NYC - Anyone visit the 1/2 price ticket booths to purchase theater tickets?

[Candace]

Going next week for spring break, and someone told me about these "day of" ticket booths for 1/2 price tickets. Have any of you done this or does anyone know about it? Would love to see a show, but the prices are really steep. Thanks.

 

[MercoBear]

That's what we normally do when we visit NYC. You can see a list of shows that might be available when you go on their website - just search for TKTS ticket booth. Just be flexible and be ready to wait in line, and it'll be great!

 

[fuzzyjelly]

Yes, we've bought tickets from them several times. The booth in the financial district has much shorter lines than the one in Times Square. Have fun and enjoy your show!

 

[CarolAnnB]

My DD just did this last night. They got tix to Jersey Boys for $60, regular $137.50, at the Times Sq booth.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

note--they used to only take cash

 

[shamrock30]

The booth in Times Square now takes credit cards. The tickets are 30%, 40%, or 50%. (I only got 30% off the show I wanted last week.) Get there before the booth opens for the best seats. "Wicked" and "Lion King" are never available.

 

[headoflife]

They have good dsicounts for some shows, in the range of the discounts from TKTS, and you can order ahead. Like the TKTS booth, they don't have everything, and the discounts vary from nothing to 50%. I was in NYC last week, and had tickets to 2 shows from Broadway Bax and then did 2 more from TKTS.

Have fun!

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm going to be doing this on Sunday. It's got to be Times Square, not the Financial district, as I am staying in Times Square. On Sundays they open at 11 AM and I may end up trying to be out there an hour early and bringing a book to read. Yes, the lines can get really long. Glad to hear they now take credit cards.

This link is to a list of shows they sold last week. There is no guarantee the same shows will be sold day to day. I agree, forget about Wicked or Lion King.

http://www.tdf.org/TDF_SupportPage.aspx?id=68&do=v

 

[Candace]

thank you all so much!

 

[bdcp]

We always buy our tickets ahead of time so we get the show we want, at the time and day we want as well as the seats we want. We've seen Wicked, Chicago and Addams Family in the last two years. All harder to get or impossible at the booth. We usually stay in Times Square (Doubletree or Marriott Marquis) and overlook the ticket booth. I've watched people in severe thunderstorms not move so they don't lose their place in line.

We have used the booth in Las Vegas. A lot more shows to choose from and we've lucked into some good ones.

 

[ktlm]

If you don't care what you see it is great, and you might get to see something you might not have otherwise picked but that you turn out to absolutely love. We used to go to NY every summer. We would buy tickets to one show we really wanted to see before our trip, and then when there we would go to the 1/2 price TKTS and get tickets to something else. We saw some great shows that way, and sometimes we got pretty good seats too! As someone else said, the tickets are not always 1/2 price, sometimes the discounts are smaller- it just depends on the show.

The line at the times square location can be extremely long. Nala you are right about getting out there an hour early. On Sundays, I believe the Times Square location is the only one open, so if that is your day you are good with that location. If I remember correctly, they do open at 11:00 on Sunday; however, they only sell tickets to the matinees at that time. I do not think that they start selling tickets to the evening performances until 3:00 p.m. If it were me, I would go in the morning and shoot for a matinee.

For days other than Sunday, If you can get to the South Street Seaport Booth, that is your best bet. Check the TKTS website, but usually the South Street Seaport Booth has a shorter line and it opens at 11:00 a.m. At that time, it will sell tickets for that night, and for the matinee the NEXT day.
For evening performances, the Times Square booth is usually not open until 3:00 p.m. (I think on Tuesday it is 2:00 p.m.). On Wednesday and Saturdays, the booth opens at 10:00 a.m. to sell matinee performances for THAT day , BUT you can not buy tickets for the evening performances at that time. You have to wait until 3:00 p.m. (2:00 on Tuesday) to get the tickets for that evening.

That means if you can get to South Street, you will have a much better choice of tickets. For matinee, you will get tickets a full day before they go on sale at the Times Square booth. For that evening, you will get them several hours before they go on sale at the times square booth.


I would also suggest trying BroadwayBox.com before you leave for your trip. Their discounts can be just as good as TKTS without having to wait in line!