| rev:text
| - This venture was definitely worth the $15 admission price. I'm a dolphin nut, so I rarely pass up the opportunity to see dolphins. it's kind of nice to see them just swimming around and not doing tricks or anything. I did wish there was more information about the dolphins to read or listen to or something. Instead there was, of all things, a snack stand, and a gift shop (of course).
The biggest pull at the time of our trip is that one of their dolphins has given birth.... and there's a baby dolphin! I've never seen a baby dolphin so that was awesome... I wish I'd gotten a better photo of it than I did, but it was cute.
Past the dolphins you enter the original Secret Garden. They have white lions, which is quite a rare sight, white tigers, regular tigers, some alpacas (wtf why?) and a leopard. I understand that behind the chain link fences are dangerous animals, but I wish they had some other type of barrier because the chain link fences were nearly impossible to take pictures through, but I tried.
On the way in to the big cat (and oddly placed alpaca) area, standard Vegas protocol dictates that they have some employees and a "photographer" hustling your party to pose in front of a green screen to take a photo (for sale in the gift shop!). As a side note, the number of green screen souvenir photo opportunities in Vegas was ASTOUNDING.
And as you leave, of course, you have to exit through the gift shop... and the only exit back into the Mirage walks you right past the dolphin gift shop.
Overall, it was worth it for me and my friend. And the kids that were everywhere were having what looked like fantastic times so I'd recommend it for families but, I wouldn't really go there again. One trip is enough.
|