First-timers trip to NYC...help needed please!

[rdevine10]

I was just going to suggest to NOT priceline with needing to fit 5 people. Priceline ane NYC usually equals rooms that ONLY sleep 2 people.

I have used Travelzoo many times as well. We only live a little over an hour away so we typically just go for the day.

I would look at the doubletree chain for NYC. I am pretty sure they will sleep all in your group and they include breakfast. I think they may have a location in the downtown (wallstreet area) as well.

Good luck! My kids have always loved the zoo in central park, and they loved taking the staten island ferry just to see the Statue of Liberty (way cheap!!!!).

 

[FoundMyPrince]

We are also planning a first time trip to New York..next April (coming in by train). We're going with friends who have been there several times, so not as scary as it would be otherwise. We are booked Sheraton New York Tower..close but not TOO close to Times Square so we've heard. Also will take a tour with a company that does some bus/some walking/some subway to hopefully get a feel for the place. Have already bought Mary Poppins tickets, still want to get Newsies and maybe Chaplin or Nice Work If You Can Get It..maybe there will be something good at other venues? Anyway..it is all new and a bit nerveracking

We saw both Mary Poppins and Nice Work If You Can Get It - bought tickets from the TKTS booth in Times Square. Both shows were 40% off. Our seats couldn't have been better. We loved Nice Work (Matthew Broderick was awesome); I was disappointed in Mary Poppins though. We did see that Annie is going to begin in October (I think it's in Oct) - might be fun!

 

[Swan4Me]

OP here. Thanks for all of the info so far! I have a new question to add...is it possible to stay in the city with 5 "adults" in one room. Although my will be 15, he is a tall 15. I kind of looked at hotels on TripAdvisor and couldn't find anything to hold 5 people of any size. Thanks!

We stayed one nite in the city and I found almost all the hotels have one double bed or two Doubles. None with queens and no 5 in the room.... But I know someone ho found suite hotel, not sure where

 

[FoundMyPrince]

How exactly does Travelzoo work? Is it reliable? Thanks!

Go to their site: travelzoo.com and sign up for their Top 20 deals (it is released each Wednesday, I believe). Yes, reliable. I've purchased many deals that I've found on their site.

Also, you need to request tickets for the World Trade Center Memorial ahead of time. It's free, but you have to get tickets (including a specific time of the day).

Since this is a "budget board" - remember to ride the Staten Island Ferry. It's completely free, and gives you a nice view of Manhattan/Statue of Liberty. We did this twice on our trip - once during the day and once very late at night. We rode back and forth in about an hour. There is a subway stop right at the Ferry station.

We found hotels in the Financial District area are a little less expensive on weekends.

 

[Soupermom]

What does TKTS stand for?

 

[Soupermom]

I am guessing you cannot take photographs during a performance in the theaters, right?

 

[shoney]

What does TKTS stand for?

http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56

TKTS are discount ticket booths.

 

[NotUrsula]

I agree that PL is not a good option for NYC if you need space for more than a couple. However, you can try Hotwire; they allow you to specify how many guests you will have in the room.

 

[YukiPhnx]

SO MANY GREAT TIPS.

I reiterate that you should buy a Metropass and take it everywhere. No matter what though, I think you should stay in Manhatten. It's such a great convenience to get back to the hotel and you never know if you want to take a mid-day break.

One thing you ABSOLUTELY must do is Scott's Pizza Tour. It's a great family thing that people of all ages love. He has fantastic reviews on Trip Advisor. It's the best way to try the best pizza NYC has to offer and learn a bit about the food as well as explore the quieter parts of the city. Totally worth it.

I'm not sure if it's been said, but if you plan to stay for a week or more, the NY City Pass is a great deal. You get to skip lines and enjoy extra things you might not have paid for OOP. The Empire State Building pass includes an audio tour and the Naturel History pass includes a planetarium show.

 

[lightmoonstone]

If you go shopping- ie Maceys,Bloomingdale's, if you go to the Service section of those store, they will give you a Visitor's coupon for 15% of your purchases. Worth getting, if you're a shopper like me.
Hope you like it!

Also, I would suggest a City Pass if you are going to The Statue of Liberty, Museums and the such.

Have fun!

 

[Metsfan520]

I am guessing you cannot take photographs during a performance in the theaters, right?

Yes, and no recording of performances either.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svVPFqN4yPQ

If you can, visit China Town. We visited Little Italy then China Town (separated by a street) on a Sunday. We happened upon Columbus Park. Talk about entering into a new culture. There were elderly people playing board games, karaoke (like 5 groups of people in a small area) with instruments that we'd never seen before, Tai Chi, people swinging around some kind of samurai swords, etc. It wasn't a festival - just a community gathering. Then we walked the streets - open air fish markets, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. There was some kind of religious ceremony going on with a local church - they had their own band playing, floats, etc. It was just amazing. I've heard people talk about the junk shops; we didn't go into those. We just felt like we had walked into another world.

 

[msmama]

Another option for flying Southwest is to fly into McArthur Airport on Long Island.

You can take a shuttle bus (short ride) to the Long Island Railroad Station. The train is about an hour and 20 minutes into Penn Station (near Macy's on 34th St.). It is a long ride, but if it saves you $$ on a taxi it might be worth it.

I *have* run into people on the train staying on LI and visiting NYC, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're going to be spending every day in the city. Though, you could probably save lots of money if you stayed further out, you're going to waste LOTS of time!

 

[scorpad99]

My family has informed me that they really want to go to NYC next summer for our family vacation. This leaves me feeling ! I love to plan our trips and usually do a great job, but for some reason I am very apprehensive about this target destination. To start...can anyone recommend a good guide book? I usually use the UG series when traveling, but this particular one did not get very good reviews on Amazon. Any suggestions on where to fly into? I'd like to use our SouthWest points, so that would be a consideration. Do we need a rental car? Where should we stay hotel-wise? Activity suggestions? I know we'd like to see: WTC Memorial, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty?, a Broadway show (The Lion King? maybe, is Daniel Radcliffe currently starring in anything?).
It would most like be the four of us plus DD's BoyF, who is like a son to us. I appreciate any helpful suggestions; I know my fellow Disers will point me in the right directions! Thanks!!!

I personally would call Skyline hotel and book directly thru them , they have 2 queen sized beds in the rooms, its clean, there is an indoor pool, its privately owned and they are reasonable. there is a frig and coffee maker, and walking distance from time square, and definetly buy show tickets day of show at the ticket booth, 1/2 off tickets. no car is needed, everything is just a cab ride away. The cabbies are pretty reliable, just hail one, jump in and tell them the area you want to go to. bryant park is pretty awesome , like a outdoor market, china town, soho for shopping , little italy for good food. you can fly into newark, and hop right on the nj transit train to take you to madison square garden which is at 35th st. and grab a cab to where you are staying. just make sure you research your hotel well, because alot of those hotels are small, and dirty, or $$$ and not worth the money! hth's

 

[Soupermom]

Everyone's information has been very helpful. I am spending my morning supervising detentions at school and researching everything. The Skyline hotel looks promising with room for 5. I noticed on my Frommer's map that it is in/near "Hell's Kitchen"; while I have heard of many of the sections of NYC, including this one, I am not familiar with it's background. Can someone elaborate?

ALso, I'm thinking maybe it would be good to be in NYC for at least part of the weekend (to visit places like Little Italy and Chinatown) and also part of the work week (cheaper shows, etc?) Do you all agree?

Thanks so much!

 

[Soupermom]

New question. Where is the best place to sit in a theater? I know when we went to La Nouba in DTD, we sat in front row, center of B section and LOVED the seats. I am specifically looking at the Lion King, and maybe one other show. (Something with someone "famous" in it my kids would recognize like Matthew Broderick, Danielle Radcliffe, or Raven Simone). Should I really wait to buy tickets? If so, when and where should I get them?

THANKS!

ETA: Is the NYCity pass different from the NY pass (with bus tour)?

 

[dawnhaze]

If you want to see Wicked or Lion King, don't count on the TKTS booths. It's rare to see tickets for those shows discounted because they sell very well at full price.

I've never been in a theater with "bad" seats, but I like to avoid side views and anything in the rear orchestra. I'll take front mezzanine seats over rear orchestra seats.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

New question. Where is the best place to sit in a theater? I know when we went to La Nouba in DTD, we sat in front row, center of B section and LOVED the seats. I am specifically looking at the Lion King, and maybe one other show. (Something with someone "famous" in it my kids would recognize like Matthew Broderick, Danielle Radcliffe, or Raven Simone). Should I really wait to buy tickets? If so, when and where should I get them?

THANKS!

ETA: Is the NYCity pass different from the NY pass (with bus tour)?

I signed up for the TKTS daily emails about a month before our trip. This way I could see what shows were available for a discount. Nearly the same shows were available each day for a discount. Shows like Lion King are not discounted (that I've seen) - they sell out. If you want tickets to this show, I'm thinking you should buy tickets way ahead of time. We waited to purchase our tickets the day of the shows - at the TKTS booth in Times Square. We waited about 30 minutes in line. There was plenty going on around us to keep us occupied during that time Don't worry about the TKTS booth tickets not being reputable - they are just fine. I wouldn't recommend, however, ever buying tickets from someone "on the street".

Where is the best place to sit in the theater? I think it depends on the show. Some shows I'd rather sit in the orchestra level, others I'd prefer the Mezzanine. For Mary Poppins, I'd recommend Stage Right, Mezzanine, near the middle section aisle.

*Also, if you fly into Newark, NJ, you can take the NJ Transit (train) to Manhattan (very easy to use). You buy tickets at the Newark airport. Tickets are $12.50 for a one-way ticket. We rode to Penn Station, then took a subway to our hotel. We purchased a week long Metro card for the subway; I think it was $29 (unlimited rides, anytime of day).

 

[Soupermom]

So I should order my Lion King tickets as soon as I finalize my trip, right? Can these be returned in the event of an emergency trip cancellation? I looked online for Lion King and most seats are available for June, so any specific suggestions?

 

[cornflake]

Everyone's information has been very helpful. I am spending my morning supervising detentions at school and researching everything. The Skyline hotel looks promising with room for 5. I noticed on my Frommer's map that it is in/near "Hell's Kitchen"; while I have heard of many of the sections of NYC, including this one, I am not familiar with it's background. Can someone elaborate?

ALso, I'm thinking maybe it would be good to be in NYC for at least part of the weekend (to visit places like Little Italy and Chinatown) and also part of the work week (cheaper shows, etc?) Do you all agree?

Thanks so much!

Hell's Kitchen is a good location to be in - it's on the outskirts/back of Times sq. (it's what's btwn Chelsea & the Upper West side basically) and is vibrant and packed with ton of restaurants, little shops, etc. It used to be more... gritty? It's always been sortof arty, but it's been all hip for a long time.