24 hrs in NYC

[seashellmom]

I am going on a bus trip for my first trip to NYC. We are spending a Saturday night. What would you say are the must sees or must dos? I will have my 12 yo dd with me who would love to see something on Broadway. Any advice on getting the best price for tickets?

 

[simonsmom]

must see- Top Of the Rock

 

[Kitzka]

Since you only have 1 day some additional information would be helpful. where in nyc ae you staying? what kinds of things are you interested in doing aside from the broadway play?

for tickets you may want to try seeing what's available at the TKTS booth. tickets there are for day of performances and are usually about $40-50% off.

I live in NJ but work in midtown so if there are any other questions-fire away.

lara

 

[semo233]

For Broadway tickets try Broadwaybox.com or you can buy them half price the same day at the TKS booth in Times Square.

My daughter loved eating at Mars 2112 or the Startdust Diner, and she has seen Phantom of the Opera twice. Also high on her list is Statue of Liberty, Museum of Natural History and the Central Park and zoo,

You won't have a lot of time, so I would not select more than one or two things to do. I don't like to rush through things.

 

[Jrabbit910]

As the pp stated, if your going to wait till the day of to buy tickets to a broadway show... get them at the tkts booth... Go early, lines fill up fast and the tickets go even faster. Many shops & Restaurants in Times sq that can fill your day..

For a disney fix check out the BIGGEST DISNEY STORE in Manhattan... Its on 5th avenue & 55th street

If you cant get tickets to a show... check out the sights, you can visit The Empire State Building, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center, The statue of Liberty, Take a ride on the ferry (its free), visit ellis island....

Its a wonderful city with so much to offer... Enjoy & have a great time!

 

[Brer Shay]

I love day trips to NYC! Not sure exactly what you like to do, but one of the easy ways to see alot of the city highlights is to do one of the Grayline bus tours. They have several options. One of my favorites is the downtown loop - it's about a two hour loop if you stay on it the whole time, but you can hop on and off the bus throughout the city as much as you like while still getting somewhat of a guided tour. The tickets are $40/adult $30/kids I think. They have several other "upgrade" packages if you want to include other tours - Top of the Rock, Statue of Liberty, etc... Their website is www.newyorksightseeing.com.

Others mentioned the TKTS booths - that's a great way to get show tickets - just have a few different shows in mind and you'll certainly find something.

Have a great time! Make sure you take time to sample some of the MANY fantastic foods along the way.

 

[Costumesaremylife]

Tkts is great I just used them twice last week. I just wanted to mention that the tickets they have, though half off are still 60-70$ per seat. And my seats which were quite high up for "Hair", were ten dollars less than the Playbill special for front row.

Check playbill.com sign up for free, there is another promotion on there that is something you have to pay for, that is not it. It is just a simple sign up.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

Don't forget to hit up with World of Disney Store!

Last year they had character meet and greets there, and it was posted on their website, however I do not see it this year. Anyone know if characters are still in the Friendship Room?

Last year DD met Snow White, Ariel, Aroura, Chip, Dale, Donald, and Minnie (2 separate trips). They also had the photopass people there as well.

We also like going into the Toys R Us Store and I have never been in NYC, but in London I went on Madame Tussuads wax museum, it was pretty neat.

 

[bamor]

Seeing as you are only there for 24 hours, please don't waste your time waiting in line at the TKTS booth (plus it is cash only).
Have a look at www.broadwaybox.com for discounts or www.mousesavers.com for discounts on one of the Disney shows.
The Little Mermaid is closing 8/30, you might want to consider seeing this before it's gone. Mary Poppins, In the Heights, Mama Mia all would be good for your DD12.
The Top of the Rock would be great, as well as Central Park. The Disney Store is, well, a Disney Store and not sure I would do that if I only had 24 hours. Certainly pop in if you are in the area on 5th.
Take the Train downtown and take the free Staten Island Ferry roundtrip then stop off at Chinatown (Canal St) to shop before heading back uptown.
Chinatown Ice cream Factory has great ice cream (on Bayard St).
For subway and walking directions, try www.hopstop.com for restaurant/menu ideas, try www.menupages.com.
John's Pizza on 46th might be a good place. There's Bryant Park just behind the library, a great place to sit and eat takeout.
Have fun

 

[lila]

Seeing as you are only there for 24 hours, please don't waste your time waiting in line at the TKTS booth (

This is excellent advice.

 

[seashellmom]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! We are staying at Fairfield Inn in Times Square, so we should be pretty close to everything. What is Top of the Rock?

 

[bamor]

OP,
Top of the Rock is the top of the NBC Building right in the heart of Rockefeller Center. Think Empire State Bldg, without the hour wait.

 

[debsays]

We went to NY last weekend and had a great time. A great deal is the double decker busses. We took the red ones which is the Grayline but there's another that you can use the water taxi as well. It's great as you can hop on/off at any given time. There's a guide that explains everything along the way,etc. The ticket is good for two days. So if you get it the day you get there you can use it the following day as well. Enjoy...Enjoy...Enjoy!

 

[disneynewbeemom]

Check out the Beast boatride with Circle Line tours. We did this last year and was the highlight of our trip. This is a jet boat ride where you can see the Statue of Liberty. The captains are hysterical and had us laughing the entire trip. The boat goes fast and is very fun!

NBC TV tour is also cool. We also did the Top of the Rock, which was a neat experience. It is better than the Empire State Building because you can actually see the ESB from the Top of the Rock. Enjoy and have fun!

 

[debsays]

Staten Island Ferry is a freebie

 

[MickeyP]

I must be the only one who thought that Top of the Rock wasn't that great. It was expensive and I loved the Empire State Bldg.

Don't forget Serendipity and Dylan's Candy Bar. These are always fun stops. I would suggest seeing what you can get in the way of show tickets BEFORE you go. That way you can look forward to something nice.

There's a nice restaurant in the Marriott Marquis that is on the 48th floor (or something like that high up) that revolves, and you can see the whole city. It is a little scary when you see airplanes at eye-level though. You can even go there for just the dessert bar (chocolate fountain-yum).

 

[Belladonna]

I herd Wicked was *AMAZING*!!!

NYC is not cheap, sadly, I've always just had to save tons of money every time I want to go spend the day there because theres always so much stuff that I want to buy. lol! I always get in trouble when I go to chinatown because of all the Hello Kitty stuff they have there ... Not that I need to buy anymore HK things... I have a problem. lol!

Yea, I think the only freebie I've ever gotten in NYC has been the Ferry from S.I.

Oh, also, I went to see Sally Jessie Raphael. Those were free tickets !

 

[8esther8]

I took my teenage boys there for 2 days and we had a blast! I disagree that it has to be expensive. Some of the best things we did were completely free:

All free:

*Staten Island Ferry----goes around Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

*Apple flagship store--free calls and can play with everything

*FAO Schwartz

*Toys R Us flagship store (they preferred over FAO)

*911 Museum and St. Johns(?) church (took care of all the 9-11 volunteers; it's just across the street), both devoted to 9-11...very interesting

*St. Patrick's Cathedral and gift shop--beautiful--they spent at least an hour here

*NY Library (look up the right branch, I can't remember) --houses the real Pooh stuffed animals

*Natural History Museum--actually free, don't HAVE to pay

*Times Square--so much to see, very festive

*Chinatown, Little Italy

We splurged on the Blue Man Group, and got front row seats. It's off-broadway, and a very small venue. Very intimate. The first few rows wear ponchos because stuff flies off the stage. Can't go wrong with boys It's funny, interesting, amazing. They love, love, loved it. Totally worth the money.

Must do's for me would be Staten Island Ferry, Times Square, 9-11 area and Museum, New York slice of pizza, and Blue Man Group. Maybe the Empire State Building, but it's expensive, and my kids said it wasn't worth it. Everything else is gravy