M&M’s World

What is it?

A four-story shrine to all things M&M.

Where is it?

At the Showcase Mall on the South Strip, next door to MGM Grand.

What do they sell?

If they can put the M&M logo, characters, or shape on it, they sell it. They have clothing, games, housewares, and so much more that it would be virtually impossible to list here. Oh, and they also have candy, of course including a rainbow of colors that don’t come in the regular packages.

What are the prices like?

Would it surprise you to find out that it’s all overpriced stuff designed to separate tourists from their money? It shouldn’t.

What should I be sure to check out?

In addition to all the merchandise there are a couple of attractions including a 3-D movie and some “life-sized” M&M characters that you can pose with.

Why should I shop here?

Because you get very sad when you have eaten the last M&M from the bag.

What else do I need to know?

They don’t hand out free samples. Bummer.

What’s the bottom line?

It’s chocolate, so there’s that. And those M&M characters are cute. But beyond that? Tourist trap.

When visiting a place like M&M World it is hard to balance my love of chocolate with my disdain for crass commercialism. This place has both in massive quantities and so I both love and loathe it; am amused by and repulsed by it.

The one thing to be clear about is that this is, primarily, a retail venue. It used to have more of an attraction feel, with a theater, a section about the history of M&Ms and how they are made, and more. The theater is still there, showing a silly 3-D animated movie, but the rest of the place is filled with stuff to buy.

And oh my, what you can buy… clothing, housewares, electronics, games, furnishings, and more all with the M&M logo and/or characters emblazoned on them. And of course you can buy the candy in all the various permutations and colors you are used to and a bunch more.

One of the features is a color wall that has dozens of hues that go way beyond the red, yellow, green, blue, orange, and brown in the standard M&M packages. You can mix and match and create your own rainbow of chocolate candy. You can even customize your M&Ms with messages – I had a batch done up that say Vegas4Visitors on them.

So yay, chocolate! But then you look at the prices and the horror starts to creep in. $30 for a t-shirt? $20 for a couple of ounces of customized M&Ms? Crazy. You can probably find most of the merchandise items online for significantly less and can get M&Ms pretty much anywhere. They may not be purple ones that have your name on them but still…