Las Vegas - Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat is a Must-see Attraction

When you think of Vegas, many people will tell you that you must go see a show, you must gamble, and you must check out the free attractions. I've gotten a lot of advice and many people also told me that it wasn't worth it to pay for some of the pricey attractions since there was so much to see for free. I'm glad I didn't listen to all those people and decided to pay the $15 per person to visit Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat (herein referred to as the Habitat). It was well worth it.

Finding It
The Habitat is located outside the Mirage, next to their pool. Just go into the front entrance of the Mirage and follow the signs on the ceiling that will direct you right to it. It's quite a walk so be prepared! When you finally get outside you will see the Mirage pool to your left and the Habitat entryway to your right. Go on in and buy your tickets!

How it Works
This is one of the better organized attractions in Vegas as they actually have a process to follow. You buy your tickets at the ticketing booth, then walk a little ways to a waiting area. Here you will be told that you will be let in in under 5 minutes. When they are ready to let you in, you first have to stop at the pool in the front to listen to a quick presentation. The worker explains how the Habitat works. You are allowed to wander as you please, or stay in one place for hours if you want! There are no planned shows or timed events as they instead train the dolphins as needed. You may see a training event or a feeding, but there is no time-table to follow. This Habitat is more about taking care for and training the animals then it is about entertaining the people. Even so, we were plenty entertained!

Getting Underwater
When we were let in, the easiest path to follow was down to the underwater observation area. Here you can see the dolphins swimming underwater and that's about it. If a trainer happens to be working with a dolphin above the surface, you may not actually see the dolphins underwater much because they are busy up above. We still got to see and take pictures of the 3 dolphins that were underwater, so it was worth it! If we had time, I would have stayed in that underwater area longer to see if they came down more.

Above Water
The next pool we came across was where they happened to be holding a mother and baby dolphin. You can stand anywhere around the large oval pool, and you are even allowed to sit on the side as long as you keep your things out of the pool area. We decided to steal a quiet spot in the shade to cool off while watching the Mom and Baby swim around and around. That little baby of only 3 months or so was so cute!!

Trainer for a Day
While we were enjoying some shade, a few of the trainers came out with some guests who were dressed in wetsuits. Turns out these 3 guests were participating in the Trainer for a Day program and we got to see a show! The guests were taught how to make the dolphins jump, dive, shake hands, and come out of the water. All this was just a part of their day as later in the day I saw the guests in a behind the scenes area still playing with the dolphins. Very cool. I did a little research online and found out this is an all day experience lasting from 10 AM - 3 PM but I did not see anything about pricing. If I go back to Vegas, I may talk my husband into doing this as I think it would be very well worth it!

Secret Garden
After we had seen our share of dolphins, we went to the sign that said Secret Garden. First thing they do is take a picture of each group or couple and give you a ticket in case you want to buy a souvenir of your visit on the way out. We did end up buying the picture and you could pick two different backgrounds for $23. I thought it was worth it because there were only two of us on this vacation so we didn't have many opportunities for good pictures together in Vegas.

In the Secret Garden, you will find loads of kitties! Ok, not those kinds of kitties. Instead you will see Lions, Panthers, and Tigers of all kinds. Most of them are sleeping if it is too hot out, but they are still so cute and photogenic. It's a small garden made up of two fenced areas with walkways to see all the various kitties, signs to read about them, and some statues and scenery along the way. We found a lot of good picture taking opportunities here.

The Store
On the way out of the garden, you will go through their store where you can buy lots of cute souvenirs. I controlled myself since it was the last day there and instead I only bought the photo. If you have kids, this is a great place to get a unique stuffed animal or shirt with a cute animal on it.

Is it over?
Between the dolphins and the garden, we probably spent an hour walking through the place. If we had not been leaving that day I would have loved to stay longer. They have a small shop for food and drink and a gift shop so you can always take a break for a snack and then walk around again to see if the animals are doing anything new. Since nothing is planned, there is no time limit for how long you can hang out. I didn't leave because I was bored, we left because we had a time schedule to keep. However I could have easily sat and watched the dolphins swim for awhile longer.

Should you see it?
Of course! If you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed this attraction. If you happen to bring your kids to Vegas (which I don't recommend) then this is one of the few attractions they will enjoy as well as you. It is handicapped accessible so don't let that stop you. I think $15 was a good price for this attraction and I certainly got my moneys worth. I will see this again, maybe not every time I go to Vegas, but I liked it enough to visit it more than once. Next time, I'd love to be Trainer for a Day. Check it out and Enjoy!!