Las Vegas Never Disappoints January 11-13 2025

Well, I think by now you know that we go to Las Vegas a a lot.  Actually, I'm pretty sure that over the last five years we have gone once per year.  It's easy to go to Vegas a lot because Vegas is constantly changing, so there is always somewhere new to eat or drink and there is always something new to experience or do.

This time there were four of us, my husband and I, one daughter, and our son, who recently turned 21, and was having his first experience with Vegas done the Temples Travel way.

We experienced a LOT of new things in Las Vegas this weekend and I'm gonna share them with you!

POPSTROKE:

Prior to planning this trip, I had never heard of Popstroke, but apparently there are about 13 locations around the country.  Popstroke opened in Las Vegas in April of 2024 and is located south of the strip at 6617 Las Vegas Blvd in the Town Square shopping area, so you do need a car or a rideshare to get there.  To put it simply, it is a mini golf course, with two courses, blue and black, with one being ever so slightly harder than the other.  But this is no ordinary golf course, no sir.  There are no windmills or chipped paint or water features or frustrating obstacles.  Each hole is designed like a putting green, complete with sand traps.  AND, here comes the big stuff, you can order beer, cocktails and snacks  while you are playing and have them brought to you on the course.  Definitely something about a beer or two that makes your game a little bit more relaxing and less competitive. The area is surrounded by big screen TV's so you can watch your favorite sports team while you putt all the while listening to the cool tunes pumping over the sound system.

There is a restaurant/bar onsite with some cornhole, ping pong and Connect 4 where you can relax between games.  Also quite cool is its location in the flight path of Reid International airport, so you can watch plane after plane make its final approach into Las Vegas.

Once you pay your 40$ day pass fee, you are free to golf as much as you want from 9am until closing at 12 midnight. No reservations. We spent about 3 hours here, from about 12:30 to 3:30pm and it was an absolute riot.  We can't wait to go back again.

I actually won the first round!!

Teeing up with the game in the background

FLIGHT CLUB SOCIAL DARTS:

One of the hardest thing about Vegas in the winter is what to do during the day!  Another fabulous find is Flight Club Social Darts located conveniently on the strip in the Palazzo shops.  Reservations are available but I think on this day and time (Saturday at 2pm) we could have walked in. A normal no frills reservation costs 20$ per person and allows you unlimited play for 90 minutes, which is about the right amount of time, though we probably could have played a bit more.  Like Popstroke, I had no idea this place existed before researching this trip.  Apparently it opened nearly two years ago, in April of 2023.

Everyone throws better after a beer!

So this is kind of how it works. On arriving, you are directed to a bay with seats, a dart board, and a digital screen.  Anyway, the server goes over the six or so different dart games you can play, takes your drink order and away you go!  All scores are electronically registered somehow by the dart board, so there is no need to keep track of score.  There is also a screen above the dart board that lets you know who is up and how all are progressing.  Some games are quite a bit harder and more frustrating than others, particularly ones requiring you hit a certain number, so for the sake of our delicate egos, we avoided these.

Also there is some kind of camera apparatus behind the dart board that records winning throws and replays them for you with great fanfare.  Nice touch!

Darts is hard work.  We were all sore the next day.  I had a great time but I really pretty much sucked.

Some exercise in frustration!!

The fun video screen keeps score..

ELLIS ISLAND CASINO:

Now the big reason we wound up here is because I was looking for a new place to go to breakfast on Sunday.  We had been to Hash House in the LINQ for the last three or so times we had been in town and I was ready for a break from the huge portions and the very very long wait.  Look no further than than Village Pub and Cafe at Ellis Island casino, located at 4250 Koval Lane, about a 15-20 minute walk from the Venetian.  The Village Pub is literally a no frills diner, but boy, is it a great value.  We were seated right away with no wait.  My California Omelette was $13.99.  There was an 8oz steak and eggs special for 14.99, and most of the heartier protein dishes were in this range, but you could also get pancakes for 9.99.  Our total bill with tax and tip (we didn't drink) was about $90 which was a far cry from what we had spent the morning before at Maxie's (which was also excellent and highly recommended).  Everything was delicious and the service was great and it was nice to not break the bank.

Speaking of breaking the bank, if you are here for the food, you might as well stay for the gambling.  Ellis Island Casino was the only place the whole weekend I found a 5 dollar Black Jack table.  I absolutely could not resist and sat down.  The only other players were a guy and his wife who he was teaching to play, so no intimidation whatsoever.  I don't play big so I doubled my money in about 20 minutes and left the table very satisfied.

If you are going to stay for the gambling, you might as well stay for the football.  Ellis Island has an absolutely beautiful brand new two story beer garden, The Front Yard, which is ideal for a day of catching all the important match ups.  It is spacious, bright, and of course has all the big screen action you could hope for.  They run reasonable beer and food specials.  Apparently, this addition was made in December of 2019. I wonder where I have been all this time!

The games on at the Front Yard!

GO DOWNTOWN:

Ubiquitous with a weekend stay in Las Vegas is a trip downtown to Fremont Street and dinner in a great steakhouse.  We combined the two by eating at Barry's Downtown Prime located in the glittery adults only Circa hotel.  Barry's is a newer eatery, having opened in the Fall of 2020, and features the talents of Chef Barry Dakake, formerly of Scotch 80 Prime and N9NE Steakhouse (now closed) at the Palms.

Barry's was a great experience.  A friendly and helpful while still somewhat laid back staff coupled with delicious cocktails and tender steaks and yummy sides made for a sumptuous yet relaxing evening.  Barry's also has a DJ of sorts playing some upbeat modern music, but the music adds to the vibe and is at a volume level that does not impact your ability to have a conversation (a big pet peeve of mine).

We were dressed nicely, but a lot of people weren't-hoodies, shirts with logos, etc, mostly guys.  Lame and classless.  It was a nice place and people should show enough self respect to dress nicely.  Soap box.

Anyway, the four of us shared a 48 (or thereabouts) oz Tomahawk steak and a few sides and a bottle of wine we brought from home ($50 corkage fee).  We also had cocktails.  We refused dessert, but our darling server Edgar comped us a serving of sticky toffee butter cake simply because he felt like we couldn't leave without trying it.  Another nice touch, the chef came by and made sure we loved our meal.  Gosh, I love that!

We always have fun on Fremont Street

STRAY PIRATE:

Once again, prior only to preparing for this trip, I had never heard of Stray Pirate.  Well, maybe that's because it opened its doors in October 2023, not too long ago.  Stray Pirate is located in the Arts District at 1321 S Commerce St., sadly not walking distance from anything, so a rideshare is necessary. The storefront is not well signed and it is easy to miss.  Maybe a good thing because this place has the potential to be far more popular.

The drinks at Stray Pirate are inspired by award winning bartender Christopher Gutierrez, who has proven himself by showcasing his talents in other downtown Las Vegas establishments, and let me tell you the drinks are inspired! The four of us had a great time here, trying as much variety from the menu as we could muster, including "Goonies Never Say Die", a Mai Tai, a Zombie, a Stray Dog Grog, and an "Old Man and a Swizzle!  

The decor is darling.  Honestly I must preferred this place to another go to tiki bar- The Golden Tiki, which is well, er, cough, not very tastefully decorated.  The servers are great at the Stray Pirate.  No food except for popcorn and bar mix.  A little food would be nice.  Maybe this will come about some day, but if there is no kitchen, there is no kitchen.  

Try the Stray Pirate!

CONSTRUCTION:

One additional word.  As per always it seems, there is a lot of construction going on in Las Vegas.  There is always something new here.  The biggest thing going on is the tear down of one of our old favorites, the Mirage, which is making way for the new Hard Rock Casino.  The Mirage was a dang  big piece of real estate, so this big space is quite an eyesore and its right across the street from the Venetian, where we were staying. The first room we were given, an "upgrade" to a room with a strip view, was a strip view of the demised Mirage.  Yuck. We got another room, even though we had to wait for it.

The casino formerly known as

The Mirage

No more lights.  No more volcano.

The front of the Flamingo is being redone.  Also the Tropicana has been "blown away" to make room for a new baseball stadium, where apparently the A's are going to play.

OKAY, that's it for now! Thank you for reading this post.  We are off to Costa Rica now and of course I will post on that too.

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @ TemplesTravel.  Scan the QR Code below....

And here are some pictures!!

Back to Disneyland. There's always something new!

 

My children left us as empty nesters in August.  Besides the usual feelings and adjustments that this life event causes, it left us certainly with a new approach to travel, as it now was going to be hard to negotiate having all three "children" available at the same time.  Well, the ubiquitous family trip to Disneyland was going to happen, so we made it happen when my "students" were off for the week of Thanksgiving.  This was the first time in many years that we were coming during the "Christmas Season," (which in Disneyland begins around Veterans Day) and to boot the weekend before Thanksgiving, which we knew would be busy.  By now, we are seasoned Disneylanders, but every time you go there is something new to report so here goes:

VIRUTAL QUEUE:

We have been coming to Disneyland for years and years and never had to make use of the virtual queue until we came for a single day in September earlier this year.  Virtual queue is usually employed when a ride is brand new and thereby extremely popular.  The day we went in September virtual queue was in place for Haunted Mansion Holiday, as they seemed to be doing some construction and expanding the queue area.  As Tiana's Bayou Adventure made its grand opening just one week before we left on November 22nd, a virtual queue was also in effect for this new and very popular ride.

So this is how it works. At seven am you can join one virtual queue only for a park in which you have a reservation for that day.  So if the park is employing two virtual queues, you need to choose.  If your reservation that day has you starting in a park where there is NO virtual queue, in this case DCA, you cannot join the virtual queue until NOON, and then you still need to choose.  You cannot join the virtual queue for the other ride with a virtual queue until you have redeemed your first virtual queue pass, and there is no guarantee that space in the virtual queue will remain.  Once you join you are given a boarding group number which later will be announced on your phone through the Disneyland app, but is does go in order so it is pretty easy to make plans around your boarding group number.

The first day we got immediately in the VQ for Tiana's Bayou Adventure at 7am on the dot.  It took a long time for them actually start calling the boarding groups but once they did, we seemed to be in group 84 or so.  Then when we went to redeem at about 11am or so, the ride broke down and we were given a Lightning Lane pass to return.....when the ride was open.  Well, we rode this finally after dinner, like 6pm.  We immediately tried to get into the VQ for Haunted Mansion Holiday, which gave us a number like 198 and reported there were no guarantees we would be called but we did get called anyway.

The second day we started in DCA so at NOON we were able to request Haunted Mansion Holiday (our choice, not so enthused about getting as wet as we did the day before on Tiana's.)  I don't think we rode until after dinner again, and by the time we got on, there were no spots left in the VQ for Tiana's.

Here we are, NOT standing in line
at Tiana's Bayou Adventure

There are a few good things about the virtual queue: 1)  You can spend your time walking about the park and experiencing other attractions instead of standing in line.  Disney likes that while you are not standing in line, you can spend your money in other parts of the park. 2)  Virtual queue is open to everyone with a park reservation without an additional upcharge.  This pretty much guarantees that with a little advanced planning on the part of the average Disney patron, the new fun ride is not just for those who have money to burn on the lightning lane add on.

The only disadvantage is that you have to be on it--even down to just knowing a VQ is in place.  I found out less than a week before we left about the VQ on Tiana's.  I saw people turned away from both VQ rides, as the VQ makes it so there is NO standby line. Period.

We found out that the VQ for Haunted Mansion Holiday ended the day after we left and returned to being a ride covered by Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

TIANA'S BAYOU ADVENTURE:

So here's the moment you've been waiting for.  The beloved Splash Mountain was taken out of commission at Disneyland on May 31, 2023 to make way for the overlay of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which as aforementioned opened November 15th, 2024, which runs the same track with a different story and theme.

The reason for the change was, as is common for many changes in Disney rides (i.e Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean---you can see my comments on those changes here and here), is in keeping with Disney's attempt to be more progressive and inclusive.  Anyway, Splash Mountain did not offend me, it was all animals so I don't know how that was non-inclusive, and the story of Tiana's Bayou Adventure just confused me, especially like why the drop particularly was part of the story...

Well, I only got to ride it once, so it may need to grow on me to be fair.  One thing is for dang sure, we all got way more wet than we ever got on Splash Mountain.

We were already wet,
and we got wetter!!

FIREWORKS:

So super cool that I hate to even give away this secret.  Now you can watch an equally impressive fireworks show nightly from Galaxy's Edge, called Fire of the Rising Moons.  Apparently, this started in April, but somehow we missed it in September when we went. Anyway, you are actually watching the same fireworks show that is going on on Main Street, but your show is set to the iconic music of John Williams and the pyrotechnics are exploding behind the Millenium Falcon and the mountain peaks of  the Black Spire Outpost.  While thousands are crammed onto Main Street watching the same ol' Christmas show we have been watching forever, you are in Galaxy's Edge with plenty of room to spare, in Star Wars heaven.  And to boot, you walked up at 9:28pm and claimed your spot for the 13 minute show beginning in 2 minutes.  

This show was so beautiful I almost cried, no kidding.  The second night we were in exactly the same spot, ready to watch again.

ALL TECH.  

So here's something else.  The only person who survives a day in the Disney Parks is the person who has a firm handle on the use of the Disneyland App.  

The Disneyland App is your connection to your whole day.  It has your tickets and your dining reservations.  It has wait times and operational status of all the rides in both parks.  It's your method of mobile ordering at park eateries and snack carts.  As I mentioned, it is how you get your spot in the virtual queues and how you are notified it is time to ride.  The app is also how you purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass and Multi Pass (if you didn't already add this on) once you are ready and then is how you reserve your lightning lane times.  

I don't need to spell it out for you.  Managing Disneyland without the app is nearly impossible.  It saves time and disappointment.  Do not approach Disneyland without a good knowledge of how to use it unless you want to spend your day doing two things you already are doing plenty of-WAITING and WALKING.

And you better have your battery pack with you, because if your phone runs out of charge, that is the end of your lifeline.

SO EXPENSIVE:

Do I even need to bring this up?  Disneyland just gets more and more expensive.  All the add-ons to an already very expensive ticket are just going through the roof--but everyone knows the advantage to having them so they buy them anyway.

Better enjoy, cuz it's gonna cost you!!

The basic one park per day ticket is $165 per day if you go for two days.  Add the park hopper feature (which allows you to go between parks and is nearly essential because there is not enough to do in DCA for a whole day) and that is 85$ more--now, if my math is right we are up to $415 for two days.  The Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which we bought both days, was 36$ on Saturday and 39$ on Sunday.  I remember when Genie Plus (as it used to be called) was 20$ and I thought THAT was ridiculous.  Any chance you want to add on single ride lightning lane passes for the rides NOT covered by the Multi Pass so you don't have to get there at rope drop or wait over any hour?  Well, that too is gonna cost you--22$ per person to ride Cars and 27$ to ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure or Rise of the Resistance. Note that these do fluctuate somewhat depending on the day but you get the picture.  These used to be 15$.  Gotta draw the line somewhere--we don't buy any of these.  But you see, now your ticket is basically about 235$ give or take each day, and you have not bought anything to eat yet.... Blue Bayou cost the five of us nearly $500..no joke.

RIDES BREAKING:

With the increased technical nature of the rides at Disneyland comes the greatly increased frequency of

rides breaking down.  Rides being "temporarily closed" has become such a common thing that it becomes part of your daily planning-in other words, unless you want to waste a lot of walking you might want to check that that ride you are headed to across the park is even open.  Most of the newer rides are down at some time during the day, and many of the older ones too.  Cars in DCA and Rise of the Resistance are almost NEVER operational at rope drop, leaving the stampede to regroup and form an alternate plan.  

We have kind of a family joke now at how many rides we have either been stuck on for some length of time or actually evacuated from, giving us a new perspective of these rides, as the music stops and the lights go on.  We've been stuck on Indiana Jones, Cars, Space Mountain (that was cool), and actually removed from Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland.  This weekend, the new addition to the list was Mr Toad's Wild Ride, on which we barely got through the first bend before all the black lit characters became lifeless paintings as we sat trapped in our buggies.

This weekend we saw the brand new Tiana's Bayou Adventure being evacuated....twice.

Anyway, I think this weekend just about every Lightning Lane ride was down for some portion of the day.  When several rides are down, other standby lines get longer.  Once in DCA, so many rides were broken we were at a point we were just like, "what CAN we ride??"

Well, I have taken quite the opportunity to gripe about what gets under my skin at Disneyland...

Is the still the most magical place on earth...well, yes, it is!  I'll likely be there next year with another report!

Merry Christmas from Disneyland Resort