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| - Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden was something my wife and I stumbled upon while wandering around the Mirage. Initially I think we were going to skip it but we both like dolphins so we figured $30 was a good price to see some swimming around and also take a look at some big cats. The price turned out to be a big bargain for what we saw!
Let me start off by telling you what they will say first thing when you get in: this is not a show or guided tour, it's simply a research area you get to walk through. Having said that, this was so much better than a show or tour in that there was no time limit, no impetus to move along and the animals seemed much more natural without a performance to contend with.
The Garden starts off at the Dolphin pools, where there were two adult and two juvenile dolphins that we saw being VERY active. The lifeguards at each pool periodically come on the loudspeaker and remind everyone that while there are no shows or scheduled events, the trainers frequently interact with the dolphins and this provides many chances to see them in various ways. This was very accurate, and we ended up spending a good hour or so just hanging out around the pools. The trainers would come out and feed the animals, do some medical checks on them and their presence always got the dolphins in a playful mood. They would jump out of the water, dart around and occasionally do a slide along the lip of the enclosure. In addition, there was a young woman who had paid to have the "trainer experience" and so there was even more interactivity to see. In my opinion, this was a far better experience because the animals were acting naturally, instead of a choreographed show. Very cool and the highlight (for us) of the Garden.
The big cats were a bit more subdued, mostly because almost all of the animals are nocturnal. This meant most of the cats were asleep, although the youngest ones were very active, playfighting with each other and ripping a cardboard box to shreds. Overall, very cool to see these large animals even sleeping, just not quite as dynamic as the dolphins.
In summary, this is a fantastic inexpensive thing to do for anyone who likes animals or has small children. The kids present when we went loved the dolphins, and really anyone who even mildly likes animals will get a big kick out of the Garden. Highly recommended for price, entertainment and the complete freedom to stay as long as you want and enjoy the animals. I only held back on 5 stars because there isn't much beyond the dolphins, big cats and some alpacas. Not a complaint, just a note that the range of animals to see is limited.
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