NYC family vacation

[jiminy14]

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.

We stayed here back in November and highly recommend this hotel. It is ideally located to Times Square and many of the theaters. It is also conveniently located to several subway stops. You are about a five minute walk from Times Square and about fifteen minutes from Rockefeller Center.
The staff was very friendly and helpful. The rooms are a good size for NYC and they are one of the few hotels were you can get a room with two queen beds. They have a special parking rate of $30/day in the garage next door.
As for dining, there is a Shake Shack about four blocks away on 8th and 44th and Schnipper's Quality Kitchen on 8th and 41st. Both are counter service and reasonably priced for NYC. Shake Shack is primarily burgers but Schnipper's has a fairly extensive menu of comfort food including burgers, hot dogs, salads, and mac & cheese.
If you plan a visit to Times Square, there is a brand new Disney Store that just opened in November.
We booked our stay through Oyster.com They are an independent company that sends people in undercover to review hotels. They take pictures of all areas in the hotel and post them on the site so you can see what the hotel and its rooms actually look like. They also offer discounts on rooms and their price was better than on the Hilton site.

 

[jiminy14]

Another site to check out before you visit is www.bedbugregistry.com This site lists any site in the country where bedbugs have been reported including hotels, theaters, retail stores, etc

 

[sskeen]

Here is information for getting tickets for Jimmy Fallon's show.
The minimum age for this show is 17.
Also, you can try contacting your local NBC station. Sometimes they can make ticket arrangements for you.

Sandi


Well, look who wants some tickets! You think you can just click a button and get tickets? Well there's more to it than that, all right? You have to read something first. (That's fair, especially when you consider that these tickets are FREE!)

Commence official jargon...now:

Tickets to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon are available by calling our ticket office at (212) 664-3056. Please call for availability. Generally, tickets are booked about one month in advance from the actual taping. You can request up to four tickets, and all audience members must be at least 17 years old. You may only book tickets once every six months, and you may not book tickets with any other groups of people. Information about last minute ticket openings will be advertised through Late Night's Twitter updates.

There is also a special audience seating area called the "Band Benches" set aside for HUGE fans of musical guests appearing on the show. Fans sitting on the Band Benches will be given the exclusive chance to come down to the studio floor and surround the musical guest during their performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. For standby tickets, arrive no later than 9:00 a.m. on the morning of the taping under "NBC Studios" marquee on the 49th Street side of 30 Rockefeller Plaza (GE Building). Only one ticket will be issued per person. All standby tickets not handed out at 9:00 a.m. will be placed at the NBC Studio Tour Desk on the second floor of the NBC Experience Store in Rockefeller Plaza. Please note that a standby ticket does not guarantee admission. Also please note that shows are occasionally taped several days in advance, and in certain weeks the show is dark and re-runs will be airing. If you plan on trying to obtain a standby ticket, please call our ticket line the night before to confirm that a show is taping on the day you'd like to attend.

Boom. Done and done. See you at the show.

 

[djbleach]

We always use Priceline for rooms. Like somebody else has posted. We do Priceline in Secacus North area and usually get the Holiday Inn, Hyatt Place or Double tree. The bus stop is right in front of the hotel and it's all tourist and business people going into the city. Last time we stayed at the Sheraton in Weehaken,Nj....
Since the OP thinks they are taking the train, they will be better in Manhatten. They might want to fly into Newark or LGA. All depends on what the flights cost. Two weeks ago, I bid on Priceline for Manhatten and got the Sheraton for $125...(a $300) room. Never got to use the room, so lost the money..This is why priceline is so cheap...Biddingfortravel site for pl wins.
We did Mary Poppins. Have rode the Staten Island ferry for free to see the statue of liberty. ate at johns pizza in times square, empire and top of the rock...the rock in my opinion is better. not as long wait and just as good views. apple store, central park, toys r us ferris wheel. have been to the bronx zoo, coney island.....good luck...have fun

 

[mjh8955]

Because we have Hilton Honors points so will no doubt be staying at something in the Hilton chain. We're not even looking at anything through Priceline, Travelzoo, etc. Does anyone have a link to get discount tickets for the hop on and off tour bus, or the discount tickets for multiple attractions like the Empire State Building?

 

[Arkansan]

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.

We're also a family of 5 and NYC can be tricky. We enjoyed our stay at the Embassy Suites in the Financial District. It is a little removed from "the action" of Times Square but has a great full breakfast and evening Manager's Reception. These 2 things saved us a LOT of money. We liked the hotel a lot and would stay here again. There is a great park across the street, it is near the Staten Island ferry, and near Ground Zero. Cabs are easy to get here too. The subway is a little tricky because the station under Ground Zero is closed but it is near as well.

Have fun! We hope to go back around Thanksgiving.

 

[ceecee]

We went in December and bought a package from the place inside the wax museum. It included a night bus tour, unlimited day bus tours, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island tour (quite interesting as I've never done an actual tour and learned a lot about Ellis Island I didn't know) admission to a museum and Rockefeller Center's sky view. The girl that checked us in at our hotel told us about the place.

 

[jama]

"We booked our stay through Oyster.com
"
::

THANKS!!! I had never heard of them!! I was able to book the hotel I wanted through them and it was so much cheaper than any where else!!
Did you have any problems when you used them?

 

[jiminy14]

"We booked our stay through Oyster.com
"
::

THANKS!!! I had never heard of them!! I was able to book the hotel I wanted through them and it was so much cheaper than any where else!!
Did you have any problems when you used them?

We used www.Oyster.com to book the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square back in November. We had no problems whatsoever. The only glitch is that they will not award you Hilton Honor points since Oyster is considered a third party booking site.

 

[mjh8955]

What was the name of the tour tickets? Wondering if we can get them online before hand.

 

[Tink-aholic]

Because we have Hilton Honors points so will no doubt be staying at something in the Hilton chain. We're not even looking at anything through Priceline, Travelzoo, etc. Does anyone have a link to get discount tickets for the hop on and off tour bus, or the discount tickets for multiple attractions like the Empire State Building?

The Waldorf-Astoria is part of the Hilton chain.

 

[Tink-aholic]

I am jumping on this thread, too, because my son and I are going to NYC next month for February vacation. I love the suggestions in this thread for things to do! Can anyone help us with dining? We are looking for a nice restaurant because we are celebrating his 16th and my 40th birthday! When I say "nice" I am thinking of something upscale, but that won't break the bank and doesn't require formal wear, but is special enough to mark the occasion. Thanks for any suggestions (or any "whatever-you-do-stay-away-from-this-place").

 

[disprincessatheart]

I went to NYC a couple of times in the last few years - once for work and once with family. There is. A restaurant right next to the ice rink at Rockefeller center that was nice but not terribly expensive. It was a little confusing to get to but it was fun to watch the ice skaters.

We also saw mary poppins from the upper balcony and enjoyed it. If you are Disney visa holders they. Often have deals for disney broadway shows on their site.

 

[Aristocath]

Because we have Hilton Honors points so will no doubt be staying at something in the Hilton chain. We're not even looking at anything through Priceline, Travelzoo, etc. Does anyone have a link to get discount tickets for the hop on and off tour bus, or the discount tickets for multiple attractions like the Empire State Building?

Go to www.citypass.com for a pass that will give you discounts for I think 5 attractions, including the Empire State Building. I've never done the bus thing because I go so often but if you go to the NYC tourism website I think they have some discounts. Try www.gonyc.com.

We are a family of five so we have trouble using our points in NYC unless we book two rooms. They have really devalued the Hilton Honors points and it is I think 40,000 per night. We like to stay at the Doubletree Suites in Times Square but you can only get the suite with a queen bed and the sofa bed on points. The room with two beds is not a standard room so you can't use points on it. Bummer! I prefer the Hilton Times Square on 42nd to the Hilton NY on Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave). I've heard good things about the Hilton Garden Inn.

Now this is just my opinion and others will argue with me about this but I wouldn't even consider staying outside of Manhattan. When you think about visiting New York that is where it all happens. You don't want to spend your vacation waiting for the bus or train. It takes time to get from one part of the city to another anyway and when you have to add getting back to Jersey into the mix, it can be tiring and stressful.

How long are you staying? I recommend getting the 7 day unlimited ride Metro Card for $27/person. We were there for just five days in December and more than got our money's worth.

Have fun!

 

[mjh8955]

Looks like we are staying 5 to 7 days. Depends on how far our points will stretch!! Any recommendations for a Broadway and/or off-Broadway play that would work for a family with a 20 year old son and 17-year-old daughter?? Any performances we should stay away from?

 

[ceecee]

Go to www.citypass.com for a pass that will give you discounts for I think 5 attractions, including the Empire State Building. I've never done the bus thing because I go so often but if you go to the NYC tourism website I think they have some discounts. Try www.gonyc.com.
!

That's what we had, it was a good deal.

 

[elf]

Things we like to do:

If your coming into Grand Central it's a beautiful building. They have the Oyster Bar downstairs with good Oysters.

Central Park in the summer rent boats and the cafe is reasonable. Gorgeous NY setting.

Bryant Park (next to the NYC Library) has free large screen movies every summer one night a week. Bring your own blanket or chair. Lots of fun.

NBC & Top of the Rock.

My kids like the Apple store on 5th but it's very crowded. I think early Sundays it's not as crowded.

We love the Met. Museum of Art. MoMA is a fun place to check out and Friday nights are free.

Someone here said they were going in Feb. We've been to Bryant Park skating (ends in late Feb. I think) it's fun and cheap but there are long lines if you do not reserve online. It's free if you have your own skates but @$10 for rental.

 

[bas71873]

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.

I'm curious about this too

 

[Chelley00]

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.

I second travelzoo. DH and I got a great deal on the Millineum Times Square.


We had limited time, so we booked a private walking tour one day with realnewyorktours.com They were WONDERFUL. Our guide really catered to the things we wanted to see, and spent the whole day with us in the POURING rain. It really took some of the intimidation of the big city and the subway system for us. He even gave us directions to things for the next day.

 

[DCbride]

Definitely eat at Becco. It is on 46 st, short walk form Times Square area. The lunch is $18 and it is all you can eat from 3 different pasta dishes. We took a 16, 18 and 21 yo this summer and they loved it. My 21 yo DS ate 19 raviolis, haha. They have a website if you google it.

And have you thought of staying in NJ? This summer we did the tourist thing for a German girl who was staying with us. We stayed in NJ at a hotel that provided breakfast and had a suite so we had a living room. We just took the PATH (I think) in each morning. We had so much more space and it was fun to commute. Plus we saved a lot of money on the actual hotel, which we were then able to use for the tours.

The new WTC visitor center should definitely be a stop. And the teens always love the old Macys.