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VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: The Strip Tried Appealing to Families and Failed

By jili tutorial · September 27, 2026

VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: The Strip Tried Appealing to Families and Failed

Introduction: The Broccoli Commercial and the Family-Friendly Myth

On any given evening, Las Vegas television viewers might catch a quirky new ad from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority (LVCVA). In one spot, a father tells his son with a straight face that broccoli is “the only food they have” in Vegas — even the ice cream is broccoli. The horrified child elects to stay home. The message is clear: Las Vegas today wants adults, not kids. But this commercial tells only half the story, and the half it leaves out is a myth worth busting.

The common narrative goes like this: In the 1990s, Las Vegas tried to become a family-friendly destination. That attempt failed spectacularly, costing the city millions in lost revenue. But is that really what happened? As we’ll see, the evidence paints a very different picture.

The 1990s Family Experiment: Why Vegas Rolled Out the Red Carpet for Kids

The MGM Grand Gamble

In 1993, a brand-new MGM Grand opened its doors on the Las Vegas Strip. It was the largest single hotel in the world at the time, boasting 6,852 rooms and a construction cost exceeding $1 billion — the first resort in Vegas history to cross that threshold. The previous MGM Grand (now the Horseshoe, formerly Bally’s) was left behind as the new property aimed for something bigger.

What made MGM Grand truly distinctive, however, wasn’t just its size — it was its explicit pitch to families. The casino prominently featured a Wizard of Oz display, and out back sat MGM Grand Adventures, a 33-acre amusement park that cost an additional $100 million to build. The park included:

This was the first major family-oriented resort to open since Circus Circus debuted in 1968. The message was unambiguous: Las Vegas wanted your family vacation business.

The Rise of Adventuredome

Three months before MGM Grand Adventures opened, Circus Circus unveiled its own indoor theme park: Adventuredome. Unlike MGM’s outdoor park, Adventuredome was enclosed in a climate-controlled dome — a decision that would prove crucial. Today, Adventuredome continues to operate successfully, drawing crowds year after year. Its survival offers a clear lesson in what went wrong for MGM.

The Real Story of MGM Grand Adventures: Not the Concept, But the Execution

Why the Theme Park Failed

By 1996, the Wizard of Oz displays had already disappeared from MGM Grand. By 2000, the entire theme park was gone. Disappointing attendance is typically blamed, and that’s accurate — but the root cause wasn’t that families didn’t want to visit an amusement park in Vegas.

The real problem was the desert heat. Most families vacation during summer school breaks, which in Las Vegas means spending hours in 115°F (46°C) temperatures while waiting in long lines. Without a climate-controlled enclosure, MGM Grand Adventures became an endurance test rather than a fun family outing. Adventuredome’s enduring popularity proves that the concept itself was sound — the execution was flawed.

What Survived the “Failure”

Nearly every other family-friendly attraction that debuted during this supposed failed era is still operating today:

These attractions thrived because they either offered indoor experiences or found ways to manage the heat.

The Forgotten Failure: Caesars Magical Empire

What Was It?

The only other major kid-friendly attraction to open in the 1990s and close in the 2000s was Caesars Magical Empire. Described as a “high-tech, elaborately themed, multichambered wonderland,” it was geared toward visitors aged 12 and up. It opened in 1996 and closed in 2002.

At $125 to $200 per person (a steep price for the era), the experience lasted three hours and included dinner. But reviews were mixed, and the concept never caught on the way its creators had hoped. Its failure, however, had less to do with being family-friendly and more to do with an expensive, somewhat confusing experience that didn’t deliver consistent value.

Why This Closure Doesn’t Prove the Myth

One failed attraction — even an expensive, widely publicized one — doesn’t constitute a trend. Las Vegas continued adding family-friendly offerings throughout the 2000s and beyond. The closure of Caesars Magical Empire was an isolated business failure, not a signal that families had stopped coming.

The Battle for Buccaneer Bay

Perhaps the most frequently cited “proof” that Las Vegas abandoned families is the story of Treasure Island’s free pirate show. Originally staged as “The Battle for Buccaneer Bay,” the show featured pirate ships battling five times nightly in front of the resort. It was a family favorite.

In 2003, MGM transformed the show into “The Sirens of TI” — an MTV-style, adult-oriented spectacle designed to appeal to Gen Xers. The new casino owner, Phil Ruffin, put the show out of its misery ten years later. When the original pirate battle was sunk, the media declared it the end of family-friendly Vegas.

What the Closure Really Meant

But the closure of “The Battle for Buccaneer Bay” wasn’t about rejecting families. It was about rejecting theme altogether. Beginning with Steve Wynn’s Mirage in 1989, casino developers had experimented with elaborate themed resorts — pirate ships, Egyptian pyramids, Eiffel Towers, and Venetian canals. By the early 2000s, that trend was fading. The new trend was luxury.

The shift from themed resorts to luxury resorts changed what was built, not who was invited. Families continued to visit; they just stopped getting splashy pirate shows aimed at them.

Success by the Numbers: Debunking the Myth with Data

The Biggest Tourism Jump in Vegas History

The numbers tell a story that contradicts the failure narrative entirely. Between 1993 and 1994 — right when MGM Grand and Adventuredome opened — Las Vegas visitation jumped from 23.5 million to 27.2 million. Even discounting the recent post-pandemic recovery, this remains the largest single annual percentage increase in tourism in the city’s history.

Families Are Coming More Than Ever

According to LVCVA data:

The percentage of family visitors has tripled since the early 1990s. Far from failing, Las Vegas has become more appealing to families over time.

Modern Family-Friendly Offerings

The trend continues today. Consider what’s been added in recent years:

Conclusion: The Real Meaning of the Broccoli Commercial

So what should we make of that LVCVA commercial where Vegas serves broccoli to kids? Rather than signaling that families aren’t welcome, it actually reveals the opposite: Las Vegas has become so successful at attracting families that casinos now need more adults drinking and gambling at their blackjack tables to balance the numbers.

The myth that Vegas tried appealing to families and failed is exactly that — a myth. What actually failed was one outdoor theme park that didn’t account for desert heat, and one overpriced dinner show that never found its audience. Everything else — the roller coasters, the arcades, the family shows, the immersive experiences — either survived the 1990s or was added in the years since.

Families didn’t stop coming to Vegas. They came in greater numbers than ever. And they’re still coming today — even if the commercials suggest otherwise.

Look for “Vegas Myths Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. Click here to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email [email protected].