Y’ALL. I WENT TO VEGAS!
I recently traveled to Las Vegas, NV for the first time ever, and y’all, I’m seriously a Vegas person now. The primary reason for this trip was to attend a Vegas Golden Knights game. That game was UNREAL, but I’ll be talking a lot more in detail about the game in a separate hockey post! Since I had the BEST time, I want to tell you all about it and give you my recommendations!
Check out my list of recommendations below, and scroll down to see more in depth thoughts about most of the stuff on my list!
Alana’s Trip to Vegas!
- Hotel
- Park MGM – HIGHLY Recommend!
- Restaurants
- Searsucker – Recommend
- Vanderpump Cocktail Garden – HIGHLY Recommend!
- The Crack Shack – Recommend
- Yardbird Southern Table and Bar – Recommend(ish)
- Beerhaus – Recommend!
- Giada – Don’t Recommend
- Things to Do
- M&M World – Recommend(ish)
- Big Apple Roller Coaster – Highly Recommend
- The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace – Recommend
- Vegas Golden Knights game – HIGHLY Recommend!
- Fabulous Las Vegas sign – Highly Recommend
- Michael Jackson One by Cirque du Soleil – HIGHLY Recommend!
For this trip, we stayed at the Park MGM, which is located right next to the front door of the T-Mobile Arena. It’s a new-ish hotel, built about a year/year and a half ago, and it was the perfect hotel for a hockey trip! We didn’t have to worry about transportation because we literally just walked across the sidewalk for the game. It’s also a semi-quiet hotel – at least in middle February- but still had a lot to do! Full casino, nightclub, a few bars, a few restaurants, and an Eatlay, which I am now a huge fan of!
It was a very cute restaurant, and they had some of the best fries I’ve ever eaten! (That’s something that’s very important to me.) Both of the drinks that we had – Fizzy Lifter and Golden Knight Old Fashioned – were both fantastic! My dinner, a NY strip steak with potatoes, was fine. I could probably have found a better steak somewhere else in Vegas, but that’s okay! If you’re hanging around Caesar’s and need a place to eat, I would recommend trying Searsucker.

Y’all. This was legit my favorite place that we visited this trip (besides the hockey game)! It was one of the cutest lounges/bars that I’ve ever visited, and the theming was spectacular! The list of drinks and desserts is fantastic and have the best names. I had the best creme brule I’ve ever eaten at this place, and my friend’s rose cake and the cookie board at the next table both looked just as incredible. *Two notes: Everything on the menu was somewhat expensive (usual for Vegas), but it’s totally worth it! The day we went, the lounge opened at 12pm and there was a line formed at 11:40am. Get there early, and be prepared to stand in line.

Located next to Park MGM, the Crack Shack is home to some really unique chicken sandwiches! Just a note: they do have a basic chicken sandwich – you just have to ask for it. 🙂 The food is incredibly filling, so only visit when you have an empty stomach. We came here after visiting Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, so it probably wasn’t the best time to eat a huge, filling chicken sandwich meal. *Great place to hang out before/after the VGK game!

I hate to say it because I love her so much, but I did not like Giada’s restaurant! I will admit that I’m not a foodie – I would rather eat the chicken sandwich I mentioned earlier than an elegantly plated meal of something fancy. I’m also more of a red sauce, meat sauce, or large plate of lasagna kind of a girl, and Giada didn’t have any of that on the menu. My friend got the Cacio e Pepe Bucatini and loved it! But it was honestly the service that made me not recommend Giada. It’s a super nice restaurant with nice restaurant prices, so I expect service to be great, but it wasn’t. If given the option, I wouldn’t visit again.
Yes, yes, yes! Go get on the roller coaster on top of New York New York! It’s something I had always heard about when people talked about Las Vegas, and I was very excited to ride! Don’t worry too much about it – it’s a pretty basic upside down roller coaster. Goes upside once or twice, no big drops, and doesn’t go that fast. I would recommend riding it one time first before trying the VR option!
The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign
Go do it- you know you want the pictures! But seriously – this is a fun thing to do with your friends and family! Go early in the morning. We were there around 8:30am on a Sunday and there were a few people in line ahead of us. A nice guy and an Elvis impersonator were there to help people take pictures, give them great pose ideas, and Elvis took pictures with everyone! Make sure to take a few extra dollars with you to tip them for being so great!

Michael Jackson One by Cirque du Soleil
Don’t think – just get your butt to this show RIGHT NOW! So, so, so good! It’s definitely more of a dance show than acrobatics, like other Cirque shows, but it’s still so amazing! Everyone from the performers to the ushers to the people at the concession stand are all in costume and in character. (The guy at the concession stand told me that they didn’t have Diet Coke because Michael liked Pepsi even though it tried to kill him. HA!) And the remixes of all the Michael Jackson songs are phenomenal! The storyline of the show doesn’t make much sense, but it didn’t matter. Make sure to get there early! There is a pre-show that is really fun to see!
Leave a comment below and let me know your recommendations for a trip to Vegas! I’m already planning another trip!
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