Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat

The place was outdoor and it was very hot. We saw two 10 months old cubs, they were cute. Because it was hot, they mostly stayed around the water. Big white tiger we saw was very cute playing in the water with a big ball. He reminded me my cat :-D Also we we saw dolphins in the underwater view, they were cute, swimming around and posing for us! I would recommend it in cooler weather, it would be better for people and animals.

you know what this place was very nice and relaxing, it wasn’t too crowded, there was a lot of shade because its hot in Vegas, and it was very clean and the animals looked healthy. Its easy to view all the animals, from many angles. The only down fall is its $ 22 per person and if you have a family that adds up fast. I cant say its not fully worth it but it seems kind of high for such a small exhibit. Its not really a show, you get to watch a training session. The pictures are also very expensive also, it just seems a little over priced. I will say Siegfried did come out and talk and take free pictures with my kids and gave them a special coin. He was very nice and funny. so overall it was very nice and interesting but a little overpriced

Nice place to take your kids. Not as much variety as the aquarium. However lions tigers leopards and dolphins are very magnificent creatures, almost magical. Use my Vegas rewards it’s $ 22 for adults otherwise and it’s a real small exhibit for $ 22. They should give a free drink with that ticket, when you leave tho; since dangerous animals and alcohol probably wouldn’t mix well.

Very nice experience. Under water viewing area, plenty of photo opportunities, and there is a snack bar too. Front area houses several Dolphins; The back area has lions, tigers, and leopards. They offer private tours, morning yoga, dolphin painting, and trainer for a day programs.

Its pretty cool, may go again to get the up close and personal package with the dolphins.

Wanna know how I found out about this place? I used to play Vegas Slots on Facebook. I remembered that they had the dolphins so I had to check it out, it’s a real place!!!
With all the BS going on about captivity, I’m honestly surprised they don’t deal with it, given that these pools are on the smallish side and not very deep, but the dolphins seem happy and they appear to be in good health over all. It was nice to watch them going through their training behaviours and playing around in the water. Make no mistake they played with the toys when left on their own idle time.
In the Secret Garden, the 10 month old cubs were out being socialized, splashing in the water and playing until they’ed had enough and climbed on a limb to wash and dry off. The other cats, well, they were being cats and sleeping. Only one of them was moving at all. I really can’t say I blame them with the temperatures being nearly 100* for the first time in the season.
For $ 22.95 you too can come see the kitties and fishies (I KNOW they’re not fish, sue me), or for $ 54 you can choose three different activites, or even a season pass. The season pass really makes sense if you’re a LV local. The other makes sense if you know about the place in advance.

Our family paid for the general admission plus photos with the Dolphins which is an additional $ 25 per person. Our Total cost was $ 30 per adult and $ 20 per child. All in all it came to just under $ 200 for the family. We anticipated a bit more than «a free for all» .
I would not recommend you bringing your «Kids» here, maybe one Kid but not many small kids (we have 3) as you will likely have to fight for viewing space, fight for «spots in line» and just overall battle the other general admission guests for the ability to enjoy a quality interaction or photo opportunity.
Don’t waste your money on the «photo with the Dolphins» for the extra $ 25, as my photo displayed most didn’t have wristbands but ended up in better viewing positions than we did as we are not «fighters», you can easily game the same experience as a paid experience by «fighting» your way to where you want to be.
The entire staff comprises of 20 – 25 year old females who quite frankly have no idea how to order and create order of a mob. So in turn, hence free for all, it turns chaotic. At one point two dudes decided to have a little «chat» about viewing position and space.
NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY. BE PREPARED TO PAY ABOUT $ 200 bucks and fight for your glimpse of some Dolphins and animals.

A smallish exhibit of critters at the Mirage. It’s a nice break from all the drinking and debauchery going on. I’ve been a couple of times and I enjoy it, but it is small and at $ 22 a ticket, it isn’t cheap. I probably wouldn’t go unless I could find a discounted ticket (we had a BOGO from MyVegas).
There are about 5 big cats who have been sleeping every time I’ve been. They’re adorable and awe inspiring but they don’t really do much. The dolphins are of course cute as can be, but I’ve just become so uncomfortable with the idea of these creatures living in these tiny pools… I’ve gone all «Blackfish» about it, I know. Anyway, there are so many kids/​families that have purchased the premium packages (FEED the dolphins, KISS the dolphins, TOUCH the dolphins, WTF?) that you won’t get to see much of the dolphins as they’re busy with the more high paying customers.
Still, if you can get yourself a deal and are doing the full on tourist Vegas thing, this is a good stop that should take about an hour or so.

Went and had an amazing behind the scenes tour. Even saw Siegfried during the tour and he did a magic trick for my daughter and gave her the coin to keep. Such a special experience. Love the underwater viewing area and the kids educational table with hands on starfish, sea horses etc. the jaguar did not seem too happy –kept pacing but the other animals all seemed well cared for. Loved watching the dolphin painting.

When I was young and I think this was the same time that the Bellagio was being built, my grandparents and my family all went to see the Siegfried and Roy’s show at the Mirage. I think at the same time Pavarotti was also singing for likely one of his last times in Vegas. Anyways, it was one of the most magical times for me as a kid seeing this show. The animals, the entertainment, the flashing lights of Vegas, it was all so surreal. I’m glad I had that chance to experience it before Siegfried’s tragedy.
It’s nice that the Mirage continues to maintain this garden. The tigers and lions here still belong to Siegfried and Roy and they periodically stop by, I’m told, to visit them. The dolphins are just additions to all of this but it’s also fun to watch. I wish though they had a larger habitat but they appeared happy sloshing around and chasing each other.
It’s a bit of a steep price ($ 22 for an adult) but you can buy a package to see all the exhibits at the MGM hotels. Not sure what the price is but may be worth it if you’re thinking about seeing more than one!

I had such a fun time here! I absolutely love dolphins and it was so cool that guests can walk right up to the pool (without putting hands and feet in, of course!). There are also fun activities that you can pay more for like «Trainer for a Day» where you can get in the water and swim with the Dolphins, there’s painting with them, and also just a meet and greet. I wish I would have known because I would have loved to do one of them! The live training sessions were really cool too.
The secret garden is awesome. Most of the cats were asleep because it was daytime but the tiger cubs were awake and playing. They were so much fun to watch!
It’s definitely a small attraction and no zoo, but I didn’t care at all. I had so much fun and if I’m ever in Vegas again, I’ll be back!

We came to Vegas with family, including 4 kids under 16. Needless to say, we needed some activities other than the usual drinking, clubbing, eating, and gambling. Enter Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden. The kids absolutely loved it. The adults weren’t bored out of their minds, but they weren’t quite as entertained as the kids. Admission price is a little steep, especially considering we only stayed about an hour. $ 22 for adults and $ 17 for kids under 12.
You first walk in to a dolphin pool and underground dolphin aquarium. There isn’t a dolphin show exactly, but you can watch the training sessions. The dolphins are so adorable and the kids really loved just watching them swim around.
Next up is the jungle habitat. You get your picture taken on a green screen and then can buy a souvenir photo with different Vegas and jungle backgrounds. $ 20-​something for one, $ 45 for two and get one free. There are several tigers, a lion, and a cheetah in the habitats. No shows here, it’s more like a mini zoo. The kids went crazy over this! We also saw Siegfried just walking around which was kind of cool.
Personally, I hated it. I felt really bad for the tigers and lion being stuck in those mini habitats; they looked so sad. I wish they could be free to roam as nature intended and be the king of jungle, but that’s the issue I have with zoos in general. There’s quite a bit of literature about Siegfried and Roy’s conservation efforts, so I doubt they mistreat the animals. Not going to dock stars for my own personal misgivings.
Overall, very kid friendly and big hit with kids of all ages!

It’s a little pricy at $ 22 per adult, but my niece (3 yo) got in free. We got to view the dolphins in the underwater area. Then we visited the lions, tigers, leopards in their fenced areas. They are such beautiful creatures. We did get to talk to one of the workers about the lions, and watch the lion just lounge next to the two workers (one of whom was sculpting a mohawk on the lion). It was amusing to see how calm and pet-​like the lion seemed.
We also saw a «training session». It’s not very organized, they would benefit from a bit more structure. Basically, all five or six dolphins got their training session at the same time, each with their own trainer. Their tricks weren’t very coordinated, so we just didn’t know where to look, and my poor niece missed all the jumps and flips the dolphins because she watched the wrong dolphin at the wrong time. Still pretty fun. Hard to photograph.
We purchased some bottled drinks from the gift shop– be forewarned that they have to take the bottle tops to protect the dolphins/​cats from potentially swallowing them. The bottles will spill when you go over bumps if they are in the stroller. We learned the hard way.

GO HERE and get a VIP tour. $ 200 bucks for each tour, not per person!
We were greeted by the nicest lady who we totally fell in love with. The best part of the tour was going behind the scenes into the doctors underwater viewing area of the dolphins. We learned so much in our hour long tour. I definitely recommend doing this for all ages!!!
Vip tour includes:
* private tour guide
* photos for everyone in party
* pet and feed Dolphins
* special private viewing of dolphins
* tour of exotic cat sanctuary

Lions and tigers and dolphins?! Oh, my?!
Secret Garden is not the dark and eerie forest that surrounded the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz, but is rather, a habitat created by Las Vegas legends Siegfried and Roy. The duo opened The Secret Garden in 1990 as part of their campaign to protect endangered species and more specifically the rare white tiger and white lion. In addition, the habitat holds six leopards, a snow leopard and a black panther. The first part of the habitat is occupied by a 2.5 million gallon aquarium and several Bottlenose dolphins. There are hourly education sessions /​demonstrations (no shows) in different parts of the aquarium and packages can be purchase for several interactive experiences with these intelligent mammals.
The entrance (
) inside The Mirage isn’t too hard to find and there are posters (
) with additional experiences offered at Secret Garden. The line for tickets (
) wasn’t very long and after a short walk you end up at the aquarium (
) for the Bottlenose dolphins. We have done multiple interactions with dolphins over the years in various parts of the world, so after lingering for a short period of time we were off to see (
) the tigers and lions habitats.
Before you can actually see these awesome cats, the staff have you take a few souvenir photos in front of a green screen. I am going to assume these photos have tigers and lions inserted into the green screen background, but I didn’t go to the gift shop to view the photos. After your faux photo, you can walk into (
) the habitat.
The habit is home four species of big cat: Royal White Tigers of Nevada, White Lions of Timbavati, heterozygous Bengal tigers (possessing both tawny and white genes), a black panther and a leopard dynasty.
The habitat is broken up into six different enclosures with three enclosures for tigers (
), two for lions (
) and one that alternates between a leopard (
) and panther.
Note: There are two videos of tiger cubs playing with a keeper, three video of the adult tigers in their enclosures and one video of three adolescent lions for viewing via the Unilocal application.
The main attraction is definitely the cubs, but keep in mind even though the cub hours are posted from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, there is a chance they may not be in their enclosure on a given day. On the day we visited, the cubs were out and in a playful mood with a keeper shaking a branch around for the cubs to chase, which attracted a lot of attention for the guests and the other inhabitants as well. One of the adolescent lions seemed particularly riled up by their presence while one of the male tigers seemed more inquisitive.
In addition to the interaction with these big cats, there is a chance to run into Siegfried Fischbacher, who apparently frequents the habitat from time to time. The better half and I had multiple opportunities to see Siegfried and Roy and always had some excuse for not going … the tickets were too expensive or there will always be next time.
Rohlinism: In life there isn’t always a «next time!»
On October 2, 2003, Roy Horn suffered a stroke on stage during a performance at The Mirage and one of the tigers in the show named Mantecore dragged Horn offstage and severed his artery causing excessive bleeding. The result of the blood loss and stroke left Horn partially paralyzed to this day and brought an end to their show at The Mirage.
If you are on an extended stay in Las Vegas or are a local resident, the season pass is only $ 55.00 (regular adult admission is $ 22.00) and includes 10 percent off at all the stores inside Secret Garden. There are also several interaction packages you can buy that include «Painting With The Dolphins» and «Yoga With The Dolphins» … who knew they were so flexible?!
I felt the interaction was worth the price of admission and would come back to Secret Garden on future visits to Vegas.

This is a bitter sweet for me. I love animals and nature. Don’t get me wrong I’m not a hard core activist but seeing these animals in a limited amount of space makes me sad. They’re in «baby jail». On top of that, music playing sounds depressing.
One of the Lions had a wound on the base of his tail, like some kind of blister the size of a quarter. I hope it’s getting treated.
Like I said I love animals and still makes me get all child excited to see them up close. My favorite is the Tiger. It’s beautiful.
The garden and the habitat itself was in clean and gorgeous condition. Staff is friendly.
& before you leave be sure to make a wish to the wishing tree.

This is such a special Las Vegas gem. It is located inside the Mirage Hotel & Casino. I had no idea it even existed until our most recent trip earlier this year! Our waitress at lunch at a different hotel told us about it and boy are we glad she did!
There are dolphins in several large pools that interact with the trainers. And there are lions, tigers, and leopards to look at too. I am obsessed with big cats, especially leopards, so this was a really special treat for me. There were three lion cubs that were playing and they were so gorgeous. It was so cool seeing lions playing together that were young, but not babies anymore.
We had such a lovely time. It was a great ending to an awesome trip.

My bf and I were able to score some comp admission tickets for this exhibit. It’s definitely worth checking it out! Dolphins are my favorite water animals, and I was very stoked that I was able to see them very up close and personal!
First off, it’s located in the Mirage by the pool area. You can pay for close encounters with dolphins, where you get to go in the shallow area of the pool, feed them some fish, pet them and do some tricks with the trainers. But if you’re just a bystander, you can still be close to them, but from a distance and get good views.
Besides the dolphin exhibit, there is also an exhibit for the white tigers, white lions, leopard, etc. We were able to see Siegfried walking around greeting some fans. It was super hot that day, so rarely did the animals move — most of them were just lounging or sleeping. So overall, the dolphins were my favorite part.
Drinks are expensive here, but if you order sodas or other drinks, they do not give you the cup cover or straws (to protect the animals there). So if you need to cover that drink or a straw, then you would need to exit the place and go to the Roasted Bean to get that. This is a great place for people of all ages. Would definitely recommend =)

Nach über 10 Jahren war ich wieder hier im Secret Garden, die Tiergehege damals waren ja hauptsächlich für die Showtiere von Siegfried & Roy. Heute ist es denke ich mehr eine Image Angelegenheit, die Delfine stehen recht weit vorn und werden wohl in einem Programm mit Seaworld zusammen gezüchtet. Erfreulich erscheint mir hier in den Secret Gardens, dass man den Tieren keine unsinnigen Kunststücke abverlangt. Als Besucher kann man der Fütterung und den regulären Beschäftigungsveranstaltungen der Tiere zusehen. Ob das alles Artgerecht ist oder nicht, kann ich nicht beurteilen, die Tiere scheinen jedoch Gesund auszusehen und es sind 50% davon hier zur Welt gekommen und die anderen sollen aus Seaworld Arealen sein.
Die anwesenden Raubkatzen, waren recht Träge, verglichen mit manchen Zoos sind die Gehege jedoch wirklich recht klein. Vor allem bei den Löwen bin ich mir nicht sicher, ob die so gerne in einer 2 Tier Haltung leben wollen. Ich hoffe die Tiere die auf der Farm von S&R leben haben mehr Platz und Auslauf.

The Secret Garden is located inside the Mirage Casino and Hotel. This place only consists of 3 animals. They are Dolphins, Tigers, and lions. Pretty simple place and its small place.
When you first walk in you will see the Dolphins. There are two areas for the Dolphins to see. You can also see the Dolphins inside the pool if you go down the ramps. Unique views of them. They are fascinating animals. Got see one of them poop in the pool. Lol.
The Dolphins were pretty cool to see. They do a feeding at the 15s and 45s, I believe. They did tricks, splashed us, play ball, waved at us.
The Lions and Tigers were so boring to see because all of them were sleeping. Maybe one lifted its head up to see what’s around, but that was it. According to one of the information guide they are in their hibernation stage. Boo! Wake up!
Tickets are about $ 20 here, which is pretty expensive considering there are only 3 animals here. You can probably get through it in an hour or unless you stay for the feeding of the Dolphins.
Don’t expect a spectacular dolphin show like if you were at a Sea World. It’s just a local habitat. Just living out their lives. The Dolphins were cool to see up close and personal. Tigers and lions were a disappointment.

Vegas doesn’t have a zoo, so residents have to settle for small places like this that feature only a few animals. The Secret Garden is composed of several large pools with dolphins (and an underwater viewing area) and five feline enclosures. All said, you probably won’t spend more than half an hour here, making the $ 20/​adult ticket fee pretty absurd. The Mirage property graciously gave away free passes to local teachers, which is how I attended.
The Garden area is nice, with plenty of foliage and trees for shade. The lion and tiger enclosures were not particularly large but they had ample water features, ground cover, toys, and plants– these were some o the nicer enclosures I’ve seen even compared to some zoos. But the space is a lot smaller. The enclosures are shallow, so viewers are fairly close to the animals. In mid-​May on a cool day, 3PM, about half of the animals were active and half were napping. Roy himself was there, signing autographs and speaking with visitors, which was a nice touch.
The dolphin area was a bit underwhelming. This isn’t SeaWorld, so don’t expect to see tricks or anything, but you may catch a trainer out answering questions and demonstrating some activities with the dolphins. The underground viewing area is surprisingly spacious, but overall there are few informative plaques or educational components to this attraction.

Entsetzlich ! Die Raubkatzen haben weil zu wenig Platz, die Delphine sowieso egal wie viel man ihnen zugesteht. Ich verstehe nicht, warum man den Tieren hier nicht mehr gibt. Die Hotelanlagen sind so mächtig und bieten wirklich ausreichend Platz. Warum müssen dann große Raubkatzen in den Gehegen zusammengepfärcht sein? Jede Toilettanlage für die Menschen sind großzugiger als ein Käfig der Tiere. Dieser eine Stern bezieht sich nicht auf die Tiere, die sind wirklich schön jedoch auf die Art, wie man sie behandelt.

Der volle Name dieses Platzes: Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Es befindet sich in dem Riesenkomplex des Mirage-​Hotels (
) und kann gegen einen Eintrittspreis von $ 18+ besucht werden. Die Erwartungen sollten allerdings nicht allzu hoch sein, es ist ein klein wenig mehr Schein denn Sein.
Das Gelände umfasst zwei Bereiche: Den Delphin-​Bereich mit zwei großen Pools und den sogenannten Secret Garden mit den berühmten weißen Löwen der Siegfried & Roy-​Show. Dieser Bereich war allerdings bei unserem Besuch (Nov. 2012) zu Teilen im Umbau.
(Siehe Foto unten) (Siehe Foto unten)
Im Delphin-​Bereich lebt eine Großfamilie von Bottlenose Dolphins einige sind hier geboren. In Aquarien gehalten wie hier werden sie über 25 Jahre alt. Damit werden sie im Durchschnitt älter als ihre Artgenossen in freier Wildbahn. Der Main Pool ist der Natur nachempfunden, d.h. der Untergrund entspricht einem Meeresuntergrund. Im Birth and Research Pool dagegen ist ein Pool ohne Extras. Hier finden täglich die öffentlichen Fütterungen statt und auch einige Trainingseinheiten für die Delphine. Eine Show wie in Vergnügungsparks gibt es nicht. Über eine Rampe kann man in den Untergrund gehen und die Delphine durch eine Glasscheibe unter Wasser sehen.
Im Secret Garden kann man die weißen Löwen bewundern und einige Tiger. Auch hier hat man versucht, ein natürliches Umfeld zu schaffen. Allerdings ist dies doch ziemlich beengt. Unser Hagenbecks Tierpark in Hamburg bietet den Raubkatzen weitaus mehr Freilauf. Die hier gehaltenen Löwen werden ca. 15 20 Jahre alt.
(Siehe Foto unten) Fazit: Wer sich für Delphine und weiße Löwen/​Tiger interessiert, der wird hier fündig und seine Freude haben. Alle anderen sollten sorgfältig abwägen, ob ihnen der Eintrittspreis die Sache wert ist. Für mich ist dies ein klassischer Mittelwert: drei Sterne.