Originally Posted By tiggerdis_ Okay, I have to admit, I've already emailed tiggerpooh, but I'm very impatient!! We are going to New York in a couple of weeks, my husband surprised me with the tickets this morning! We only have three days there, so I was wondering, other than the Staten Island Ferry, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square, is there anywhere we ought to go? Is there anywhere we should eat? I know there's not a lot of time, but if I have to stay up all night to get everything done, I will! And, our flight is coming in to New Jersey. There are three adults in our party, what is the best way to get to our hotel? We are staying near Grand Central Station.. Thanks so much everyone...I'm off to read my guide book!!(He bought me that too!)
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I would say that you should definately get some pizza at some point. There are a ton of by-the-slice places all over, so that would make a nice quick lunch some day. And if you have the chance, you should definately go see a show. I don't know what's running right now (I think The Little Mermaid is ending soon), but I'm sure you can find something that sounds good to your group.
Originally Posted By ibob YAY NYC is FUN ... for my travel ? needs ... in general ... other than Disney ... I visit ... Fodors.com ... use the USA forum ...
Originally Posted By Faline Maybe if you need to sit down awhile and freeze your buns off, how about checking in on a Letterman taping?
Originally Posted By seafairy1622 Wow! How exciting! I've never been to NY. You should definatly see a broadway show! I have seen Little Mermaid. It was good. (I saw the premire in Denver.) Or Sherk. I would love to see that in NY, because it has Brain D'arcy James and Sutton Foster. They are so good!
Originally Posted By EdisYoda I'd skip the Empire State Building as the lines are atrocious. I'd substitute the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. Also, the NBC Studio Tour is definitely worth it.
Originally Posted By magic0214 I am going tomorrow afternoon and dont get back till the 8th, I will post what I enjoyed then
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I just returned from a week there last month, first trip ever. Tons to do, I am sure you'll love NYC. Since you have just 3 days there, I recommend taking one of the hap-on/hop-off bus tours. You ride in a double-decker bus, guided tours. If you get to a spot you want to explore more, hop off and enjoy. There's a red bus (Grey Line) and a blue bus (City Sights NY). We were on the blue bus, they were great. No need to book ahead, they'll hit you up right on the street and explain the various tour packages. Several include admission to things like the observation decks, Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty, etc. The sunway system is great, pretty easy to navigate. I STRONGLY urge you to buy one of those street maps of Manhattan that fit in your pocket and easily pop open to unfold. Here's the one we had: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vandam-York-City-Manhattan-Pop-Up/dp/0528872257/ref=pd_sim_b_2/183-6862432-5083330" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Vandam-Y...-5083330</a> That map was absolutely the best $7 I ever spent! Priceless. To get tickets to a Broadway show, visit the TKTS booth in Times Square. We were able to see Avenue Q for 50% off. Know that they are cash only -- no credit cards or debit cards. Central Park is just beautiful. So much to do there but it's great for people watching as well. We bought some munchies at a little market and had a little picnic there one day, just beautiful. If you want to see Empire State Building, the tickets through those bus lines I mentioned give you the ability to skip way past much of the line, so that alone is a huge time saver. The view is amazing. As for food, well, it's pretty hard to go wrong. The pizza in NYC is truly delicious, it's ruined me for the California stuff. We enjoyed Junior's in Times Square -- right next to the Marriott Marquis Hotel, easy to find. Their cheesecake was fantastic, it's a good place to get a meal before a show. Katz's Delicatessen was delicious as well, you really can't go wrong -- no reason to visit any of the usual chain restaurants either. The NYC Tenement Museum, if you enjoy history, was a very cool, 1-hour tour. They have several tours to choose from. They give you a great idea what life was like -- our tour visited the homes of a couple of immigrant families, heard their stories, learned what daily life was like. One of our favorite things! The bus lines have an uptown loop (Central Park, Grant's Tomb, Harlem) and a downtown loop (World Trade Center, Times Square, SoHo, Greenwich Village) and again, it's a great way to see a lot in a short amount of time. Have a fantastic time!!!
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>And, our flight is coming in to New Jersey. There are three adults in our party, what is the best way to get to our hotel? We are staying near Grand Central Station..<< There are a couple of options. One is to take the AirTram shuttle (monorail type free tram) from Liberty Int'l to the Amtrak Station. A train into Manhattan is about $15 a person one way, if I remember correctly. You can also take the #61 bus to Newark Penn Station. Once there, you can take the PATH train into Manhattan. It's $1.35 for the bus, a couple bucks for the train into town. A cab to Newark Penn station is $15.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Oh, the TKTS discount ticket booth is easy to find -- look for the red bleachers, anyone can tell you where it is. The tickets they have available changes daily and can go fast, so I'd recommend if you have your heart set on something very popular you look into ordering ahead of time. They don't have the shows that are the most popular at the moment there, the shows tend to be ones that have been playing for awhile, or some that are winding up their Broadway runs. be sure and let us know how it went!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo What a fantastic surprise. For me, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, a Broadway Show, and Bloomingdales are all musts.
Originally Posted By tiggerdis_ Wow Kartoonman!!! This is phenomenal information! I will buy one of those maps. I was hesitating about those hop on hop off bus tours, because I've read they don't give you much info, but I was thinking the bus ride would be great, as would having tickets for things like the Statue of Liberty would be a big plus. I've learned that the Empire State Building is open until 2 am!!!! Thanks so much everyone. I'm thinking that if I miss anything, we'll just have to go back. For my family, the tribute to the 911 victims is very important to us.. I appreciate my Disney friends being so well versed. If anyone needs any information about my neck of the woods or the 2010 Winter Olympics, I'd be more than happy to help.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>For my family, the tribute to the 911 victims is very important to us..<< At the site itself, there is not a lot to see. It looks like a construction zone now. BUT be sure to visit Trinity Church which is adjacent to the site. As you may know, the church somehow survived the attacks and devastation of the WTC collapse. It became a place where people at first hung photos to search for missing loved ones, later became the site of countless little memorials by friends and family of the victims. Inside the church there are several displays detailing all of this, as well as a huge collection of all the shoulder patches of the various police, fire, rescue workers from departments around the world. It is a powerful, moving, unforgettable place. And from what you said, I think this is a must-see for your family. (One other note about WTC: We passed the site just about every day when we were there. On one of the days there was a large group of people hawking pamphlets about all sorts of 9/11 conspiracy theories. This isn't World Events so I won't comment other than to say you might find this activity as offensive and troubling as we did. Just move along, tune 'em out is my advice.) We found the tour guides on City Sights NY busses to be great. They were funny, informative, helpful. One other thing -- tips are customary when exiting the bus, so pack some extra money for that. One other thing at the Empire State Building, they have circular maps for sale. They're fairly pricey but they're great for being able to know what you are looking at from the west, east, south and north sides of the observation deck. And also -- New Yorkers are incredibly friendly! Yeah, I know, right? You expect these gruff people screaming at everything in sight, but we found it to be incredibly friendly. People were very helpful when we would ask for directions, which was a wonderful surprise. Ahhhhh... I'm jealous. I wanna go back! It was a lifelong dream of mine to go to NYC and it lived up to what I'd hoped it would be in every way.
