Tag Archives: Big Bus Tours

Big Bus Continues

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Soon after our stop at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop we pulled into Circus Circus.

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Circus Circus is the start/end point for the tours. Here you can change buses to go into the Fremont Street Experience, another route to malls and shopping and a return to the Strip.

We had about a 20 minute wait which meant it was approaching lunch time.  We road the Big Bus until Bally’s  where we hopped off for lunch  at Johnny Rockets in the Food Court.

Tummy’s full, we walked to the High roller outside the Linq.

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This was familiar territory because Joe and I stayed at the Linq last year when we were in Vegas.  The bus stop for the High Roller is closed due to construction and this stop at Bally’s is the closest one currently operating.

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Up to now Sandy had been insisting that she didn’t want to ride the High Roller. Sandy doesn’t like heights. The High Roller isn’t like a normal Ferris Wheel with an open seat. It’s an enclosed observation pod. Very Star Wars !

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But I wasn’t having any luck getting my point across. She had to see it to understand and once she walked under the huge pods she decided that it might not be such a bad experience.

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The whole rotation is only 30 minutes and it will be the fastest 30 minutes you’ll ever experience. It didn’t take Sandy long to get comfortable and was soon standing right near the windows to take pictures of the Las Vegas sights.

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The Big Bus (Las Vegas)

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We’ve wandered along the strip, been transported back in time with the Jersey Boys, visited the engineering Marvel that is Hoover Dam and floated on a chocolate high and we’ve only just begun our Las Vegas Adventure.

Today we wandered through the Hawaiian Market Place. I’m not sure why it’s called the Hawaiian Market Place but its right in front of Polo Towers so it was an easy walk and right in front of the  Hawaiian Market Place is the bus stop.

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We’re looking for the hop on – hop off double decker tour bus. Like the trolley tours in Boston, you buy a ticket for the day and can get on and off and ride the whole day. With the wisdom of 20-20 hindsight we should have bought the 2 day pass but we really had no idea and settled for a one day which was $42.00 each.

Being picked up at the Hawaiian Marketplace  meant that we were starting in the middle of the tour route.  The original plan was to ride the whole route and then do it a 2nd time getting on and off. It didn’t work out that way.

The guides on the tours were all good. Pointing out the sights and telling us little tid-bits about each landmark.

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Trump Tower stands alone surrounded by empty lots. There is no casino and no smoking. Some say Trump was denied a Nevada Gaming License others say he has one but chose not to put in a casino. Snopes.com , the internet truth finder,  say the rumor that he was denied a license is false. The Donald was approved for a licence in February 2004.

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The Wynn is a beautiful property, very elegant and sophisticated with lovely landscaped grounds. I was particularly interested in seeing this as Steve Wynn is trying to build a casino complex in Everett, MA. I say trying because every time he gets a green light someone throws another challenge in the way. Most recently the Town of Somerville sued because of traffic concerns.

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The bus took us into the old section of Vegas, where it all began, also known as the Fremont Street Experience.

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The Rearing Horseman marks the entrance to The Freemont St Experience  in old Las Vegas along with the iconic Golden Nugget. The Golden Nugget was originally built in 1946, making it one of the oldest casinos in the city. Our guide says the largest gold nugget in the world is on display here but according to Wikipedia it was display until 2013. Since we didn’t hop off here I can’t say one way or the other. Maybe I’ll check it out next trip . The Hotel is built around two aquariums so that would be fun to see.

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