NYC Anniversary Trip September 12-14

[dtuleya]

DH and I will be celebrating our 15 year anniversary in NYC at the Hilton Towers on Avenue of the Americas. We will be taking the train from Lancaster through Philly and will be arriving on a Friday night.

We'd like to take in a show Saturday night (we'll be staying in Times Square) and thought that we'd just buy tickets on Saturday morning. Is there a site that shows all the current shows that are running? I'd like to have a couple of shows in mind before we get to the box office.

We'd like recommendations of good places to eat. We will probably only spring for one fancy meal. We might like to venture to Little Italy for a good meal. Any suggestions? We'll probably eat in the Times Square area, but we'd love to hear about your favorites no matter where they are located in the city. DH loves Italian, Steaks and Seafood. He's not as adventurous as I am when it comes to new cuisines.

We'd like to go to Ground Zero to pay our respects since we will be there right after the second anniversary date. Any pointers for this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[adamak]

Do you have any show in mind? If you do a search on TicketMaster.com, it will show you available seats (face value). Most shows are completely "sold out" because ticket agents bought them all and sell them at much higher price. If you are willing to pay the price, tickets are almost always available through these agents.

You can also wait in line at the TKT for discount tickets. Not all shows are available, and you'll be wasting some time waiting in line.

Blue Fin in Time Square is very good hip seafood restaurant. Anything else is a little touristy (ie high price bad food). Little Italy is good choice. *everything* there is good. Just walk around and pick one.
Smith & Wolenski is pretty good steak place too.

Not sure about the 911 anniversary plan yet. I would assume the crowd will be bigger than normal, and the viewing area may be restricted. Check in Sept.

ps. My DH's family is from Lancaster (Bird In hand) too. We go down there all the time.

 

[Evil Princess]

Is the TKT booth open on Saturdays?

I wouldn't do that unless it is open on Saturdays. I know it is for Wed. matinees, thats always good, but like adamak said, only some shows are available. I'd prob. buy tickets in advance if I were you, depending on the show you wanted to see. I was looking online today for Movin Out for two weeks from now and only the cheaper seats were left. Had to go further in advance for the better seats.

 

[dtuleya]

Originally posted by Evil Princess
Is the TKT booth open on Saturdays?

I wouldn't do that unless it is open on Saturdays. I know it is for Wed. matinees, thats always good, but like adamak said, only some shows are available. I'd prob. buy tickets in advance if I were you, depending on the show you wanted to see. I was looking online today for Movin Out for two weeks from now and only the cheaper seats were left. Had to go further in advance for the better seats.

That's why I was asking, a coworker has done this before, but she didn't know where I could find info on it.

 

[gina2000]

Yes, they are open for Saturday matinees. Here's the link.

http://www.tdf.org/programs/tkts/


If you like Chinese, Ollie's Noodle shop on West 44th right off of Broadway in the theatre district is good, cheap and alot of fun.

Becco, a price fixe Italian restaurant in the theatre district, is very, very good. It's located at 355 W46th Street. You must have reservations, however, if you want to dine there pre-theatre.

 

[charlie,nj]

a good site for NYC info: www.nyctourist.com

this is the site of the world financial center..(winter garden):

http://www.worldfinancialcenter.com/default.html

when we go to see the wtc we go into the winter garden it is across the street from the wtc. If you go on the second floor you can look out the window right into gound zero. (sad). Also WFC has great shops it is beautiful inside.

Have fun!

 

[adamak]

I waited in line with my friend about half year ago (unless they change their rules now). They have tix available at 11am for the 2pm show, and at 3pm for the 7 pm show. I am not sure if that's the case anymore.

You can call them also. If your Barnes & Nobles store carry Time Out magazine, you can check out all the shows' time and discount (if available).

 

[TLinden16]

The New York Hilton is a great hotel--I've stayed there many times over the years. Try to get a room away from the elevators and the ice machine--the ice machine is right in the hallway, and my room was across from it, and I could hear it running all night. They have an interesting breakfast buffet there--in part, the hotel caters to Japanese businessmen, so they have a Japanese section on the breakfast buffet with miso soup, rice, and other items that might not be your typical breakfast fare.

Just a tip--when you walk out of Penn Station, leave through the Eighth Avenue exit so that your cab will be heading in the right direction to get to your hotel. I've accidentally gone out the Seventh Ave door, and it always seems like streets are blocked off and the cab ride ends up costing me an extra couple of bucks.

If you go to www.playbill.com, you can see lists of what's playing, and the showtimes. They have a free club that you can sign up for that has discounts on lots of shows if you want to buy your tickets in advance so that you don't have to waste time waiting in line for tickets to a show on Saturday night. The line at TKTS moves, but it can be a long wait. I highly recommend "42nd Street"--the cast is wonderful (one of the best actors I've ever seen onstage--David Elder--is in it--his performance is brilliant, and Tom Wopat--from the Dukes of Hazzard--is in it as well). It's one of those shows that you'll recognize a lot of the songs from, so it makes it extra fun.

I haven't seen it yet, but "Man of La Mancha" has two of the Broadways brightest stars in it--Brian Stokes Mitchell (who was on St. Elsewhere), and Marrin Mazzie. I saw them in a couple of there previous shows together ("Ragtime" and "Kiss Me Kate") and they have a wonderful chemistry together. I'm sure they won't disappoint.

If money isn't a huge issue, and you want to see a really popular show like "The Producers" or "The Lion King" you should go directly to the theatre early in the day, and hope for cancellation tickets. If you really want to see it, and are willing to make a charitable donation to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, you can call them (you can get the number at www.broadwaycares.org), and they can usually get great house seats to most shows. They charge you double the face value of the ticket, but the money over the face value of the ticket goes to the charity and is tax deductable. We were able to get aisle seats eight rows from the stage for my niece for "The Lion King" last year, and the look on her face as she watched the show was worth every penny.

For a quick and casual Italian meal, you may want to consider John's Pizzeria. It's on 44th Street between 7th and 8th Aves. The food is excellent, and reasonably priced (especially for New York). I love there baked ziti, and there pizza is pretty darn good as well.

If you want to try a fun theme restaurant with excellent burgers and sandwiches, you might want to check out Jekyll & Hyde. It's on Avenue of the Americas, just a few blocks uptown of the Hilton (I want to say between 56th and 57th Streets, but I may be off by a block or two). The seats are really comfy, and it's just a fun place to check out.

Sorry for all of the extra unsolicited tips and suggestions--I go a little crazy when I talk about New York.

Karen

 

[LJC1861]

Check out www.Hitshowclub.com for discount tickets that you can purchase in advance either by phone or online. there are lots of good offers all the time and you can save up to 50 % on these tickets.

Linda

 

[dtuleya]

Originally posted by TLinden16
The New York Hilton is a great hotel--I've stayed there many times over the years. Try to get a room away from the elevators and the ice machine--the ice machine is right in the hallway, and my room was across from it, and I could hear it running all night. They have an interesting breakfast buffet there--in part, the hotel caters to Japanese businessmen, so they have a Japanese section on the breakfast buffet with miso soup, rice, and other items that might not be your typical breakfast fare.

Karen

Are you you talking about the Hilton Times Square or the Hilton across from Rockefeller Center. The second one is the one we are staying at. Got a great deal of $85/night on Priceline.com. It hasn't gotten the best reviews from Priceline customers, but I won't complain for the great price we're paying. I've read that it is huge since it caters to conventions. I hope I just don't get stuck with some closet sized room.

Thanks for all the tips! Keep 'em coming!!!

 

[TLinden16]

Originally posted by dtuleya
Are you you talking about the Hilton Times Square or the Hilton across from Rockefeller Center. The second one is the one we are staying at. Got a great deal of $85/night on Priceline.com. It hasn't gotten the best reviews from Priceline customers, but I won't complain for the great price we're paying. I've read that it is huge since it caters to conventions. I hope I just don't get stuck with some closet sized room.

Thanks for all the tips! Keep 'em coming!!!

I'm talking about the Hilton near Rockefeller Center. I have stayed there about a dozen times in the past four or five years. I think most of the rooms are about the same size, and I have always found them to be very roomy. I've had four adults in them and never felt squished in it.

They just did a multi-million dollar renovation. Many (if not all) of the rooms were renovated recently, and they spent a lot of money redoing the lobby. Probably the only bad thing I can say about the hotel is that sometimes the lines at check in can be long, but I tend to be checking in when most people are checking out (around 11:00am), so that is probably why I have a problem.

Yes, the hotel is huge, and it does cater to conventions. But, unless there is a specific convention there on the weekend you are there, there shouldn't be a problem with the conventioneers.

Karen

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

Broadway.com is another source for ticket and show information. also, check with your hotel concierge, they usually have tickets for some of the shows. and no, not "everything" is sold out. you can probably get tickets for all but a few of the musicals.

there's also a TKTS booth at the south street seaport. they sell the same tickets as you can get at Duffy's Square. but if you want to see a matinee, you can get the tickets a day in advance downtown.

as for Ground Zero -- last year's ceremony was restricted to victims and their families. security in the area was super tight. you may want to avoid the area on 9/11 and come on the day beofre or the day after instead.