New York planning advise needed

[aussietravellers]

I have WDW pretty much all planned now it's just NY that needs planning. But we have not been to NY before so I don't know how long we need at certain places. Would love some advise about our NY activities as I just don't know how long to spend at each place so don't know what to schedule when.

Definate places to visit....

* FAO Schwarz
* Top of the Rock (want to do sunrise and sunset)
* Museum of Natural Histroy (have been told a whole day here)
* Central Park - Zoo, Bow Bridge, The Carousel, Bethesda Fountain and The Mall (have no idea how long all of that will take)
* Walk the Brooklyn Bridge (no idea how long that will take)
* Ferry or Circle tour (half or full, can't decide)
* Breakfast at the Boathouse in Central Park (either before the Museum or other central park activites)
* Martha Stewart show (hopefully)
* Broadway show - Probably Wicked matinee (2pm or 3pm)
* A half day shopping (ok, so I think that may take half a day but realistically it will take a whole day )


We would also like to do....
Bronx Zoo (this is a whole day so don't know if we will have time)
Greenwich Village
but don't know if we will have time because I don't know how long to allow for our must do's.

We have 6 full days in NY. We arrive at 6.30pm on the first day so will only get dinner that night then bed as we will be tired after the flight. Then our last day our flight is at 9am from JFK to MCO so that day is out. So we have 6 full days inbetween arrival and departure. Would love some advise on how long we need to spend at these places.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I'll chime in with a few things:-

FAO Schwartz - 1-2 hours
Museum - I agree allowing 1 day is a good idea
Central Park - from your list it looks like more than half a day with the zoo inc.
Broadway Show - allow 3 hours

I'll let others jump in for the other things

 

[queenie82]

Can I come!!!!
We did the half circle tour our first time on the citypass...and the upgrade the second time.
I would definitely always upgrade now, but I don't know if younger kids would appreciate the 'extra'. So if you are concerned about that then I would go with the half. It is still GREAT!!!
I mean the extra is great value and shows you more of NYC (obviously) but even the 2 hour is really good.

Top of the Rock....yep yep...sunrise and sunset
Loved that.

We have done the whole of the citipass with both empire and TOTR sunrise and sunset and Guggenheim plus other stuff (shopping, Ground Zero etc) in 3 days.

I don't see why a whole day for Museum of Natural History??? half maybe...but not a whole!
Even adding broadway shows and zoos you should be fine. Walking the bridge....yeah I dunno how long that takes

Martha I don't know much about but I do know tapings CAN eat into time...with waiting to get in to get a good seat, and the time it take to tape. I know with Ellen she has a riff raff room because not all DO get a seat. Hence the getting there at like 8am for a 2pm taping.

 

[amyren]

Hey Aussietravelers.

Based on my recent NYC trip, here are my two cents:

We stopped in FAO for about 20 min, but we weren’t traveling with kids. You can definitely spend lots of time there. I guess it depends on how much money you are willing to spend.

Top of the Rock – We spent a couple of hours taking in the views but the line can be really long for entry. The day we went it was pretty deserted bc they were shooting a movie on the top observation deck. We only had access to the 69th floor (which really made no difference to us). Normally expect to wait about an hour… I’m guessing on this based on the fact that we waited over an hour to get up the Empire State bldg. Oh, and don’t forget there is Magnolia bakery near TOTR – you must stop in for a cupcake.

Museum of Natural History – We spent about 4 hours there and didn’t even see half of the exhibits. I wish I would have watched Night at the Museum just before our trip. It probably would have made the museum more interesting.

We just did a quick walking tour of Central Park. It is HUGE, something like 800 acres. You can spend hours and hours there. We pretty much stayed in one corner and saw Bethesda fountain, Strawberry Fields & The Mall. If you don’t feel like walking for miles you can rent bikes, hire a pedicab or horse & carriage! I’d like to rent bikes on our next visit.

I walked Brooklyn Bridge on my first visit to NYC. It’s a great way to get views of the skyline. We hopped in a cab and had the cabbie drive us over the Manhattan bridge into Brooklyn and drop us at the entrance of the bridge. The bridge is just over a mile and ends near the financial district (fairly close to Wall St & WTC site). It's a nice walk.

We didn’t do a Ferry tour we actually took the (free) Staten Island Ferry which takes you from Manhattan to Staten Island. On the way you go “near” the Statue of Liberty. It’s on my list of things never to do again. Sure it was free but it was really crowded and we didn’t get very good views. The views from the bridge were much better.

We saw a Broadway show on our first trip. If you are flexible you can wait in line at the TKTS booth in Times Square on the day of the show and get some pretty major discounts.

For shopping check out China Town. That’s where you can get the best deal on souvenir type things. BTW don’t pay asking price! They expect you to negotiate the price. I probably paid 75% of sticker price

Also you should definitely check out Little Italy. It’s so cute, especially at night. Enjoy a nice Italian dinner followed by gelato! The place we went to (DaNico) was great and they have a really cool outdoor area which would be fantastic in September.

Anyway, there is so much to do in NYC, I’m sure you’ll have a great trip!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Wonderful info Amyren

 

[aussietravellers]

I'll chime in with a few things:-

FAO Schwartz - 1-2 hours
Museum - I agree allowing 1 day is a good idea
Central Park - from your list it looks like more than half a day with the zoo inc.
Broadway Show - allow 3 hours

I'll let others jump in for the other things

Great thank you for that Ms. Shuttergirl. I think we would probably need an hour or two at FAO Schwarz, somebody (that somebody being me ) wants to build a muppet and DS wants to build a matchbox car. So by the time we do that, line up to jump on the piano and wander around it will take a while I suppose.

Central Park I will aim for half a day then, I really didn't have much of a clue how long it would take and I didn't know if the Zoo is a half day thing or an hour thing.

 

[aussietravellers]

Can I come!!!!
We did the half circle tour our first time on the citypass...and the upgrade the second time.
I would definitely always upgrade now, but I don't know if younger kids would appreciate the 'extra'. So if you are concerned about that then I would go with the half. It is still GREAT!!!
I mean the extra is great value and shows you more of NYC (obviously) but even the 2 hour is really good.

Yes I did read that it was only something like $4 to upgrade from the half circle to the full circle cruise, what a bargain. So maybe we stick with the half circle. I'm undecided on the city pass, we don't want to do everything on the pass so think it may be better to pay as we go

Top of the Rock....yep yep...sunrise and sunset
Loved that.

We have done the whole of the citipass with both empire and TOTR sunrise and sunset and Guggenheim plus other stuff (shopping, Ground Zero etc) in 3 days.
I did have ESB on our list but thought we will be wasting so much time in the line to go up (even though we would get the express pass), it seems that TOTR has a fantastic view and also has the view of the ESB. Who knows, we may end up doing ESB as well, but sunrise and sunset at TOTR is our plan

I don't see why a whole day for Museum of Natural History??? half maybe...but not a whole!
My DS is really into places like this. We only allowed half a day at the Natural History Museum in London and then went to the Science Museum for the other half. It was not enough time at all and my DS was so upset that we didn't have the time to go back and finish the museum. So I know he will want to spend time seeing everything and the fact that he is off school for almost three weeks for this trip and he is going to do an online travel journal for his class to log in and read daily and he also has to keep a written journal, then he will have plenty to write about from a day at the museum. It's also the only museum we are going to and from what I have read if you want to see everything then it does take a day. If we plan a day then if we finish early we will just find something else to do.

Even adding broadway shows and zoos you should be fine. Walking the bridge....yeah I dunno how long that takes

Martha I don't know much about but I do know tapings CAN eat into time...with waiting to get in to get a good seat, and the time it take to tape. I know with Ellen she has a riff raff room because not all DO get a seat. Hence the getting there at like 8am for a 2pm taping.

Thanks for the info

 

[aussietravellers]

Hey Aussietravelers.

Based on my recent NYC trip, here are my two cents:

We stopped in FAO for about 20 min, but we weren’t traveling with kids. You can definitely spend lots of time there. I guess it depends on how much money you are willing to spend.
I think the visit to FAO is going to be an expensive exercise Not just because of my son, but I want to build a muppet it looks so cute. But I may see them and not do it. I know my son will want to take quite a bit of time wandering around here, his reason for wanting to go to NY is to go to FAO and Toy's r us and the Natural History Museum

Top of the Rock – We spent a couple of hours taking in the views but the line can be really long for entry. The day we went it was pretty deserted bc they were shooting a movie on the top observation deck. We only had access to the 69th floor (which really made no difference to us). Normally expect to wait about an hour… I’m guessing on this based on the fact that we waited over an hour to get up the Empire State bldg. Oh, and don’t forget there is Magnolia bakery near TOTR – you must stop in for a cupcake.
Ohhhh, we will most definately be visiting Magnolia Bakery. I didn't know where it was, other than Greenwich Village but when I read your blog I saw it was near TOTR and was so excited! We plan on going first thing in the morning so hopefully the line won't be too long, it's supposed to be a shorter wait than the ESB. I would be happy too with the 69th floor, that is still very high so it would still be an amazing view. So maybe if we plan an hour in the morning and an hour over sunset

Museum of Natural History – We spent about 4 hours there and didn’t even see half of the exhibits. I wish I would have watched Night at the Museum just before our trip. It probably would have made the museum more interesting.
Yes we spent about that time at the Natural History Museum in London and it wasn't enough time, so I think we will plan on spending the day there and if we finish early we will find something else to do (shopping)

We just did a quick walking tour of Central Park. It is HUGE, something like 800 acres. You can spend hours and hours there. We pretty much stayed in one corner and saw Bethesda fountain, Strawberry Fields & The Mall. If you don’t feel like walking for miles you can rent bikes, hire a pedicab or horse & carriage! I’d like to rent bikes on our next visit.
We will be happy to walk, I love walking when away on vacation. Last time we went to the USA for a month, I lost 5kgs (about 11 pounds) it was terrible, none of my clothes fit by the end of the trip, I had to go and buy new shorts.

I walked Brooklyn Bridge on my first visit to NYC. It’s a great way to get views of the skyline. We hopped in a cab and had the cabbie drive us over the Manhattan bridge into Brooklyn and drop us at the entrance of the bridge. The bridge is just over a mile and ends near the financial district (fairly close to Wall St & WTC site). It's a nice walk.
Great idea thanks We will do that, take a cab to Brooklyn side and walk back.

We didn’t do a Ferry tour we actually took the (free) Staten Island Ferry which takes you from Manhattan to Staten Island. On the way you go “near” the Statue of Liberty. It’s on my list of things never to do again. Sure it was free but it was really crowded and we didn’t get very good views. The views from the bridge were much better.
Thank you for that, Yes I have looked at the Staten Island Ferry and it seems so busy, so I think the half circle cruise might be better, not so many people, hopefully we will get some great photos on our way past Statue of Liberty.

We saw a Broadway show on our first trip. If you are flexible you can wait in line at the TKTS booth in Times Square on the day of the show and get some pretty major discounts.
We are staying right near the ticket booth I believe, so that's a good idea

For shopping check out China Town. That’s where you can get the best deal on souvenir type things. BTW don’t pay asking price! They expect you to negotiate the price. I probably paid 75% of sticker price

Also you should definitely check out Little Italy. It’s so cute, especially at night. Enjoy a nice Italian dinner followed by gelato! The place we went to (DaNico) was great and they have a really cool outdoor area which would be fantastic in September.
Great tip, I didn't actually have Little Italy on our list but we will go there for dinner one night and have a walk around. And we all LOVE Gelato so I think this is now a must do on our itinerary.

Anyway, there is so much to do in NYC, I’m sure you’ll have a great trip!

Thank you so much for all of your tips I loved your blog by the way, I would have been so excited being at TOTR with Matt Damon above filming. Pity you didn't get a peak at him, why didn't he poke his head over the side and wave to all of you

 

[queenie82]

My DS is really into places like this. We only allowed half a day at the Natural History Museum in London and then went to the Science Museum for the other half. It was not enough time at all and my DS was so upset that we didn't have the time to go back and finish the museum. So I know he will want to spend time seeing everything and the fact that he is off school for almost three weeks for this trip and he is going to do an online travel journal for his class to log in and read daily and he also has to keep a written journal, then he will have plenty to write about from a day at the museum. It's also the only museum we are going to and from what I have read if you want to see everything then it does take a day. If we plan a day then if we finish early we will just find something else to do.

That's wonderful!!!
Good on him! I mean it is a pretty cool place so I hope you have a great time

As for Empire. If time was really limited and I had to choose I would forgo Empire. I would definitely do TOTR sunrise and sunset though.
The main difference in terms of view is due to the location of the building. So you do see different things. Empire gives you a better look towards further downtown. So if you have time do both.
It is funny looking across from TOTR to Empire. And vice versa.

When we went in 03 we had a LONG line for Empire, but someone went around saying if you buy the citypass you can bypass some of the queue.
When we went end of Nov 07 we got there at 7:45am (on a brisk NY morning ) and there were about 10 people there. So we got up rightaway.
TOTR queues weren't bad either.

One thing to look up would be the lighting of Empire. They light it with different colours for holidays...like halloween, thanksgiving and christmas.

As for the cruise...my photos are still a mess of files on the computer but this is the view I got of Lady Liberty from the cruise.

 

[Kangarucci]

Fantastic photo Queenie!!!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

With regard to the ESB, we went there Oct last year. I read lots of reviews and it seemed Sunday mornings were the best times to go and the concensus was to buy the tickets online (which if I remember rightly was cheaper anyway).

So I bought the tickets online before leaving Oz and we got there just before 8am. There was a line of about 30 people already and I kind of groaned because I was so bummed that there was already a line. I think it maybe opened 10 minutes later.

But guess what, all of those people in front of us, they hadn't bought their tickets yet so once inside, they had to line up at the ticket booth and we got to sail straight past with one or two other brilliant peeps .

So whilst I think TOTR probably has better views because the views are of Central Park and ESB, if like my husband you feel like you haven't been to New York if you haven't been to the top of ESB, maybe try what we did.

The ropes you see when you get inside. Yikes, later in the day this would be full of people lining up. No way, I only line up for Disney LOL

 

[aussietravellers]

Wow! Great Photos!!!

Queenie great photo of Statue of Liberty taken from the cruise! We will definately do that cruise.

Ms. Shuttergirl if we do to ESB I will do the prepurchase of tickets I'll do it for many things that we will do.

Question for both Queenie and Ms. Shuttergirl. I have a teeny weeny fear of heights and claustraphobia (the full lift gives me the shivers too). Looking at the photos of the view is amazing but it also makes my hands sweaty just thinking about being that high . When going up in the lift, is the lift fast or does it seem to take forever? Can you feel that you are going that high and coming down do you get that drop in your tummy (like tower of terror ) Were there a lot of people crammed in the lift with you or going early did you get a lift with lots of room or were you packed in like sardines?

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Because we were there so early the lift wasn't crowded no. I didn't feel like it was a really long time and if I remember rightly you go half way up on one lift, hop off and get on another one???

My husband is terrible with heights and yet it was him who wanted to go to the top of the ESB . Anyway, as soon as we walked out onto the observation deck he was feeling vertigo like crazy . He wanted to leave fairly quickly but I said these tickets cost a fortune, we are spending 10 minutes up here. He adjusted after a while but he stayed away from the edge as much as possible. You can see DH in the background of the shot with my son looking through the view thing, he doesn't look impressed

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

loved love loved everything about it. And I cannot recommend the carriage ride enough. A total highlight and I plan to do it again this time for sure.

Funny story. The week after we got back I was watching Law and Order (love it) and they found a body in Central Park next to a big rock, and I'm like "hello", we saw that rock. Here is my kids on the rock a few weeks before. Totally exciting in a weird way LOL

 

[PrincessInOz]

Because we were there so early the lift wasn't crowded no. I didn't feel like it was a really long time and if I remember rightly you go half way up on one lift, hop off and get on another one???

My husband is terrible with heights and yet it was him who wanted to go to the top of the ESB . Anyway, as soon as we walked out onto the observation deck he was feeling vertigo like crazy . He wanted to leave fairly quickly but I said these tickets cost a fortune, we are spending 10 minutes up here. He adjusted after a while but he stayed away from the edge as much as possible. You can see DH in the background of the shot with my son looking through the view thing, he doesn't look impressed

You do remember correctly. You go up half way on one lift, hop off and get on another one. At this halfway point, you get diverted to pose for photos, and then have the pleasure of paying for the expensive pose...should you so choose.

 

[kyl]

Don't worry about your fear of heights, you will be fine. We went last year in June. I have to say after going to disneyland for a week NYC well it just wasn't as exciting for us. I guess because our youngest was 2 at the time. We did the empire state building at sunset and boy was it crowded!!!!! I really found it hard to be able to look out through all the people. If you are worried about heights just don't look down your will be fine. But I agree I think going early in the morning would be the best time, beat those crowds. You barley realise how far you are travelling because like the others said you kinda go up a lift then out and walk around the lines to get to another lift....this all takes about 30mins. Well thats with the crowds most likely not as long if you do the whole morning thing. We did the horse and cariage through central park, it was lovely but not very long. You will see more on foot, but it is a must to do. We actually had to pick my fathers ashes up from NYC so maybe that is why I didn't enjoy it as much? I just found because we had 3 kids by our side it got stressful at times with so many people around Kids loved toys R us building. Did ground zero which was interesting and very moving. All in all glad we did NYC, but would be happy not to go again until the kids are much older, I think you can cover most things in a few days. We found 5 nights to long for the kids,3 would of been plenty. Hope this helps with your planing

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Don't worry about your fear of heights, you will be fine. We went last year in June. I have to say after going to disneyland for a week NYC well it just wasn't as exciting for us. I guess because our youngest was 2 at the time. We did the empire state building at sunset and boy was it crowded!!!!! I really found it hard to be able to look out through all the people. If you are worried about heights just don't look down your will be fine. But I agree I think going early in the morning would be the best time, beat those crowds. You barley realise how far you are travelling because like the others said you kinda go up a lift then out and walk around the lines to get to another lift....this all takes about 30mins. Well thats with the crowds most likely not as long if you do the whole morning thing. We did the horse and cariage through central park, it was lovely but not very long. You will see more on foot, but it is a must to do. We actually had to pick my fathers ashes up from NYC so maybe that is why I didn't enjoy it as much? I just found because we had 3 kids by our side it got stressful at times with so many people around Kids loved toys R us building. Did ground zero which was interesting and very moving. All in all glad we did NYC, but would be happy not to go again until the kids are much older, I think you can cover most things in a few days. We found 5 nights to long for the kids,3 would of been plenty. Hope this helps with your planing

Oh wow, it really must depend on children's ages because we had 5 nights and it was nowhere near enough. We are going for 6 nights again 11 months later and I'm already thinking maybe we should have made it more. What an amazing city it is. I've never visited a city that seems to have it's own heartbeat or a feeling all it's own.

My kids can't wait to go back either. They are DD12 & DS8.

I would agree though that if you had little ones, maybe not so fun.

Sorry about your father.

 

[aussietravellers]

Don't worry about your fear of heights, you will be fine. We went last year in June. I have to say after going to disneyland for a week NYC well it just wasn't as exciting for us. I guess because our youngest was 2 at the time. We did the empire state building at sunset and boy was it crowded!!!!! I really found it hard to be able to look out through all the people. If you are worried about heights just don't look down your will be fine. But I agree I think going early in the morning would be the best time, beat those crowds. You barley realise how far you are travelling because like the others said you kinda go up a lift then out and walk around the lines to get to another lift....this all takes about 30mins. Well thats with the crowds most likely not as long if you do the whole morning thing. We did the horse and cariage through central park, it was lovely but not very long. You will see more on foot, but it is a must to do. We actually had to pick my fathers ashes up from NYC so maybe that is why I didn't enjoy it as much? I just found because we had 3 kids by our side it got stressful at times with so many people around Kids loved toys R us building. Did ground zero which was interesting and very moving. All in all glad we did NYC, but would be happy not to go again until the kids are much older, I think you can cover most things in a few days. We found 5 nights to long for the kids,3 would of been plenty. Hope this helps with your planing

I am sorry about your Father. It would have put sad feelings towards your visit. We scattered my grandmothers ashes one Christmas trip in Europe and it put a sad spin on the trip. Still a great trip but there was a sad part to in that did reflect on the whole visit to that city.

I am not so worried about being up there. I am more nervous about the lift ride up and down, being packed with people and the claustrophobia then thinking about how high we are going in the lift or how far we are falling in the lift. But if we went early and it wasn't too busy then it should be fine

 

[kyl]

Yeah, I think that is the key go early. Have you been to centerpoint tower? If so the lift is kinda like that. It feels like you are going up but not super fast and before you know it your up. There is an inside bit on the top level so if your feeling a little scared you can go in and out as you want. I think yes set the alarm early and you will be fine Really though because you are inside for so much of the trip to get up there and walking from here to there to get lifts it will take your mind off it. If it helps you at all, I am a big sissy. I don't do space mountain or tower of terror anything with drops and heights....I love its a small world. So that says it all and it really didn't bother me so I understand your fear but also know you will be fine and remember you can always exit if no, not like on space mountain once your on you can't get off!!!!!

 

[queenie82]

Wow! Great Photos!!!

Queenie great photo of Statue of Liberty taken from the cruise! We will definately do that cruise.

Ms. Shuttergirl if we do to ESB I will do the prepurchase of tickets I'll do it for many things that we will do.

Question for both Queenie and Ms. Shuttergirl. I have a teeny weeny fear of heights and claustraphobia (the full lift gives me the shivers too). Looking at the photos of the view is amazing but it also makes my hands sweaty just thinking about being that high . When going up in the lift, is the lift fast or does it seem to take forever? Can you feel that you are going that high and coming down do you get that drop in your tummy (like tower of terror ) Were there a lot of people crammed in the lift with you or going early did you get a lift with lots of room or were you packed in like sardines?

I am not so worried about being up there. I am more nervous about the lift ride up and down, being packed with people and the claustrophobia then thinking about how high we are going in the lift or how far we are falling in the lift. But if we went early and it wasn't too busy then it should be fine

You don't really notice it much. Going early also makes it not that crowded.
In terms of once you get to the top. It can be very windy.
Something interesting about TOTR is the way they have dealt with the lower viewing level. Rather than metal railings etc with the Empire...they have glass from ground to top. It means it feels 'safer' sort of (or more daunting depending on how you look at...lol. This is not located on the upper level though which makes taking photos easier.
(you can see it partially in some of my flickr photos)

But yeah the lift up isn't a dramatic tummy dropping event.
The Washington Monument lift however.....that's interesting

You do remember correctly. You go up half way on one lift, hop off and get on another one. At this halfway point, you get diverted to pose for photos, and then have the pleasure of paying for the expensive pose...should you so choose.

Because we were there so early the lift wasn't crowded no. I didn't feel like it was a really long time and if I remember rightly you go half way up on one lift, hop off and get on another one???:

You are both right in that there are 2 lift rides (just remember in the US...they only understand elevator )
But it isn't half way I don't think...but rather much higher
I can't find the info I'm looking for online but the reason for 2 has to do with the skyscraper race with the Chrysler Building. To win they sort of built and extra part...hence the extra lift ride. It was originally 80 floors, then 85.
Then comes the 'hat'

ETA - I've been going through my NYC photos and looking at the views from both and Empire is still great.
So I would go to both if you have the time. It is especially nice seeing the flatiron building and looking at the way broadway cuts through the grid
Because it opens at 8am you can get it done and still do lots of other things after.
I'm so jealous. NYC is a beautiful city with so much to do.