This is a little off topic for me… But not really… Every wife needs her girl time. My best friend Lauren and I met in 7th grade, we’ve been avid Britney Spears fans since first hearing “Baby One More Time” on that radio. Last year when she announced that she would be doing a Vegas show, Lauren and I didn’t ask each other IF we were going, only WHEN are we going?! When the schedule was released we decided we would make this our 30th Birthday Trip together. My birthday is in December and hers is in January; we didn’t want to go during the holidays so we decided on the January 29th show. Now, I’m completely understand that not everyone is foaming at the mouth, over the top obsessed with her like Lauren and I. But I thought there were many things I could share with you to help you plan your trip to see her show. Whether it’s just cause you need something to do in Vegas or you want to have the time of your life.
We took the first flight in the morning… So nothing was open yet except Starbucks. We enjoyed our lattes until the Miracle Mile stores opened… First stop… The ABC Store 🙂 #sorryimnotsorry Corona for breakfast, no limes but they have lime juice. It’s the cheapest place for booze/snacks/smokes. They have single beers, bottles of wine and liquor. It’s a great place to stock your mini fridge, trust me.
TOTAL REWARDS
Before you do anything else, click on this link to join Total Rewards. I joined online and then got a card by showing my photo ID at the Total Rewards Customer Service on the Main Floor in the Planet Hollywood Casino. You still receive all the benefits of being a member while planning your trip. This came in handy when buying tickets, members got to buy advanced tickets 2 days prior to them being open to the public. Not sure if that’s even applicable now. Then when booking a room you got an additional discount as well. Many of the stores and restaurants on the strip offer Member discounts. They also scan your card when making purchases at participating Casinos, Shops, Hotels and Dining so that you can earn points for all your purchases. The points can then be redeemed for discounted and complimentary services. I love a discount, and when I went to the TR Customer Service to get my card, they let me spin a wheel of prizes and I got a free drink! That alone was worth signing up for 🙂
SEATING
We were lucky and got great seats the morning of the Total Rewards Pre-Sale on Ticketmaster.com. The Axis is a large venue for a Vegas show, seating is very important. If you’ve been to one of her concerts before you know that there are huge TVs everywhere and even if you’re in the nosebleed section you’ll be able to see everything perfectly… That is defiantly not the case here. The entire wall that the stage is on is one big TV, but they only show the dancers and graphics that go along with whatever set she is on at the time. So if you doing bring binoculars you will not see much of anything in the 200 Sections. The seating is not true stadium style either so the person in front of you is only slightly lower than you. When everyone is standing, if you get a tall guy in front of you… You’ll see nothing. Basically, if it’s important for you to see everything, like it was for us, spend the extra money on seats in the VIP section right in front of the stage or the 100s in a row close up.
The picture below is a still from a video we took… Sorry for the poor quality. I just wanted to give you an idea of how you can end up in a bad situation… Because there is very little incline on the seating rows you can end up behind someone MUCH taller than you and not be able to see anything. The audience is standing much of the concert so it could make or break the night. Especially if the 6’4″ guy in front of you with his girlfriend is on enough drugs to think… He is Britney that night.
BRITNEY STORE
Sooooo… There’s an entire Britney Store in the Miracle Mile Shops right outside of the Casino entrance. But you can also buy the things in her store by clicking this link. Everything you can buy inside the show venue is available in this store. So don’t think that you need to wait and see what is in there… There is actually more options in the store.
HOTEL
I had never stayed at Planet Hollywood before. It’s not the most glamorous hotel in Vegas (Trump, Wynn & Encore are my favorite) but it is very nice. I would definitely stay there again. You will also get an additional discount with your Total Rewards membership number. The best part about staying there it really gets you in the Britney spirit. It’s like staying at the Disneyland Hotel when you go to Disneyland. EVERYTHING has Britney on it… What is there not to love??? Magazines in your room, your room key, the elevator doors, casino tables… Died and gone to Britney heaven… (P.S. It was VERY nice to not have a long walk back to our room after the show, remember we weren’t on our 21st birthday trip).
PICTURE TAKING
You will go through metal detectors as soon as you enter the venue. They will have a step and repeat and they will take your picture, that you can purchase for $40 after the show. If there’s a possibility that you and your friend or friends will all want to buy one, you have to ask them to take multiple pictures, there is no way to get duplicates after the show… Unless you do it on your own afterwards. Yes, it’s expensive but it comes in a nice leather bifold album and makes for a great memento.
THE SHOW
After you go through the metal detectors and take pictures on the step and repeat, you walk into the lobby. There is the merchandize stand to buy t-shirts, posters, CDs, etc. Remember, every single thing you can buy inside the venue can be purchased for the same price and more options inside the store outside. Then there are costumes from different shows and music videos. There are drinks and snack available in the lobby also, get them prior to the show, and use the restroom before the show, because there is no intermission or breaks and it’s not that long. You don’t want to miss it 🙂
*If you look closely there is woman picking her nose in this picture 🙂
You’ll see amazing fans in full costume, this man was our favorite..
Here is the set list in order…
1. Work Bitch
2. Womanizer
3. 3
4. Oops… I Did It Again
5. …Baby One More Time
6. Me Against The Music
7. Slave 4 U
8. Toxic
9. Circus
10. Scream and Shout
11. Till The World Ends
12. Piece Of Me
13. Hot As Ice
14. Boys
15. Perfume
16. I Wanna Go
17. Lucky
18. Stronger
19. If U Seek Amy
20. Get Naked (I Got A Plan)
21. (You Drive Me) Crazy
22. Do Somethin’
23. Freakshow
24. Gimme More
The show isn’t as long as you would assume by seeing how many songs there are, it lasted about an hour and 45 minutes… Possibly a little shorter. Not every song is sung from beginning to end, few are. She goes through multiple costume changes, the dancers do too (LOVE THAT). There are different stage sets throughout the show which are all switched so effortlessly its pretty amazing.
CONCLUSION
It isn’t a cheap girls night, even if you live in Las Vegas. BUT, it was worth every single penny. Great night to add to your Vegas trip you already have planned, we saw bachelorette parties there too 🙂 We went to dinner before and I recommend Sugar Factory to you all as well. I got the Lemon Head Drop and Baked Macaroni & Cheese, my friend got the Jolly Rancher Martini and Veggie Burger. We both enjoy good food and everything was on point, service was great as well. We wanted to find a restaurant with a view of the Bellagio fountains, unfortunately we are vegetarians and all the restaurants I could find had very little for us to eat. The patio at Sugar Factory has outdoor heaters as well. Good food, great drinks and a view… All just a quick 5 minute walk from the concert venue. Need I say more? Enjoy your trip, hope this helped everyone. Please email me at mrstrainingblog@gmail.com if there are more questions I can answer for you.
Britney Army Love,
GMW
mrs. training 