Trip to Las Vegas: Day 4

Day 4 was an odd day.  Upon arriving at the Luxor on day one, we were sort of accosted by these people who presented a great deal on some show tickets.  All we had to do was sit through this presentation on a time-share in Las Vegas and we could get The Beatles: LOVE by Cirque du Soleil show tickets for half price.  Both of us had wanted to see that show for years since it opened, but hadn't been back to Las Vegas to have the opportunity to do so.  We agreed to go to the time-share thing - knowing we had no intention of buying anything!  And it was only going to take about 2 - 3 hours at the most anyway.

So, we got up early, found where we were supposed to meet this group and were shuttled to the time-share location with a bunch of other people who had done the same or similar deals.  The place was very nice and they gave us breakfast before we met the man who was going to give us our tour of the resort.  To be honest, I can't remember the guy's name, but I was surprised, because I thought this would be more of... a group presentation, not a one on one tour.  So... he sets it all up, asking us our travel habits, what we wanted to do, what we like to do, etc...  This is a long drawn out conversation before we even get the tour.  When we ask the price and cost of things, he insists he'll tell us after the physical tour.  He walks us through the amazingly lovely and lavish resort where two bedroom spaces are actually two suites attached like Siamese twins with full kitchens (including dishwasher and microwaves), washers and driers, and spa sized tubs in the bathroom, telling us about how if we go anywhere in the world, we can stay in a place like this for a very psychotically low price.

It is all verrrry tempting and I know Mom and I were both twirling this idea in our head of how great it would be because the whole family could use this!  It all sounded so amazing and magical!  Mom could own it and leave the whole thing to us and we could gain the benefit of the inexpensive travel and resorts around the world and it would be great!

Eventually, we head back to the room to eat some lunch - which they provided - and talk.  Our host left us to eat and think...  Which might have been a mistake.  As we sat there, the magic wore off and reality sank in.  We wouldn't travel that much.  This was all really not for us.  It was money (no matter what the cost would be - he still hadn't told us) we couldn't afford to spend... etc...

Our buddy comes back and lays out the plan on the time-share, the resort and all the rest.  He shows us the price and of course, it was an outrageous amount.  Seeing this, Mom and I easily decline the whole thing.  In reality, we were ready to go an hour ago as we had now been there for FOUR hours.  This is when our host brings in his manager to 'give us a better deal'.  He lays out something else which is much less expensive, tempting us and after some initial refusals sort of begins politely insulting us.  This sealed it for me at least with a big old, "No thank you."  The manager abruptly rises, shakes our hands and barely looks at us as he leaves.  We thank our host for his time and he walks us down to another room where we are supposed to receive our 'prize'.

In this room.. ANOTHER guy starts making us deals on the time-share, bringing the cost down to some insane low price because these are time-shares others are selling.  We again decline - more so because we are irritated and just want to go, having spent the whole morning there.  He takes us to another room where we sit with a few others.  All of us had apparently refused the great offers and were waiting for ANOTHER person to come and get us.  Thankfully, though we joked that at this point they'll offer to pay us money to take the time-share, they do only come to get us so they can give us our prize.  Once we get our vouchers for our tickets, we were taken to a shuttle to return us to our hotel.

On the bus, a couple was sitting across from us, clearly annoyed.  We joked a bit about the whole thing but they were very angry because apparently, their host had insulted them when they refused the offer.  I was glad our host had been a rather nice guy the whole time - he was a very good salesman, I will say that.  Realizing that we had a short time to turn in our ticket vouchers, we were glad to get to the hotel.  The morning and any plans for the day were pretty well shot and I can admit to being annoyed about it.  Granted, it was our decision to do the time-share tour and all that came with it - you just have to know what you are getting yourself into.

We headed over to Mandalay Bay to get our tickets.  While there, we went to where they used to have check-in to see the giant fish tank.  I guess they moved check-in from there so that people could better see the tank and take pictures.  I'm sure its hard to do hotel registration check-in and check-outs when half the people at the counter are trying to look at the fish and take pictures of loved ones - I'm sure the camera flashes alone were highly annoying.

Me at the wall fish tank at Mandalay Bay

Mom at the wall fish tank at Mandalay Bay

After that, we wound our way through the tropically themed lobby area to try and find where the show would be so we could get our tickets.  It was a little hard to find, but we did manage to get to the ticket counter and get our seats - not the best seats from the picture of the theater layout, but hose were block of seats the time-share people had.  I debated taking some time to check out the gift shop, but we were tired and I opted to wait to go in after the show that night.

The show itself was amazing.  The music of the Beatles was, of course, amazing, but the visuals were really breath-taking.  This particular theater is in the round, with the stage in the center and there were two huge screens on the walls.  Originally, both of us were disappointed at how high up we were in the theater seats - nosebleed level - but in the end, it worked out because we were able to see everything!  It was a great view of all the little business going on, as well as the more grandiose visions.  And trust me, those visions were really beautiful.  I was more emotionally moved than I thought I would be by some of the performances.

The Beatles music is legendary for a reason.  The harmonies and words strike chords in people all around the world, young and old.  The German guys behind us (who annoyingly kept kicking the back of my chair in excitement of the show) were singing along in English, as were the Japanese girls a row across.  We all were singing "Hey Jude" in the end.  Unlike any other Cirque show (and they are all amazing) this one really joined the audience together.  But that is the magic of theater and the particular magic of The Beatles. 

Upon leaving, we did go into the gift shop and I picked up a show program (a tradition of mine for all the Cirque du Soleil shows) and then pushed through the crowded shop to head back to the Luxor.  The morning nonsense had been forgotten and both of us were feeling really good and positive.  I do recommend that any time you have a chance to see any of the Cirque du Soleil shows, you do so.  They are visually stunning, the acts are breathtaking and its just a lot of fun.