Which Las Vegas Show to Take Kids To, According to the Parents Who Did
Travel Analysts
We read the reviews written by parents who took children to five Las Vegas shows. All 21 who took kids to Mystère gave it four or five stars, including parents of four- and five-year-olds. Blue Man Group had the most families, 31 of 38 happy, but the unhappy ones say the humor lands with young children and not with adults. Michael Jackson ONE's two one-star parents objected to suggestive numbers. Shin Lim works best for tweens and up.
Explore the full guide & expert tips ➜Mystère: the one show no parent regretted
Twenty-one reviewers in our sample say they took children to Mystère. Every one of them gave it four or five stars, sixteen of them five. No other show we looked at came close to that.
The ages run from four to fifteen. The youngest reports are among the most enthusiastic:
“Our 4 year old son was very attentive and also had fun all along the show.” — TripAdvisor, 5 stars, August 2025
What makes it work for children is the part some adults dislike. Mystère's comedy includes a giant baby character that several adult reviewers call creepy or strange. Children, by their parents' accounts, see it differently:
“I have a 9 and a 12 year old and let me tell you, they LOVED the big creepy baby. They thought he was hilarious.” — TripAdvisor, 5 stars, August 2019
The trade-off: the comedy that keeps a child engaged between the acrobatic acts is broad and silly, and the complaints about it come from adults. If you are taking kids, that is the point; if you are not, it is the price of the acrobatics.
Blue Man Group: the family favorite that splits by age
More parents wrote about taking children to Blue Man Group than to any other show here: 38. Thirty-one of them gave four or five stars, and the youngest children mentioned are three, four and five years old.
“Our 5 and 7 year olds were engaged the entire time and it was entertaining for the whole family!” — TripAdvisor, 5 stars, June 2025
The seven who gave three stars or fewer tell two different stories. In one, the child loved it and the adult did not. One parent put the two verdicts side by side:
“My 8 year old felt that this show was the best of all that we saw in Las Vegas, which is about in line with the humor of this show.” — TripAdvisor, 3 stars, July 2022
Four adult reviewers who did not enjoy it recommend it for children instead:
“if you have kids ages 7 to 12 they would probably like it.” — TripAdvisor, 3 stars, July 2021
In the other story, the children were not won over either. Five of the seven unhappy parents say their kids were bored or unimpressed:
“Even our 14 and 8 year old boys were not interested.” — TripAdvisor, 1 star, March 2024
The trade-off: Blue Man Group drew the most families in our sample, most of them happy, and the humor is pitched at children. The parents most likely to be disappointed are the ones expecting an adult evening, and a show built on slapstick does not win over every child either.
Michael Jackson ONE: two numbers and the volume
Thirteen reviewers took children to Michael Jackson ONE, and nine of them gave four or five stars. The youngest mentioned is six.
“Whether it was our 8 and 10 year olds or us, we really loved it.” — TripAdvisor, 4 stars, October 2024
The two one-star reviews from parents are about the same thing: dance numbers they found too suggestive to watch with children, including a pole routine.
“suggestive dance moves were uncomfortable to watch with our kids.” — TripAdvisor, 1 star, August 2026
The other issue parents raise is the volume. Four of the thirteen mention it, including a parent of a six-year-old who solved it with earplugs from the ushers and a family whose children covered their ears. We measured the volume across all reviews of this show in our article on what divides its audience.
The trade-off: most parents in our sample were happy, and the music is the draw for children as much as for adults. What you are accepting is concert-level sound and a couple of numbers some parents consider adult, so this is a show to check before you book rather than after.
Shin Lim: better for tweens than for small children
Thirteen reviewers took children to Shin Lim: LIMITLESS, and nine gave four or five stars. Children who already knew him from television were among the happiest, and parents of an eight- and a nine-year-old describe the whole family being amazed.
The problems come with younger children, because the show is close-up card magic, much of it followed on screens:
“Not a little kid show. So maybe tweens and up.” — TripAdvisor, 4 stars, May 2022
“8 year old was engaged but hard to follow the big tricks” — TripAdvisor, 4 stars, November 2023
Three parents describe a younger child who was bored, restless or struggling to follow, including a grandparent whose ten-year-old granddaughter fell asleep.
The trade-off: for a child who loves magic and can sit through ninety minutes of detail, it is a highlight. For a small child who needs movement and noise, Blue Man Group or Mystère hold attention better.
O, and the show to leave them home for
Only six reviewers in our sample took minors to O, too few to draw a pattern. Four gave five stars, with children aged ten to fifteen:
“My kids (11 and 13 years old) and I all loved this show.” — TripAdvisor, 5 stars, July 2024
The two unhappy families had teenagers, one of whom fell asleep. With numbers this small, that is an observation rather than a finding.
Absinthe is the opposite case. It is an adult show, and its own fans are the ones who say so, which we cover in our article on its reviews.
| Show | 👨👩👧 Parents who took minors | 🟢 Gave 4–5★ | Youngest child mentioned | ⚠️ What unhappy parents raise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🎪 Mystère | 21 | 21 | 4 | — |
| 🥁 Blue Man Group | 38 | 31 | 3 | Slapstick humor adults find thin; some children bored |
| 🕺 Michael Jackson ONE | 13 | 9 | 6 | Two suggestive numbers; the volume |
| 🃏 Shin Lim: LIMITLESS | 13 | 9 | 7 | Hard for young children to follow |
| 🌊 O | 6 | 4 | 10 | Too few families to say |
| 🍸 Absinthe | — | — | — | An adult show, by its own fans' account |
Common questions
❓ What is the most family-friendly Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas?
In our sample, Mystère. All 21 reviewers who took children gave it four or five stars, with children as young as four. Four of the six families who wrote about O gave it five stars, while Michael Jackson ONE drew objections from two parents about suggestive dance numbers. Check each show's own age guidance before booking.
❓ Are there Las Vegas shows worth doing with a very young child?
The youngest children parents describe enjoying a show are a three-year-old at Blue Man Group and four-year-olds at Mystère and Blue Man Group. Blue Man Group is loud, and its front rows can get splashed. Minimum ages are set by each show and can change, so confirm before you buy.
❓ What Las Vegas show is best for teenage boys?
Our sample does not give a clear winner. Parents of teenagers were happy at Mystère and Shin Lim, and some teens loved Blue Man Group, but one parent says their 14-year-old son was not interested in it, and the two unhappy families at O had teenagers. The numbers are too small to rank shows for this age.
Method and Limits
We read the rated TripAdvisor reviews of six Las Vegas shows, collected without filtering by rating: 500 each for Mystère, Michael Jackson ONE, Blue Man Group, O and Absinthe, and 343 for Shin Lim: LIMITLESS. We searched them broadly for children, ages, grandchildren and families, then read each match and kept only reviewers who say they took minors — a stated age under 18, or context that makes it clear. Reviewers who went with adult sons and daughters, and those who mention a daughter or son with no age or context, are not counted.
The counts are therefore small: 38 families for Blue Man Group, 21 for Mystère, 13 each for Michael Jackson ONE and Shin Lim, and six for O. They describe the experiences of the parents who chose to write, not the share of all families who enjoy a show. Our corpus also holds a separate set of reviews gathered from negative ratings only; nothing in these counts comes from it, and removing it took three unhappy families out of the Mystère figures and four out of Blue Man Group's.
Quotes are reproduced exactly as written, including the writers' spelling, and each was checked word for word against the stored review. Age minimums, content warnings and ear protection are set by each production and can change. Confirm them with the show before you book. Figures describe reviews published up to September 2026.
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Travel Analysts
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