Since the late thirties, when the infamous mobster Bugsy Siegel built the first resort in Las Vegas, the desert city has had a distinct reputation--glittery and colorful, yes, but family oriented? Decidedly not. Over the past few years, however, the city has tried to change all that, making both its old and its new attractions more inviting to parents and kids. With recent openings of four resorts and theme parks, Vegas offers some truly family-friendly vacationing.

LUXOR HOTEL/CASINO

It is impossible not to notice the Luxor Hotel/Casino. For one thing, it's a 30-story pyramid topped by a spotlight that's as bright as forty billion candles. For another, at its entrance stands a 100-foot-tall sphinx whose eyes shoot laser images on the spray of a lavish fountain. That's just the resort's exterior. Once inside, you and your family will find a 29-million-cubic-foot atrium, a model of King Tut's tomb, a laser light show, seven restaurants and even a mock River Nile. After registering, you get to your room by climbing aboard boats on the waterway and then taking the glassed-in elevators, which travel at a mind-altering 39-degree angle up the pyramid's slope. Even if you don't stay overnight, Luxor is quite an adventure, glitzy enough for old King Tut. For information, call 800-288-1000.

GRAND SLAM CANYON

The Grand Slam Canyon--opened by the owners of the Luxor Hotel/Casino--is a 5-acre indoor amusement park adjacent to the Circus Circus resort. Beneath Grand Slam's enormous, pink-glass dome, five rides speed and spiral around the simulated tunnels, grottoes and cliffs of the Southwest's canyon country. Intrepid coaster buffs will love Canyon Blaster, the only double-loop, double-corkscrew, indoor roller-coaster in the United States. Visitors also can hurtle down a mountain on the Rim Runner water flume, speed through the 379-foot Twist and Shout slide or play Hot Shots laser tag, an interactive game under black lights. The dome contains more sedate attractions as well: a 68-foot waterfall, a collection of life-size, animated dinosaurs and re-creations of cliff dwellings. For more information, call 702-734-0410.

TREASURE ISLAND

Visitors to the 2,900-room Treasure Island: The Adventure Resort will feel as if they have arrived in the land of seafaring pirates. Every 90 minutes a cannon battle takes place between the pirate ship Hispaniola and the British frigate HMS Britannia on the body of water outside the complex. (You will do best to root for the pirates, who have a knack for sinking the Brits.) For more information, call 800-944-7444.

MGM GRAND HOTEL, CASINO AND THEME PARK

The 5,005-room MGM Grand Hotel, Casino, and Theme Park is the world's largest entertainment resort. Looming 30 stories high, the four emerald-green hotel towers house a pool, spa and tennis courts. A special youth program for children of guests offers supervised activities for 3- to 16-year-olds. At the 33-acre theme park, you can take in shows, restaurants and rollicking rides. Some favorites are Lightning Bolt (a coaster ride through outer space), Grand Canyon Rapids (a white water adventure) and Parisian Taxis (souped-up bumper cars). For more information, call 800-929-1111.

LAS VEGAS CLASSICS

Las Vegas's older generation of attractions has much to offer the family crowd as well. At The Mirage (800-627-6667), there are royal Siberian white tigers, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in a 2.5-million-gallon pool and a volcano that erupts every 15 minutes, starting at dusk. The 4,022-room Excalibur (800-937-7777) has a medieval theme, with knights jousting at two dinner shows each evening. Circus Circus (800-444-CIRCUS), an old-timer, has free circus acts and a kids' arcade. At Caesars Palace (800-634-6661), a moving walkway carries visitors through a diorama of Roman history.

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated July 2005.