The Best Cirque du Soleil Show in Las Vegas, Ranked for 2026

"O" is the answer most people want, and Mystère is the answer more people should hear. "O" at Bellagio is the Cirque du Soleil show to see if you'll only ever see one: its 1.5-million-gallon pool stage exists nowhere else, and it earns the highest ticket floor in the lineup. Mystère at Treasure Island does the classic Cirque acrobatics for about half the money, admits kids of any age, and is the better first Cirque for a family. KÀ at MGM Grand wins for teens and for anyone who wants spectacle over grace. Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay is the pick for music fans who'd rather feel bass than watch synchronized swimming. Mad Apple at New York-New York gave its last performance on Saturday, September 5, 2026, so the Las Vegas Cirque lineup is four shows, each 90 minutes with no intermission.

The ranking in one list

• 1. "O" at Bellagio: best overall and best for couples. Ages 5 and up, listed from $119.
• 2. Mystère at Treasure Island: best value, best first Cirque, best for young kids. All ages, from $59.
• 3. KÀ at MGM Grand: best for teens and spectacle seekers. Ages 3 and up, from about $93 before fees.
• 4. Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay: best for music and dance fans. Ages 5 and up, from about $79 before fees.
• Mad Apple at New York-New York: closed September 5, 2026.

The prices are the entry-level seats listed on our show pages on September 2, 2026; they move with demand, and premium sections cost far more. Every one of these shows runs 90 minutes without an intermission.

What's actually running in fall 2026

Older rankings still list six or seven Cirque shows in Las Vegas. Fall 2026 has four. The Beatles LOVE ended on July 7, 2024 after 18 years at the Mirage, which then closed for its conversion into Hard Rock Las Vegas. Zumanity, the adults-only show at New York-New York, gave its last performance on March 14, 2020 and was closed permanently that November. Mad Apple took over the Zumanity room in May 2022 and left it on September 5, 2026: Cirque du Soleil announced the closing on August 15, 2026, after more than 1.2 million guests. The company says it is developing its next generation of Las Vegas shows, but nothing has been named for the New York-New York theater. Any list that still treats LOVE, Zumanity or Mad Apple as bookable is out of date.

1. "O" at Bellagio, the one to see if you'll only see one



A 25-foot-deep pool holding 1.5 million gallons sits where a stage should be, and it changes its mind mid-act: the floor rises for acrobats, drops away for divers, and 14 scuba divers work beneath the surface every performance to move people in and out of the water. No touring Cirque production can copy it. "O" opened on October 15, 1998, the same day as Bellagio, and it remains the show the other Vegas Cirques get measured against.

Minimum age is 5. The show runs 90 minutes with no intermission, two performances a night Wednesday through Sunday, dark Monday and Tuesday. Cameras are banned outright, and bags bigger than a small purse are turned away at the door. Our page lists seats from $119, with premium sections past $300, the highest starting price of the four.

The pace is dreamlike rather than driving, and people who came for constant tumbling sometimes call it slow. The far side sections flatten the pool into a sheet, so the cheapest ticket buys the weakest version of the show. The theater also empties slowly; a dinner reservation 15 minutes after curtain is asking for stress. If the choice is between this and the action show, KÀ vs "O" goes deeper, and the seating notes live on our "O" page.

2. Mystère at Treasure Island, the best value and the best first Cirque



Age policy is the loosest in town: all ages admitted, children under 1 free on a lap, everyone 1 and older needs a ticket. Runtime is 90 minutes with no intermission, two shows a night Friday through Tuesday, dark Wednesday and Thursday, plus scheduled dark dates on September 11–15, November 10 and December 22, 2026.

Mystère has been the original Las Vegas Cirque since December 25, 1993, and it's still the purest version of the formula: taiko drums, trampoline walls, the aerial cube, clowns who work the crowd for half an hour before curtain. The house is compact enough that mid-tier seats see everything, which is why the price advantage is real rather than theoretical. Treasure Island's box office lists standard Category 4 seats at $59 with service fees included and entertainment tax on top, and runs Monday and Tuesday Family Nights at the early show with children's tickets discounted up to 50 percent.

Mystère is classic circus with a 1990s heart, and returning Cirque fans sometimes find it quaint next to the newer rooms. The all-ages policy also isn't a promise of calm: the show's own page warns about strobe lighting, theatrical fog and sudden loud passages, which can rattle very young kids. For a family weighing the two most-compared shows, "O" vs Mystère settles it; the Mystère page has the seating notes and discounts.

3. KÀ at MGM Grand, the one for teens and spectacle seekers



KÀ swaps the circus ring for a machine. Its main stage is a platform that lifts, rotates and tilts toward vertical while performers fight across it, so a fight scene can turn into a climb up a near-vertical wall. There's a plot (imperial twins separated by war, told in an invented language) and a live band that follows the action on high-definition cameras to keep the music locked to the stunts. It's the most cinematic thing Cirque has built in Las Vegas.

Pure acrobatics take a back seat to staging and puppetry, so if you're counting flips per minute, Mystère wins. The battle scenes are loud and the dark stretches are long, which is why the age-3 floor should be read as "sturdy 3-year-olds" rather than a recommendation. The tilting deck only reads in three dimensions from mid-bowl or higher; low side seats watch a flat wall.

Children under 3 aren't admitted, and anyone under 18 needs an adult along. Ninety minutes, no intermission, Saturday through Wednesday with two shows a night, dark Thursday and Friday. Weekend curtains are 4:30 and 7 p.m., the earliest in the lineup, so a Saturday KÀ leaves the whole evening free. Our page lists tickets from about $93 before fees; seating specifics are on the KÀ page.

4. Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay, the one for music fans



Sound comes out of the seat you're sitting in, which tells you what Michael Jackson ONE is: a staged concert with acrobatics, resident at Mandalay Bay since June 2013. Dancers, aerialists and a slackline act ride a remixed catalog of the hits, a DJ warms the room before curtain, and unlike at "O" you can take photos as long as the flash is off. Minimum age is 5, and under-16s need an adult. It runs 90 minutes with no intermission at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Thursday through Monday, dark Tuesday and Wednesday. Our page lists seats from about $79 before fees.

The thread about four fans chasing Michael's spirit is thin, so anyone expecting a story leaves puzzled; take it as a dance show and it delivers. The sound design punishes the upper side banks, which lose bass and effects, so the cheapest seat here is a genuinely worse ticket. Volume is serious everywhere in the room, and ear protection for young kids isn't overcautious. Details on the Michael Jackson ONE page.

Mad Apple, closed September 5, 2026



Mad Apple opened on May 12, 2022 as the first Cirque resident show with stand-up comedy in it: a live band, a working bar on stage, basketball freestylers and jokes that earned the 18-and-over rule. Its final performance was Saturday, September 5, 2026. The Mad Apple page stays up as a record of the run, and nothing has been announced for the New York-New York theater.

Side by side

• Runtime: 90 minutes, no intermission, for all four.
• Ages: Mystère all ages, under 1 free on a lap. KÀ 3 and up, under 18 with an adult. "O" 5 and up. Michael Jackson ONE 5 and up, under 16 with an adult.
• Days: "O" Wednesday–Sunday. Mystère Friday–Tuesday. KÀ Saturday–Wednesday. Michael Jackson ONE Thursday–Monday. In a normal week every night of the week has at least two Cirque shows playing, and Saturday and Sunday have all four.
• Entry price on our pages: Mystère $59 at the Treasure Island box office, service fees included. Michael Jackson ONE about $79 before fees. KÀ about $93 before fees. "O" $119, premium past $300.
• Where: "O" Theatre at Bellagio on the center Strip. Mystère Theatre at Treasure Island, north-central Strip. KÀ Theatre at MGM Grand, south-central Strip. Michael Jackson ONE Theatre at Mandalay Bay at the far south end, a free tram ride from Excalibur.

Which one for your group

• Couples or a special occasion: "O", center section, a few rows up. Our shows-for-couples guide covers the options outside Cirque.
• Kids under 5: Mystère, or KÀ from age 3 for a sturdy kid. "O" and Michael Jackson ONE won't admit them. More in Las Vegas with Kids.
• Teens: KÀ first, Michael Jackson ONE second.
• Tight budget: Mystère, booked ahead; see how to find cheap show tickets for the general tactics.
• You've seen Cirque before: "O" or KÀ. Mystère will feel familiar.
• Music over acrobatics: Michael Jackson ONE, center section only.

Booking notes and caveats

Two shows a night is the norm, but curtain times differ by show and, at KÀ, by day of the week, so trust the calendar on the show page for your exact date rather than a schedule quoted in an old blog post. Pay for center sections at every show except Mystère; the other three punish cheap seats in different ways, and Mystère's compact house is the one place where the saving costs you almost nothing. Weekend dates and event weeks sell first. Treasure Island has already posted 2:30 and 5 p.m. matinees for Mystère on Friday and Saturday, November 20–21, 2026, Grand Prix weekend, when the night race closes Strip roads; the ticketing calendar shows the same 2:30 and 5 p.m. curtains for KÀ on Saturday, November 21, and 4:30 and 7 p.m. for Michael Jackson ONE on November 20–21. "O" hadn't posted that weekend's times when we checked on September 2, so confirm on the show page before you book around the race. Expect paid self-parking at the resorts; the Monorail stops at MGM Grand, and the free tram from Excalibur drops you inside Mandalay Bay. The official pages for "O", Mystère and KÀ all warn about loud sounds and periods of darkness, which matters far more for a 3-year-old at KÀ than for anyone in an 18-and-over room.