well, the wait begins outside, dow n Jackson, and around the corner...

..at least for us it did. We got off the train at 3:55 pm and the line from outside to Ticket booth took until 5:05. There is a security check, just like the airport (so leave you belts, etc. that set it off at home), then a digital picture is taken of you for optional purchase later, THEN the ticket booth. Ride a quick elevator to another floor ( down, I believe) THEN you are hearded into the waiting room for the short movie clip( 7-8 minutes) about the history of the Tower. This waiting and movie took about another 1/2 hour, 45 minutes. THEN you are hearded into another room with to wait to go thru a single turnstyle into the main elevator hallway. There are public (2 )elevators to the top viewing floor. All in all we reached the top about 2.5 hours from arriving, but I can honestly say it was worth it. Now , for those who want to get to the main elevator hall and by-pass 85% of the waiting, you can purchase the Express pass for $30 each. If you are a small group and pressed for time, that is the plan I would take.While we got in line outside there was a girl telling everyone it would take about 2.5 hours to get to the top and she was right.As far as what you can see, well, yes, the street, the river, various rooftops, straight down the side of the building, Spiderman style

, you can see the people in the ledge next to you, so you see them and nothing under them, and you realize that is how you look to them....again, very cool.You are free to stay in the viewing floor as long as you like, there are bathrooms, the most expensive snacks ever for sale, you can see 4 states on a clear day...you just have to share the ledge in nice reasonable manner and you are free to go back to ledge or ledges as often as you are up top.
You know how theTower has multiple levels to it's basic structure,, so the ledges are placed on the side of the building that is not interupted by the levels, so you can see STRAIGHT down....our photos are on DD's camera, and she is not here to help me get them onto the DIS, but I will get to it, I promise,hopefully after she is done with work late tonight.
And my tip for any females planning to go...ummmm, there were MANY people taking pictures of the ledges from the street level ( as they protrude from the building a bit) anyone with a powerful zoom will be able to get a very clear shot from underneath you,,,wear shorts, pants//leave the skirts at home. Justy my advice.
