We get this question fairly often; we last answered it on February 10, 2015. Since then, a couple things are different.
The main one is Jubilee! at Bally’s, with its long-running backstage tour; that’s gone.
Also, currently, Cirque du Soleil’s Insider Access packages, which gave guests the opportunity to get backstage and personal with the cast of every current production and -- for an additional price -- teach guests how juggle, breathe fire, moonwalk, and more, looks like it’s permanently discontinued, having not been offered for several years.
Here’s what hasn’t changed.
Ethel M chocolate-factory tours are self-guided and the viewing aisle and chocolate shop were recently remodeled. The tours are free and open to everyone. Depending on the production schedule, you have a chance of seeing chocolatiers (and machines) producing pecan brittle (which they do every day) and/or small-batch specialty chocolates. There are always a few free samples to try in the shop at the end of the tour.
The tours take place at Ethel M’s, 2 Cactus Garden Drive, Henderson (near Mountain Vista and E. Sunset), open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; take in the three-acre cactus garden while you’re there.
Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat offers a Trainer for a Day package, which is seasonally priced and starts at $495. This experience, beginning most days at 9:45 a.m., includes the wetsuit that you wear while you interact with, care for, and share the water with the Habitat’s bottlenose dolphins. It includes a continental breakfast and lunch, photos, certificates, and souvenirs. Book here.
Elton John's Colosseum show offers a Behind the Piano tour package, though note that it does not include a ticket to the show, which must be purchased separately, and you don’t get to meet Elton. What you do get is a backstage tour of Caesars Place, limited green-room access for 30 minutes prior to the start of a performance (where you might meet members of the band), a photo with the Million Dollar Piano (meaning you’re allowed to take one with your own camera), a commemorative laminated program, and a Gold-level EltonJohn.com Rocket Club subscription.
These tours take place only when Sir Elton is performing in Las Vegas and they cost (a mere) $832. Book at the website.
For hardcore fans, Wynn's Le Rêve offers the Dream Dive Package, which includes a deluxe two-night stay, "VIP Indulgence Experience" tix to the show, a private backstage tour, a SDI Certified scuba training session with Le Rêve's diving team, and the opportunity to watch a live show while diving the 1.1-million-gallon aqua theater.
For current schedules and pricing information (last year, the prices were $1,750 for one, $2,450 for two), call 702-770-7946.
If you're really into diving on the Las Vegas Strip, another option is the one-hour Dive with the Sharks experience at Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef. Participants must already be certified SCUBA divers; if you are, you can don chain mail (for real) and dive in the 1.3-million-gallon 22-foot-deep Shipwreck Exhibit, surrounded by sharks, rays, sawfish, green sea turtles, and schools of fish.
For this experience, you have to fill out a form, found at: Dive-With-Sharks. Last year, the cost was $650.
The Golden Nugget offers a behind-the scenes-tour of its 200,000-gallon shark tank. It’s conducted by the staff marine biologist and you get to see the inner workings of the aquarium; you also get a souvenir shark’s tooth. Tickets are $40 per person and tours begin at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays only.
Make reservations by calling 866-946-5336 or book online at SharkTankTours.
And, of course, the granddaddy of all local behind the scenes tours is the one at Hoover Dam. You have a choice of two tours here: the 30-minute Powerplant tour ($15, $12 for 62 and older and 16 and younger), which includes the visitor center (book here); and the full and the one-hour guided Dam Tour beyond the powerplant ($30; first-come first-served).
