Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat is an animal sanctuary at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Read all about it in this review.
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When we were planning our Las Vegas trip, we were looking for things to do that weren’t gambling. We like gambling, but spending all day every day gambling makes for a pretty boring vacation.
And pretty expensive too, if you’re not winning.
One of the things we found to do was Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.
We like gardens and dolphins, so we figured this would be a good place to spend some time during our trip.
Are you thinking about checking it out when you go to Las Vegas? Read on for our Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat review to help decide if it’s for you.
Las Vegas can absolutely be a frugal vacation. Find out how in The Ultimate Las Vegas Budget Travel Guide.
Guide To Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat
Affiliate links are included in this post and Drugstore Divas may make a small commission if you use them.
Drugstore Divas has no association with this attraction. Prices are subject to change at any time, so be sure to consult the attraction’s official page for the most up to date pricing.
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat Review
Let’s start this review by saying Drugstore Divas has no affiliation with the Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat. We used a reward in the MyVegas Slots app for two free tickets, like we did for the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay.
And, like the Shark Reef Aquarium, we were happy to have had the chance to check this out without having to pay for it.
So, if you’re planning a trip to Las Vegas, you should definitely download the app and start playing for free. Hopefully you’ll earn enough reward points for a free ticket as well. Because for free, it’s worth it. For $25? Well, maybe not.
Dolphin Habitat
The exhibit opens with the dolphin habitat. When we were there, three dolphin were in the larger, main pool. That pool has nice stadium seating under a shaded overhang, so you can sit and watch the dolphins.
If you need a little air conditioning, you can check out the underground observation area. There are windows to the pool so you can see the dolphins that way.
Then, there’s a smaller pool behind it, which also had three dolphins.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get to the dolphin habitat at the right time to see a dolphin training session. Those happen sporadically throughout the day. And they’re definitely worth the price of admission.
The dolphin training sessions are very similar to the dolphin show you’d see at SeaWorld, with dolphins waving their tales to say hello and goodbye, dolphin tossing trainers off their noses, dolphins flying through the air, and more.
The session is shorter than one of the dolphin performances you would see at SeaWorld, but I’m going to argue that it’s better. The pool is small and the seating is minimal, so you get a really up close and personal view of the dolphins.
Secret Garden
You exit the dolphin habitat portion to enter Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden.
It starts off with a wishing tree, with a plaque that says if you make a wish on that tree, it will come true. It’s Las Vegas, so you can wish to hit a jackpot. Or maybe just wish for something a little more attainable.
Right past that is a set of multiple screens that project old footage of Siegfried & Roy shows. Siegfried Fischbacher passed away in January 2021. He was preceded in death by Roy Horn, who passed away in May 2020.
Since we weren’t able to visit the attraction before both performers passed away, I don’t know if these videos have been updated since then or if they’ve played the same reels since the show, which started in 1990, ended abruptly in 2003.
The big cats on display here are, allegedly, the ones that performed with Siegfried & Roy until the act ended in 2003. This secret garden is where the animals are, in theory, going to live out the rest of their lives.
There’s a bit of controversary around this, thanks in part to Tiger King lioness Carol Baskin, but we tend to believe this animal sanctuary has good intentions because life is just easier when you aren’t looking for negatives everywhere.
Wait. Actually. Let me find something my mom texted me the other day because it fits here too. “Sometimes in life you have to just ignore things so that it doesn’t stop you from having fun.”
Looking at you, Carol Baskin.
Anyway, we had to ignore the fact that the big cats looked … tired. The Las Vegas heat gets to anyone, even people in shorts, so just imagine animals with tons of fur.
The lion, one leopard, and one snow white Bengal tiger did not move the entire time we were looking at them. Although, the white tiger (Cosmo) did open its eyes so I could take a photo of it, so that was kind.
The second leopard and a second white tiger (in a section together, but separate from Cosmo) did a lot of moving. At one point, Cosmo made a noise and the second white tiger went into high alert, pacing back and forth in its cage, seemingly trying to see what was happening with Cosmo.
My mom wondered if they were separated family members and that’s what caused the second tiger so much concern.
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat: Information
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat Address:
3400 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV (inside The Mirage)
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat Phone:
(702) 791-7188
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat Hours:
Daily from 10 am to 6 pm; last entry at 5 pm (through November 6)
Daily from 10 am to 5 pm; last entry at 4 pm (starting November 7)
Is the Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat worth it?
If you’re looking for things to do with kids in Las Vegas, the Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat is absolutely worth it.
This is also a pretty good way for adults to take a break from gamboling, but it’s a pretty short break.
If you make it at the right time for the dolphin training, that justifies the cost of this. But, if you miss that, you’ll walk through this attraction in about a half hour, so it’ll cost you a dollar a minute. Still less than a Blackjack table will be, if you don’t hit, but it’s a little expensive for what’s there.
If you can get a free ticket using your rewards points, it’s absolutely worth it.
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat: Frequently Asked Questions
Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors (65+) and US Military, $19 for children (4 to 12). Children under 3 are free.
For Nevada residents: Tickets are $20 for adults, $14 for children (4 to 12). Children under 3 are free.
Minors must be accompanied by a paying adult who is 18+.
You can purchase tickets here.
We spent exactly an hour at the Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat (I know this for sure because my photo of the entrance was taken at 4:14 pm and my photo of the exit was taken at 5:15 pm).
This includes the time waiting for the dolphin show, and the time I spent watching the white tiger pace back and forth so I could get the perfect shot.
If you skip the dolphin show, it would take you about 30 minutes to go through the entire attraction.
There is The Dolphin’s Snack Bar within the Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat where you can purchase items like hot dogs, chicken fingers, and more.
You are also permitted to bring a water bottle inside, but not one with a twist off top. My reusable water bottle was fine.
You can swim with the dolphins at The Mirage in Las Vegas as part of the Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat.
It’s $500 per person, ages 8 and older. Any guest under 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian. There’s a maximum of four people per group and only one group per day. The experience must be booked at least 48 hours in advance.
You can also do a meet and greet with the dolphins ($100 per adult
and $79 per child, which also includes admission to the Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat).
There’s Dolphin Trainer 101, where participants work side-by-side with Dolphin Care Specialists (prices start at $400).
There’s a Paint with the Dolphins experience (prices start at $149) where you and a bottlenose dolphin create an art canvas together.
And finally, there’s yoga with the dolphins (although no additional information about that is currently available).
Want more Siegfried & Roy?
If you can’t get out to Las Vegas for the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, but now you’re interested in the performers, the links below will give you a ton of information.
- Stream Father Of The Pride (the CGI children’s show that Siegfried & Roy were executive producers on that is about a white lion family in which the father is a star in a Siegfrield & Roy show)
- Read Siegfried and Roy: Mastering the Impossible (the duo’s 1992 autobiography)
- Watch Siegfried and Roy: Masters of the Impossible (a cartoon about the duo)
- Stream Siegfried & Roy: Full Show: The Magic & The Mystery at The Mirage Las Vegas on YouTube
Planning a Las Vegas trip?
If you’re figuring out your Las Vegas itinerary, we have a bunch of posts to make that easier.
- 5+ Reasons To Stay At Excalibur Las Vegas
- Guide To Visiting The Neon Museum Las Vegas
- Complete List Of Free Las Vegas Shuttles
- Saving In Las Vegas With The MyVegas Slots App
- 10 Must Do Things In Downtown Las Vegas
- Shark Reef Aquarium At Mandalay Bay Las Vegas Review
- Tournament Of Kings (Las Vegas) Review
And don’t forget about our Las Vegas packing list so you only fill your suitcase with the right items.
Book Your Las Vegas Stay Ahead Of Time:
If you book your hotel and show tickets before you go to Las Vegas, you’ll save yourself time and money when you get there. You can book both (and more!) at Vegas.com.
Did this Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat review help you decide if you should go or not? Let us know in the comments.