The shortlist that works
- Shark Reef Aquarium (Mandalay Bay) — walk-through tunnels, about $40 per adult
- Circus Circus midway — carnival games that hold under-10s for hours
- High Roller — a 30-minute enclosed wheel with no age minimum
- Discovery Children's Museum — downtown, genuinely excellent, about $15
- Springs Preserve — botanical gardens and desert exhibits
What to skip with children
Anything that requires crossing a casino floor (legally noisy, 21+ for some routes), late-show circuits and the nightclub-adjacent pool scenes. Family pools do exist apart from dayclubs — Mandalay Bay's wave pool for example — but check the property map first.
Practical notes
- Suites help — Vegas "standard" rooms are smaller than family-chain rooms elsewhere
- Work around the heat: aquariums in the morning, museums early, outdoor parks after 4 PM from May to September
- Under-21s are barred from gambling floors but not from resort corridors and shops