The Venetian has announced a new attraction this winter: an ice rink…… sorta.
Ice Skating in the Desert
It’s actually a synthetic ice rink that will be placed over the resort’s Grand Canal. It looks like ice but doesn’t need the cool temperatures and it’s recyclable! Skating is a little slower on this surface, which in my case is a good thing. The Holiday Events will run from November 21 until January 8. The price for skating will be $19 per half hour ($9.95 with rewards card and for locals).
Winter in Venice
The skating is just one element to the Winter in Venice celebration. According to the sources at the Venetian, there will also be strolling carolers, puppets, jugglers, magicians, and candy cane stilt walkers. And what would a winter wonderland be without a tree? A 65 foot Christmas tree will be on display loaded with lights. Giant snowflakes will hang from the ceiling and Doge Palace will be doing a nightly holiday light show.
Checked it out. Here’s what we thought….
Although it sounds like a great idea, I’d have to say they missed the mark on this one. The rink is plenty big, but it’s not getting a lot of action. (they lowered the price so it’s more affordable) Great holiday music is playing on the sound system but that makes the guy on stilts with a trumpet pretty useless. He can’t play over the sound system. Even if he could, whats he going to play? One guy with a trumpet isn’t much of a band. Even the local street musicians have more than one instrument, ie the dude playing some kind of minstrel guitar and wooden flute thing at the same time. Heck, even the Salvation Army will have three guys playing Christmas tunes. Aside from actually getting on the rink and skating, your entire Venetian Wonderland experience is over in about 5 minutes. That’s just not enough to motivate anyone to come check it out. Read our article about great places to go in Las Vegas to get a dose of holiday spirit.
What they should have done…….
was to have a short skating show. Maybe a couple of Elves doing a little comedy on ice. Just a 10 minute gig. Then some Hottie in a red velvet skirt with white trim doing a more graceful number to “I’ll be home for Christmas” followed by a small choir performing Christmas carrols acapella or one of those groups that play the bells. Now you’ve got about 20 minutes of entertainment that can be repeated on the hour and people would feel like it was worth the trip. Hey, you guys at the Venetian, next year give me a call and I’ll hook you up with some other ideas for Christmas. No charge.
