen some of the real treasures that are housed in the Basement of Highclere Castle the house used as the setting for Downton Abbey.
Big Apple Roller Coaster – $23 (Go City Pass)
After the Luxor, we walked back up the Strip and headed to New York New York. The Big Apple Roller coaster is definitely not our favorite ride but we gave it another shot and…well it’s still terrible.
It’s a great layout but the ride is so Rough, it actually causes us to scream out in pain as the ride clatters around the track. We hoped we were just misremembering how bad it was but this ride just confirms it.
Stranger Things Exhibit – Free
After our ride we headed across the Road towards the Fly ver Las Vegas Ride, this is when we stumbled on the Stranger Things Exhibit. We are huge and of the TV Show so were really happy to see a free Exhibit in the City. Not much in Vegas is free so this was pretty cool. It was of course not really free, it’s basically a glorified shop selling Stranger Things Merch, but that’s fine by us and we were happy just exploring the fun Exhibits.
Fly Over Las Vegas – $36 (Go City Pass)
Just up the strip was the Fly over Las Vegas Ride. These attractions are popping up all over and we had just visited one in San Francisco that was not so great, not giving us High-hopes for this attraction. These are cheaper installations of Soarin at Disneyland and as such have disappointed us in the past.
The Vegas version however was MUCH better than the San Francisco ride. It’s not quite up to the standard of Soarin. But it’s pretty good. The screen is huge and the Ride vehicle fits fully into the dome and the motions and sensation of flight are really convincing. The Show that was played was also REALLY good.
There are a few options at the Fly Over, but the Pass only covers the “Wonders of the American West” film. Which was fine by us as after all, that’s exactly where we were. The show included Lots of the various places we had been already on this trip and past trips including Vegas and was really great fun.
Bellagio Conservatory – Free
After our flight, we continued up the strip and crossed over to the Bellagio as we really wanted to see the new Conservatory installation. It was based loosely (although they did not really admit this) on Moana one of our Favorite Disney Films. The Display is really beautiful with Ta-Fita rising high above the ponds spreading greenery and life throughout the Conservatory.
We always love the Conservatory Dsplays but this was the best yet and we spent quite a while just enjoying the foliage and all the little details, It was a lot quieter than a few days ago when we could barely get in the doors.
After this, despite not really being hungry we wanted to head over to Cheesecake Factory. It’s just not a US trip unless we grab some Cheesecake Factory, and we had not been yet and would not really get another chance. We just enjoyed a slice of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake and the New Cinnabon Cheesecake, bother utterly amazing,
High Roller Observation Wheel – $27.50 (Go City Pass)
Next up on the list was the High Roller. The view from this giant observation Wheel is stunning and while we have ridden it several times we still love the views we get from high up over the City.
It was great to see the Progress of the MSG Sphere, which is nearly complete and looks amazing. We also got to see another Fountain Show, and some really cool views over the City.
Madame Tussauds – $37 (Go City Pass)
The Final attraction on the Pass was Madame Tussauds. We love the Vegas installation of the Wax Museum as the waxworks really reflect the City. The rock welcomed us in with a glass of Teramana, and we explore the exhibits and had a really fun time with all the Vegas Greats.
The Hangover Bar was open, which was;t the case last year as Covid was still a thing. But we didn’t have a drink, just a selfie with Alan, and then moved on. After looking around the Venetian we then strolled back along the Strip for one last time. Timing it perfectly for one last Fountain Shoe and then back to our room to get ready for tomorrow’s departure.
We had done a lot today and had to walk an incredible amount of steps and we were not done yet. It was merely late afternoon and the sun was setting and we were getting ready to head out.
Wolfgang Puck Bar And Grill
Another My Vegas Reward was on the cards and we used a 2 for 1 Eentre at Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill in the MGM Grand. This took quite a bit of finding but once there we got a nice table and ordered some of Wolfgang’s own label wine, which we noticed came from Napa, and we are now Napa Wine Experts!
We ordered the Four Cheese Agnolotti with pink Vodka Sauce which was really delicious and the Double Cut Pork Chop which was amazing, it was like 2 inches thick and cooked to perfection. This was one meal that was really upsetting when it ended as it was so good, and to cap it off one of the mains was free. The wine was actually the only disappointment. It was ok, but far from spectacular.
Park MGM – Free Play Gambling
After an amazing dinner, we headed across to the Park MGM. We had our final 2 My Konomi freeplay to use along with a FREE cocktail at Mama Rabbits Tequila Bar, however, we didn’t realize this was weekends only.
The Last $50 didn’t go very well, I managed to just about build up to break even with just under $25 in winnings, but Kate’s night went terribly, almost nothing came up and she burned through nearly the whole $25 with around $8 in winnings.
We had a fun time, but just couldn’t get out slot machines working properly, we know it’s all totally random, but we just were not having any luck at all. We got some free Martinis and after all, we were only playing freeplay as were are just not big gamblers. We have Slot machines in every bar and pub in the UK and if we really wanted to gamble we can do it online or from our Phones whenever we want. So in Vegas, we just try and have fun rather than really caring about the winnings.
As the night Drew on the Freeplay dried up, until the second to last spin when suddenly Kate’s machine turned into a winner. It wasn’t a lot but it took us to over $100 for the night and $350 in total. Sure we had spent WAY more than that already in Vegas on food and drinks (not to mention Hotels) but it was a little bit of something for nothing!
We then headed back to the Aria where we still had a Free Drink Credit to us at the Lobby Bar. A final Old Fashioned and a Lychee Martini rounded off the evening before we hit the sack ready for departure day tomorrow.
Go City Las Vegas Pass – Day 2 of 2
- Attractions – 5
- Big Apple Roller Coaster – $23
- Discovering King Tut’s Tomb at the Luxor – $33
- Madame Tussauds – $37
- Fly Over Las Vegas – $36
- High Roller – $27.50
- Attraction Cost – $156.50
- Total Attraction Cost (2-Days) – $263.25
- Pass Cost – $159
- Savings – $104.25
Today we really focused on the Pass. This meant we saved a fortune and got to do WAY more than we would have without. Some of these attractions we have done before but they are all things we love doing in the City and most people would get a kick out of them It’s worth noting that even with all these savings we hadn’t used any of the higher value items and if we had bought one more day for only $50-60 more we would have unlocked a Premium Attraction which would have sent the value SOARING!
These passes really are great value if you are looking at doing a few attractions. There were also so simple to use. Some attractions wanted us to book a reservation in advance, which we did, but only on the same day. And all of these had ways to book when at the attraction by scanning a QR code. And apart from that every attraction we just scanned at the door or box office and were in.
And while this was a Day all about the Pass, as you can see, we did an awful lot more besides!
Walking Total – 30,064 Steps – 15.6 Miles
Today was our biggest day to date on the Steps fron, even beating the Hiking days we had in Yosemite. Our feet certainly felt it and we had some BIG days coming right up in Disneyland. At least Tomorrow would be fairly light.
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