Let's be honest here. Every night in Las Vegas is kind of like Halloween. Don't believe me? Then take a stroll up the Strip some evening. And I guarantee you that you'll encounter some interesting-looking characters who are then dressed in some pretty far-out-looking outfits.
But if you're headed to Vegas over the next week or so, you'll undoubtedly be looking for a little Las Vegas Halloween fun. The only question then is ... Well, how ghoulish do you want to go?
Anthony Crivello as the Phantom of the Opera and Kristi Holden as Christine in "Phantom -The Las Vegas Spectacular." Photo by Steve Marcus. Copyright The Really UsefulGroup Ltd. All rights reserved
By that I mean: Do you associate October 31st with ghosts & ghouls, blood & guts, murder & mayhem or mystery & magic. Depending on your individual tastes, there's an attraction in Las Vegas that's guaranteed to put you in the proper Halloween spirit.
If you're a ghosts & ghouls fan, then you should probably consider taking the Haunted Vegas Tour. Voted one of America's Top Ten Most Haunted Ghost Tours, this 2 hour-long experience - while it will take you to some of Sin City's darkest corners -- isn't just some seasonal Halloween ride or show. It's also a legitimate - if somewhat macabre - Las Vegas history tour.
So as your bus rolls by the sites of some of Sin City's more notorious murders (EX: the spot where Tupac Shakur was shot), you'll also hear about the Las Vegas real estate firm that Redd Foxx is rumored to haunt. Not to mention Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens, that restaurant right off the Strip which the Ghost of Liberace is said to occasionally appear in.
Copyright Haunted Las Vegas. All rights reserved
Mind you, given that your Haunted Vegas Tour is led by guides who are dressed as morticians and then sprinkle their narration with lots of grisly gags, this journey to Sin City's scariest places is an eerie but entertaining way to spend an evening. Best of all, this tour is offered seven times a week and begins promptly at 9:30 p.m. Which means that you can view the city lights as you go off in search of frights.
If you're more of a blood & guts kind-of-guy ... Well, Bodies: The Exhibition at the Luxor Las Vegas be more your speed. Here, you'll find 13 whole body specimens - not to mention 260 organs - on display. Preserved through a special polymer-based process, this exhibit allows Vegas visitors to get an insightful inside-out look of our skeletal, muscular and circulatory systems. To see for themselves how delicate, intricate and fragile the human body actually is.
On the other hand, if you think of the human body as something that should be stashed in the trunk of a late-model sedan, than the Las Vegas Mob Tour would will probably be more your speed. On this 2 ½ hour excursion, guides dressed in pin-striped suits and fedoras will reveal some of the shadier aspects of Sin City's past. In particular the crucial role that Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel - the notorious gangster / casino builder - played in turning this once-quiet, remote Nevada town into the hustling burg that it today.
Copyright Vegas Mob Tour. All rights reserved
This spectacular look at Las Vegas' seamy underbelly gets underway every night from the Royal Resort starting at 6 p.m. And given some of the murder-and-mayhem-filled stories that these guides will be sharing are genuinely gruesome, the Las Vegas Mob Tour actually comes with an age restriction. You must be 18 or older to board this bus. Though Vegas visitors 16 years or older can experience the Mob Tour if they're accompanied by an adult 18 years of age or older.
If you're more of a magic & mystery fan, Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular is continuing at the Venetian Resort & Casino. For five years now, this 95-minute thrill ride has been dazzling Broadway fans with a special effects-filled restaging of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony Award-winning musical. As you sit inside of this $40 million custom-built theater and watch the scary-but-seductive story of the Phantom of the Opera unfold in front of you, you'll constantly be asking yourself "How do they do that?" How do they reassemble a chandelier in mid-air like that? How do the sets change without the curtain having to close?
And speaking of "How do they do that?" ... CHRIS ANGEL: BeLIEve has been dazzling visitors to the Luxor since this new Cirque du Soliel show first opened at this resort & casino on Halloween night 2008. This $100 million extravaganza (which went something of an overhaul in the Spring of 2010. With over 30 new illusions being folded into the show) has twice the tricks of any other magic show currently being presented on the Strip.
Chris Angel and several members of the Cirque du Soleil troupe that perform with himthe Luxor's "CHRIS ANGEL: BeLIEve" show. Copyright MGM Resorts International.All rights reserved
More to the point, CHRIS ANGEL: BeLIEve has Mr. "Mindfreak" himself, Chris Angel. Who will be doing a rare VIP meet-and-greet appearance following this show's 9:30 p.m. performance on Friday, October 28th. So if you've ever dreamed of meeting Angel and plan on being in Las Vegas next week, this is one Halloween treat that you probably don't want to miss out on.
And speaking of traveling to Sin City ... If you're planning on making a week of it out in Las Vegas, I know a few folks who can maybe help you out when it comes to affordable Las Vegas hotel rooms along the Strip.
Honest. It's no trick. So treat yourself to a fun time in Vegas over the Halloween weekend.
Dear readers, the Chris Angel show is a cloying let down and not worth your time.
Annoyed & More Annoyed --
I have to admit that I find it kind of amusing that -- during a week when virtually every major Disney news site out there is blanketed with banner ads for the Luxor Resort & Casino -- you two are insisting that Disney fans just aren't interested in learning about Las Vegas.
Like it or not, the people who vacation in Anaheim & Orlando also do occasionally take a trip to Las Vegas & Atlantic City. And The Walt Disney Company knows that they're in direct competition with these vacation spots when it comes to your tourism dollar.
Which is why deliberately turning a blind side to Las Vegas just seems silly to me. Especially since I've been told by members of Disney senior management that the Company does keep very close tabs on what goes on in Sin City in regards to room amenities, innovations when it comes to the many ways that technology can be now used in the hospitality industry, etc. Just so Disney's restaurants & hotels in Orlando and Anaheim can then remain competitive with their Las Vegas counterparts.
So knowing that (more importantly, understanding that JHM is basically an entertainment news site), it would just seem silly to me -- stupid even -- to not ever write about Las Vegas. It would sort of be like if I were someone who wrote about the animation industry who then only did stories about Disney Feature Animation & Pixar, who deliberately ignored DreamWorks Animation or Blue Sky Studios.
JHM isn't that kind of site. I'm not going to put blinders on and pretend that Disney operates in a vacuum. You only have to look at the "James Cameron's World of AVATAR" deal (which is obviously the Company's response to what a huge hit "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" has been for the Universal Orlando Resort) to realize that the Mouse does pay very close attention to what the competition is up to. That the Company does in fact react to forces in the marketplace. Which -- like it or not -- does include Las Vegas.
So if by writing about what's going on in Las Vegas or in New York or even less popular parts of the Walt Disney Company (at least as far as certain Disneyana fans are concerned) like ESPN or Marvel loses me a few readers like yourselves (who seem to have a very narrow view when it comes to what's acceptable to write about. At least when it comes to Disney ) ... I can honestly live that. There are lots & lots of Disney World or Disneyland specific sites that would obviously welcome your patronage. So go with my blessing. Enjoy.
But as for narrowing JHM's areas of coverage just to please two people who don't even feel strongly enough about their opinions and/or whatever it is that they're actually complaining about to post under their real names ... Sorry. But that ain't happening. JHM will continue to cover Las Vegas AND Universal AND places like Knott's Berry Farm and Legoland.
I'm sorry if having that sort of coverage -- rather than just Disney-specific stuff -- genuinely annoys you. But I've been writing for the Web for 12 years about this point. And it's highly unlikely that I'm going to change my connect-the-dots writing style (i.e. how Disney is react to what's going on in Las Vegas or over at Universal or even the new hit shows on CBS or Fox) at this point in the game.
Again, sorry about that.