NYC family vacation

[mjh8955]

Just decided to go to NYC this summer with our kids 17 and 20. We will probably take the train from the midwest. Can anyone clue me in on how to get deals on Broadway show tickets, how to get tickets to tapings of shows, and places to stay that are safe but not ridiculously expensive?? We are Hilton Honors and HGVC members. Would welcome any links you could pass on to me to help us plan. Thanks for any advice. All four of us are excited about this vacation!

On our to-do list:
baseball game
Ellis Island and Staten Island
Statue of Liberty
Times Square
Broadway show
tv taping
double decker bus tour or any other architectural or points-of-interest tour
Ground Zero
good food, museums, something fun/memorable for us

 

[Ava]

For Broadway show tickets, check out www.broadwaybox.com. They list discount codes that you can use to purchase tickets online. You can also join the Playbill Club at www.playbill.com (it's free); they often have the same codes as Broadway Box but occasionally they'll have something different.

For TV show tapings, check out the websites for shows you are interested in. Every show has different procedures for handing out tickets. Usually you have to request them a long time in advance, some only take requests for a short period then hand out tickets for the season from those requests, etc. If you can't request tickets in advance, or you don't get them, you can always try getting in on standby the day of the taping.

I can't really help too much with specific hotels, but anywhere in midtown Manhattan will be safe & convenient. There are several Hiltons I can think of in midtown if you want to stick to that chain for your rewards.

How long will you be staying?

 

[mjh8955]

Staying at least a week, our dates are flexible. From what I am reading, staying near the Times Square area seems the most convenient. Thanks for the info, will follow up on the websites.

 

[Prose]

How fun! We have family in the NYC area, so we go to visit at least once a year and love to 'play tourist.'

Here are some of the tips I've picked up over the years:

If you want to go all the way to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, get your tickets now! We went last July, and got our tickets in March, I believe. When we got there for our tour, we noticed that the sign at the ticket desk indicated that they were selling tickets for October and later only.

Go to www.playbill.com and sign up for a free account - you'll be able to get discounts on all kinds of Broadway shows.

We've done a taping of the Letterman show, and you do have to be 18. Most of the shows will have links on their website for how to get tickets, and they are usually a lottery of some sort. For the Today show, you just need to show up really early, or if you don't mind watching the 'after 9am' part, we just walked up and got right in. Here's some good info: http://gonyc.about.com/od/tvtapings/Tickets_for_TV_Show_Tapings.htm

Going to the top of the Empire State Building is crazy! The lines can be hours long. Definitely get tickets early if that is a priority. Or, check out Top of the Rock at the NBC building...the tour is cool and the view is amazing ....

We loved the guided tours of the UN headquarters. There are also lots of special-interest tours of the city....foodie, movie locations, history, bicycle, architecture, crime, garment district, shopping and on and on. Some are free!

A couple of our favorite fun stops are Pommes Frites at 123 Second Ave, where you can get Belgian fries with all kids of dipping sauces, Economy Candy at 108 Rivington, with floor-ceiling candy from around the world, Shake Shack (several locations) for great burgers and shakes.

We also love to just walk up and down and stick our head into little shops and eateries...see if you can avoid the chains or anything you can get back home. We also love to check out the food carts and trucks around on the streets...many of them are on Twitter and you can get tweets with the current location of your favorites.

The Apple store on Fifth Ave is so cool...you can't miss it, it's just a huge glass box above ground and the store is below street level.

Hmm, that's all I can think of right now...have a great time!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We stayed in a nice hotel in the Times Square area. I think it was a Hilton?? The Hotel cost a little bit more than others but...it included breakfast and boxed lunches. They also put out apples and fresh choc. chip cookies at 4:00. We got up ate a good hot breakfast (full breakfast, pancakes, bacon, eggs etc). We requested a boxed lunch to take with us and took apples and cookies the night before. This saved us so much $$. I was surprised at how much the food cost and it wasn't worth it for the kids (yours are older though). We also like the area because we could walk to most of the places we wanted to go and saved cab fare. If you have time Dillon's Candy Store is a nice place to rest and get an ice cream. My oldest liked the SONY tech lab and if I remember there was an X-box store in Times Square. Have a great time!!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Why Staten Island (unless you want to take the free ferry, and not stop at the SOL and Ellis Island (I love Ellis Island). I always like the Museum of Natural History (been there dozens of times), and then a nice walk in Central Park (or rent bikes, and tour around). I'm a Yankee fan, and you could see a game in the new stadium. The tickets are pretty popular! I know there is a website out there where foody people suggest dining options - since there are SO many in NYC, please avoid the chains.

 

[mjh8955]

Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty are higher on the priority list than Staten Island. We thought Times Square area would be the best idea because it seems centrally located but we are totally open to anything the people who know New York would recommend.

 

[shamrock30]

I've had recent stays at four hotels in NYC in the Hilton family. The Doubletree Suites is right in Times Square, across from the TKTS booth where you can get discount tickets to Broadway and off-Broadway shows. (You do have to stand in line for this, and it can be a time waster, so I agree that Broadwaybox and Playbill are great alternatives, even if their discounts are usually less than TKTS.) You get a refrigerator and microwave at this hotel, but not really a kitchenette. If you're all sharing one room, you will probably like the extra space you can get here.

The Hilton Garden Inn Times Square is about a five minute walk from times square. The rooms are clean, comfortable, and fairly large by NYC standards, and they also have a microwave and refrigerator, but they aren't suites. They have a very good breakfast in a French Bistro if you are Gold or Diamond with Hilton.

The Hampton Inn Times Square North is just down the street from the Garden Inn. It has large rooms, is clean, and has a very nice staff. Everyone gets continental breakfast buffet here, but it's pretty basic.

The other hotel was the Hilton Garden Inn near Macy's. It's fine, but the rooms are very small, and I wouldn't want to stay there for more than a night or two.

 

[Td1290]

Regarding Statue od Libery tour, I would highly recommend you get there first thing in the morning, 8 am since there is a lot of security to get through. We were lucky we were told this because there were tonse of people behind us waiting for a long time

 

[bamor]

broadwaybox.com is an excellent source for discounted tickets
Have a look at Radio City Apartments (www.radiocityapartments.com) for safe, clean suite accomodations minutes from Times Square and Rockefeller Ctr, subway is super close, too. You will have a full kitchen which helps when travelling with a family (esp for breakfast). There is a supermarket only a few blocks away (Food Emporium).
Read, read the NYC travel forum on trip advisor.
Staten Island Ferry is free
Museum of Natural History and Metropolitan Mus of Art are both suggested donations
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is free
www.hopstop.com for walking and/or subway directions
www.menupages.com for restaurant ideas

 

[benolathe]

Does anyone have any experience visiting the Crown in the Statue of Liberty? I know that we need to reserve tickets in advance - and that according to the website, it is a 'strenuous 354 step climb' to the Crown.

So, is it worth the climb? BTW, we have visited other tall monuments (Washington Monument, Eiffel Tower, St Louis Memorial Arch) and enjoyed the views in those cities. Of course, those monuments had elevators to the top.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

Just returned yesterday from a weekend with my daughter. I highly recommend a 2 1/2 hour tour I took called "TV and Movie sights tour" from onlocation tours. The website is www.screentours.com. It was a lot of fun and gave you a nice tour around the city. Just a few of the highlights were: apartment building from "Friends", Spiderman movie locations, Row house from the Cosby show, Seinfield hangouts including a stop at the Soup Nazi, etc. We also went to Mama Mia...it was fantastic! We stayed at the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station. It was only 4 blocks from Times Square. Have a great trip!

 

[shoney]

A few years ago we did a food walking tour and had a great time.

www.foodsofny.com We did the Greenwich village one and not only got some great food and restaurant rec's but a little history. We live on Long Island and my husband works in the city and still loved it!

Oh if you decide to do this, schedule it in the beginning of your trip. I'm sure you would go back to the area for dinner one night. It is nice to getaway from the touristy mid-town scene!

 

[perthgirl]

I just booked a one bed apartment at Affina Dumont for only $169 plus tax - which is an incredible savings (was over $300). I'm not sure of the dates the offer is good for but you might want to check it out. Get's great reviews on Trip Advisor. Good luck!

 

[Tanzanite]

Anyone have any ideas where a family of 5 can stay 2 rooms are around $500 or more out of our reach would love to go in April for 5 nights but not at those prices thanks everyone.

 

[mjh8955]

GREAT INFORMATION!! We are checking out every tip and link that is posted. Thank you so much. I know others are planning the same kind of trip and we are all excited about seeing more information posted. Would love to see an itinerary; there are obvious groupings of things to do and see based on what part of Manhattan you are in that day.

 

[Maybelle]

I would suggest checking Travelzoo for hotel deals in NYC. We got a great rate on one of the Affinia 50 which was within easy walking distance from Times Square and close to a Metro stop. It was great because it had a full kitchen, which was very convienient.

Travelzoo generally has good rates and specials.

 

[midas]

Anyone have any ideas where a family of 5 can stay 2 rooms are around $500 or more out of our reach would love to go in April for 5 nights but not at those prices thanks everyone.

Last year, we stayed at the Sheraton in Weehawken NJ. It's right across the Hudson at the Lincoln Tunnel. The room was a little small, but it had 2 beds and a sleeper sofa. Parking was free. NJ Transit has a bus to the bus station in NYC that stops right in front of the hotel. The fare was about $2.50 per person each way. There is also a ferry station there that goes over, but the cost was higher and it didn't run as often on the weekends.

 

[vcasey]

I have found great NY hotel deals on quikbook.com. If you are really on a budget check out hotels in the Harmon Meadows area of Secuacus, NJ the bus stops right in front of most hotels takes about 20 mins and runs consistently every 20 mins.
s
I only glanced through the thread so forgive me if these other things have been mentioned already but for Broadway if you aren't totalled tied to one show TKTS offers same day tickets deals (most are 1/2 price) and now there's an ipod/phone app that will tell you what will be available.

And we havealso found the new york pass to be a great bargain for seeing a lot things if you plan things out right.

 

[kacaju]

http://www.circleline42.com/new-york-cruises/browse.aspx?type=&groupid=1

I did a circleline 3 hour tour 18 years ago. It was a lot of fun and you got to see and hear about a lot of NYC history