Madame Tussauds Las Vegas

Not too long ago, we spent an evening hanging out with the many stars from Madame Tussauds Wax Museum here in Las Vegas. We attended an alumni reception for the college that my husband graduated from, which was held at Madame Tussauds.

First we thought, what an UNUSUAL place for a college alumni reception. But when we got there, we were pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be an amazing venue to hold this event! Two of the rooms were reserved for the reception, and in those rooms were some of the wax characters.

The wax characters were placed in strategic positions throughout the room, both standing and seated in chairs, and they provided an interesting backdrop for the reception. How fun to "hang out" with the Rat Pack, Tony Bennett, Elvis, Siegrfied and Roy (AND their tiger), and even the former mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman and a showgirl! Anyone who knows anything about Las Vegas' history knows that the former Mayor Goodman was often seen with a martini in one hand, and a showgirl on his other arm. It became a part of his famous image or persona.

When you moved into the other room, there were presidents like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and also JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy and even George Bush! Along with astronauts, and Oprah Winfrey, who could ask for more?

Once the reception was over, we were able to walk throughout the entire museum and be thrilled by the likes (or rather, likenesses), of Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Hugh Hefner, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney, Lady Gaga, "Fergie" and even Barack Obama. Where else can you find all these stars assembled in one convenient place for photo opportunities and for an evening out?

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is definitely worth checking out when you are visiting Las Vegas. Not only can you look at and photograph the wax characters, but you are encouraged to touch them and interact with them as well. When you have your picture taken with Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow) you can reach into the decorated pirate's chest right next to him and pick out a pirate hat to put on your head, and a sword to hold! We took our picture before we realized those "props" were there.

And when you take a picture with Hugh Hefner, look out for the fun and quirky "playboy bunny" ears you can put on when you sit next to him. It's a riot seeing people pose for pictures with these wax characters, and to watch them as they "ham it up" for the camera as well.

There is a feature when you touch "Elvis' " hand, he is supposed to "talk" to you, only it didn't seem to be working when we were there. Guess he just didn't have too much to say. Not even a "thank you, thank you very much." You can stand right next to the white tiger over by Siegfried and Roy, and you can take the "microphone" right along with Sammy Davis Jr. or Frank Sinatra and pretend that you are a member of "the Rat Pack."

One could certainly find themselves getting lost in a fantasy among the stars in this museum, that's for sure. Most of the figures really DO look like the real person, but a couple of the figures in the museum had people asking "who is THAT?"

I did notice that the least popular characters to get pictures of were Larry King (suspenders and all) and the "Blue Man Group." I don't think I saw anyone photographing them, which was interesting. Maybe their "15 minutes" is up? Maybe not.

In the "Michael Jackson" room, you will see figures of him as a young boy, along with two other figures from different stages of his career. Now supposedly, you can sing and dance along with one of his songs and he will "judge" how you did, but we didn't encounter anyone brave enough to try that feature! The Michael Jackson exhibit was just recently put there, and is considered to be just a "temporary" exhibition, so if you are a big fan, you might want to get over there and check it out before he is gone! Or before "Michael has left the building."

In another room, there was a wax figure of American Idol judge Simon Cowell, where you could take the microphone and sing karaoke... there was a young lady doing that who must have had previous karaoke experience, because she really did do a good job!

The exhibits are changed around from time to time, and new ones are added all the time, so it is definitely a museum worth checking out more than once. I heard that they used to have a wax figure of Harrison Ford outside of the museum (I actually do remember seeing that one)... but an overzealous tourist knocked it over and smashed his head into a million pieces... that had to hurt! I'm sure they quickly found a new wax figure to put outside.

You can interact with the figures and something that is really fun to do is to "pose" yourself just like they're posed, which makes for some nice pictures. But please be careful not to damage them, so they will be there for years to come for others to enjoy.

Some of the most recent exhibits include a special Marvel characters exhibit and a special exhibit allowing visitors to re-live the movie "The Hangover" with Bradley Cooper. Most of the original movie was filmed in Las Vegas in 2009.

If you have questions, one of the wonderful, polite museum workers will be more than happy to answer them for you. It was a fun trip among the stars, and I recommend Madame Tussauds Wax Museum located near the Venetian Hotel to anyone visiting Las Vegas. Go do some "name dropping" of your own, enjoy the photo ops, and most of all, have fun!