nyc dis'ers ... visitors question

[lynetteSC]

Hi! DH & I are taking our 1st trip to NYC soon ... Is there a way to get Ground Zero Platform Viewing tickets in advance? Are they still letting people view?

Also, staying at Omni Berkshire (East 52nd between Madison & 5th Ave) ... will we need a taxi/subway or will it be easier to walk to places we want to see (Empire State bdlg/Rock. Center/ Museum of Natural History)? Any advice?!?!? Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Hey ! I know a Lynette from S.C. ! I wonder if you are the same person ? Is your Mom's name Karen ? If so........
This is "Cookie" from Schenectady, N.Y.

 

[lynetteSC]

Claudia ~ nope, sorry! Must be another Lynette in SC! I don't know any other Lynette's except for the one I am named after!

 

[mark & sandra]

Hello lynetteSC- I think that they have somewhat relaxed the rules for viewing ground zero, but they change the rules too often to keep up. Although it might be a place to visit, it does look like your viewing a large construction site. Not as big of an attraction as you might think. As for your hotel location, your're right in the middle of it all. You could walk to Rockerfella Centre, 5th and 49th ( across from St. Patrick's ) Empire St. Bldg. is 5th and 33rd. You could walk to just about all in midtown, but I'd take a taxi to ground zero. Subways are great if you know where you're going, but getting lost in NYC is not fun. A nice fun place to eat is Jeckle and Hyde's on 6th ave between 57th and central park. It's a rest. themed like old horror flicks, they have staff that recreate scenes from old horror flicks and interact with the guests and moving figurines on walls that talk and interact with you. It's 1 block from central park, where the horse carriages line up for rides and a short walk to Times Square 47th and 7th. Remember the blocks are very short, the ave. are about 3 blocks long. All in all it's not a bad walk around midtown if the weather is good.

 

[adamak]

The last time I checked (2 weeks ago), you cannot order tickets in advanced. You have to pick them up in South Street Seaport early in the morning.

W/o ticket, you can still go down to that area and see the church, and the surroundings. There isn't much to see now.

You can walk to the shopping around 50s and 5th Ave. You can cross Central Park to the west side and visit Natural Museum, but I think that's on the west 70s. (Quite a hike).

The only subway line running on the East side is 4/5/6 on Lexington Ave. That's about 2 block east of 5th avenue, and there is a stop at 51st. (for the local 6 train). Taking the subway is the quickest way to get around. Study the map online ahead of times (easier than WDW transportation one).

To go to Empire State, take the downtown 6 train to 33 street.
To Chrysler Building, take downtown 6 to 42nd st (ie, Grand Central...very beautiful).

To go to Ground Zero, take downtown 6 to 42nd, cross the platform and take 4 or 5 (same line, but express). Get off at Fulton St.

To Time Square, take downtown 6 to 42nd, switch to S (for Time Square Shuttle).

To Metropolitan Art Museum or Guigenhhem (spelling??), take UPtown 6 to 86th street, and walk over to 6th Ave.

To Soho, take downtown 6 to Sping Street.

To go to any Upper West museums, take a cab instead. If you want to take subway, you'll have to go down to 42nd Grand Central, then switch to Uptown 1 or 2. Quite a distant.

See, how easy?

Enjoy! You'll LOVE this city.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

the Seaport is at Fulton and Water, and Ground Zero is several blocks away, at Vesey and Church. if you don't want to walk out onto the viewing platform, just walk over to Church and Liberty and you'll have a fairly accurate view of the site from the street. it's not a bad walk. you can still see all the memorial posters and etc. at St. Paul's Chapel, I believe. and the sculpture that used to grace the plaza at the trade center is in Battery Park -- you should walk over to the park to see it (just walk south on Church or Broadway, you'll find the park).

you may want to combine your trip to Ground Zero with other downtown sites. the Seaport is lovely, and the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island leaves from Battery Park. the Stock Exchange has public tours (though lately you're more likely to see brokers cry than anything else), and there's Federal hall at Wall Street and Broad Street.

if you live themed restaurnats, there are two I enjoy in the theater district -- both on Broadway at 51st. Mars 2112 is very overpriced, but a lot of fun. it's like riding Star Tours and then going to a character meal in Space Mountain. for something tamer, try Ellen's Stardust Diner. it has a 1950's subway theme. inside, they show video clips from old movies and t.v. shows. the waitresses wear poodle skirts and the waiters dress like "soda jerks". it's the home of the singing waitstaff, btw.

 

[Amzey]

Just an idea.. we have an apt. in New York so we're down there a lot and don't usually do the touristy stuff, but one day for the heck of it we decided to take a double-decker bus tour. It went by Ground Zero, and was a pretty neat tour as well. If you only want to see Ground Zero without spending a ton of time there, it might be a good way to go. I have to agree with adamak, there's not much to see there now.

I also liked Briar Rose's suggestion though.. either way would be neat. It might be fun to stop at the Seaport, definitely.

I also like Mars 2112 and Ellen's Stardust Diner.. we always went to Ellen's when I was little and I was so excited when my meal came with a little piece of Bazooka gum. It's definitely a fun place - if you go, I would recommend the fried gnocchi appetizer. Mars is great also, it's a really neat experience, though the food is not my favorite. Neither is the food at Ellen's, but they can be great fun.

Have a good time!

 

[swanmom]

check the website at - nyctourist.com - they have lots of current NYC info.
Have fun!

 

[Regina]

We just had a great NYC visit. (We live in upstate NY.)

Here's a link: http://www.nycvisit.com/content/

We took advantage of the $20.02 gourmet lunch offers and dined at Tavern on the Green and the Oyster Bar at the Plaza where we were staying. Fantastic restaurants!

Hopefully, your travel dates will work out to take advantage of the discounts.

Have fun!

 

[lynetteSC]

thanks guys for all the info! That is awesome site! Yes! We do fit into the 20.02 lunches! Yea!!!!

 

[PamOKW]

The Q&A column in the Travel section of today's New York Times asked the question about tickets for Ground Zero. Here's the answer (with some non-pertinent sections deleted).

The platform on Fulton Street, off Broadway, closed on June 30 and was replaced the next day by a viewing area that runs for a couple of blocks along Liberty Street west of Church Street. Tickets are no longer needed.

The opening of the new and larger area on the south side of the former World Trade Center site is part of Lower Manhattan's returning to normal, according to a spokesman for the city's Office of Emergency Management. ....viewing area which is open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

A visitor looking through a chain link fence around the site on a late July afternoon could see a few vehicles moving about, and occasionally a truck headed up the long ramp.

 

[SPAGo 98]

i would familiarize myself with the subway system. it's really user-friendly (i think). go to www.mta.info and click on NYC Transit (or something like that) then subways, then maps. good luck and have fun!

 

[lynetteSC]

Thanks Pam for the up to date info re: ground zero! Thanks for all the great links everyone!!! I knew the DIS would have people to help us ouT

 

[Kallison]

I don't know if they are doing the viewing platform at this time, you were able to get tickets at the pier at the Seaport. I would not bother, we went at Easter, the line was huge there is not much to see, clean up is complete. You can walk around that area and look in at various locations. We ate at a wonderful diner right near the WTC called the Gee Whiz Diner, there were construction areas there you could view from. Address is:
295 Greenwich Street - You can also walk around to the platform sight from there and see the Memorials that were left and the fireman statue.