We started off with muffins and coffee (tea for Rob) for breakfast again and met Chris and Em in the lobby to see where the day would take us.
We took an Uber to Circus Circus where we had a little wander around, we were a little bit early for the upstairs element so we popped into their ‘theme park’ which felt a little bit naff
We were excited to find the zoltar machine from Big (although there was no game with the coin) so I put $1 in and got a very odd fortune.
Since we walked in the door we had been bombarded by offers of ‘free gifts’ which felt a bit much especially as we were pretty sure they weren’t free!
At 1100 the upstairs circus section opened so we had a look around, the first show wasn’t until 1230 and we definitely didn’t want to wait until then. None of us had loved the vibe at Circus Circus, it felt very old and just not a fun place to be.
We headed across to ‘slots a fun’ which was basically all of the older slot machines which actually take and pay out in coins. I spent a whole $5 here and managed to get several minutes of fun
Next up we walked across the road to Fountainebleau which was a very new and modern hotel and casino.
There was no old smokey scent so we all definitely preferred it to Circus Circus.
They also had an impressive looking food court however, we planned to have lunch at Peppermill which was our next stop, sadly the wait was over an hour and we agreed we weren’t willing to wait that long.
We instead went to BuddyV’s at the Venetian where we were offered bread to start.
Rob had pizza and I had Cheese Ravioli, I think Emma had spaghetti and I know Chris also had pizza (not pictured).
We got some mocktails which came with souvenir glasses included, these were very good.
We did look at the dessert menu but there were limited options so we popped to Carlos bakery (which was opposite) for dessert. I got an oreo cupcake and don’t seem to have a photo of Rob’s.
Having walked quite a long way we took an uber back to the hotel and had another afternoon nap instead of going to the gym again!
We agreed to meet at 1730 to take an uber to The Sphere as we had tickets to the 1900 show.
We got there and found that you couldn’t get a drink or go anywhere until the 1900 time slot, literally no seats, no restrooms and if it were raining then you would get quite wet
This wasn’t made clear in the information you get sent and based on the numbers of people that arrived at a similar time we weren’t the only ones confused by this.
We waited for what seemed like forever and were finally admitted and discovered that you basically get 40 mins to try and see the ‘exhibits’ with all of the other people who have just been admitted at the same time.
It was very odd and not the best experience; I sort of understand how they were managing the crowds but it was not great especially as they confiscated Emma’s camera (she got it back at the end) – we believe it was because it was on a very small tripod but the security guy was rude and made her feel bad.
We went and bought drinks which were ridiculous ($15 for 2 Pepsi’s) but you couldn’t bring any food or drink in with you and we were all very thirsty by now.
We decided to skip the robots/exhibits as the lines were already very long and we had lost interest.
The staff were really grumpy/condescending and were yelling at people when giving directions; it was like having airport security working there!
The show thankfully was brilliant – a bit like Soarin’ but on a bigger scale and without the ‘flying’ (although the message behind the show was somewhat preachy given the venue – but I don’t want to spoil it for people).
We were all glad we had been at least for that bit, although just a warning for anyone visiting – they close all the restrooms so you can’t access them once the show finishes…. because they just want you out at this point so they can let in the next group.
The whole experience could be greatly improved by allowing more time between shows which would solve the access / waiting issues.
We walked back to the Venetian via the bridge (which had not been open when we arrived) and got an Uber back to the hotel.
Rob and I got some more cake before bed which was really good!
I am conscious that the Sphere element sounds really negative – given we were in the USA where normally customer service is excellent – the whole experience was just disappointing other than the show. I think they could make some adjustments and fix that…
Interestingly I read some reviews online after we had been (I had avoided them before the show) and many of them had the same complaints we had.
It appeared that many people had tried to walk from the Venetian but the bridge had been closed (as it was when we arrived) and that means people had to walk a very long way around. Again, this just seems weird but it seems to be a common issue so worth bearing in mind if visiting The Sphere.
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