The Mirage Volcano show is a definite must see when you are visiting the strip. It is unfortunate that since the Bellagio first opened with its now world famous fountain show back in October 1998, the Mirage Volcano seems to have forever taken a back seat. This is why I’m glad I get to tell people when I’m out filming or photographing the strip, it’s a show worth checking out as I get asked many times what is there to see and do.
Many of the people I run into don’t even know about the Volcano show at the Mirage. To be honest, I have visited Las Vegas several times but it wasn’t until after over a year of living in the Las Vegas area before I made it a point to see the Volcano show. Needless to say, I would have kicked myself had I never seen the show knowing I lived in the area.
When the Mirage first opened in 1989, it was somewhat of a risky venture for Steve Wynn. As he put it, “we were a $600 million dollar casino in a $200 million dollar town,” basically meaning that the cost for the other major casinos were around the $200 million dollar mark but the budget for the Mirage was over 3 times that. While there were some major casinos in operation at the time, including the MGM Grand and Caesars palace, the Mirage set the new gold standard for the future of the Las Vegas Strip. Fun Fact: the Mirage windows have actual gold dust in them which gives them their gold color and was the largest hotel in the world with 3,044 rooms when it opened.
As for the Volcano itself, Wet Enterprises made the first improvements to the original design in 1996. Then in February 2008 they did a major renovation and did not open again until December 2008. Here is a video of the volcano before the renovations:
Here is a video from the Mirage of a behind the scenes look at the Volcano and how it works:
For those of you that have seen the new redesigned show completed in 2008, you’ll notice that the older design was pretty basic and lacked the dynamic aspect of its new counterpart. Their gamble of putting $25 million dollars into renovating it has definitely paid off. They’ve also included music by the Grateful Dead’s drummer Mickey Hart and Indian music composer Zakir Hussain. The volcano sounds are also from actual recordings of real volcano eruptions to make the experience as authentic as possible.
Below is a video of the new show captured by SNS VEGAS as you have never seen it before:
The new show, which has been running for nearly 10 years now, is incredibly dynamic and in my opinion is right up there with the Bellagio fountains as one of the best free shows on the Las Vegas Strip along with the Fremont Street Experience.
In regards to the Bellagio fountains, the main advantage for me is its programming diversity to many types of music. The Bellagio Fountains will have shows like Viva Las Vegas, Uptown Funk, Titanic, Ecstasy of Gold, Tiesto and my personal Favorite Conte Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye). Having multiple song choices programmed to play to different water arrangements makes the fountains the hands down must see free show on the Las Vegas Strip.
When you’re visiting Las Vegas, you can’t go wrong checking out both attractions so make sure you take the time to see the Volcano show at the Mirage as well. Let us know what you think of the shows in the comments section below.
The Mirage’s Volcano show times are as follows.
Summer Hours:
Sunday through Thursday (2 Shows):
8:00 PM to 8:10 PM
9:00 PM to 9:10 PM
Friday and Saturday (3 Shows):
8:00 PM to 8:10 PM
9:00 PM to 9:10 PM
10:00 PM to 10:10 PM
Winter Hours:
Sunday through Thursday (2 Shows):
7:00 PM to 7:10 PM
8:00 PM to 8:10 PM
Friday and Saturday (3 Shows):
7:00 PM to 7:10 PM
8:00 PM to 8:10 PM
9:00 PM to 9:10 PM
For the best places to view or photograph the Mirage Volcano show, click on the image below.
The Mirage Map Where to Watch the Volcano Show Small
If you would like SNS VEGAS to review something on the strip, please let us know in the comments section below. Thank you for stopping by our site and come back soon.
If you are interested in fine art or souvenirs, click on the link below to see the online art gallery where you can purchase anything from posters and prints to phone cases and coffee mugs.
bellagio art for sale
bellagio conservatory art for sale
bellagio fountains art for sale
bellagio christmas tree art for sale
christmas cards art for sale
