OT - New York

[luke]

Ok so I've finally succumbed to DW's will and am going to vacation elsewhere than Disney, so I've decided to go to New York for a week at the end of July.

Thinking of staying in the New York Palace Hotel (trawling through lists of hotels was so much harder when I'm out of my Orlando "comfort zone") and staying for seven nights.
At first I was apprehensive a little but am now getting pretty excited and hoping to make a reservation tonight!

Aaaaanyway, are there any locals, or people who've been a lot who can give a first timer some hints and tips, as well as must see's and do's?

Thanks guys

 

[Becx N Gav]

Paul and Alicia are from NY.

One thing you MUST do is go to the World of Disney at Times Square Would DW be ok with that?

I also really enjoyed going to Central Park, especially near the Dakota Building and looking around the John Lennon garden there.

 

[auroralark]

I would suggest you must see at least one Broadway show. Also there's the Empire State Building, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty just to name a few.

 

[dpuck1998]

We are also going to NY this summer, at the end of August. We have tickets for Shrek the musical. We are staying at the Doubletree on Broadway, right in the middle of the action and the price was good (we are used to paying Disney prices )

 

[mikelan6]

We went to the top of Rockefeller Center. There's a great view of the city from there.

 

[Launchpad11B]

Ok so I've finally succumbed to DW's will and am going to vacation elsewhere than Disney, so I've decided to go to New York for a week at the end of July.

Thinking of staying in the New York Palace Hotel (trawling through lists of hotels was so much harder when I'm out of my Orlando "comfort zone") and staying for seven nights.
At first I was apprehensive a little but am now getting pretty excited and hoping to make a reservation tonight!

Aaaaanyway, are there any locals, or people who've been a lot who can give a first timer some hints and tips, as well as must see's and do's?

Thanks guys

OK here goes.

Broadway shows, many different museums, activities in central park, spend some time in times square, coney island, Yankees or Mets games, Ellis island and the statue of liberty, iconic buildings such as the empire state building, The UN, the Chrysler building, go to 5th avenue shopping, radio city music hall, Rockefeller center, st. Patrick's cathedral. south side seaport area.

Also there are as many different places to eat as you can imagine. New York can be a lot of fun. My advice to you is find a good deal on long term parking and use the cities transportation system to get around. Driving and parking in NYC is a pain. Besides, the subway can be an adventure all by itself. Good luck.

 

[kab407]

Venture down to Lower Manhattan for:
Chinatown
Wall Street
SoHo - great & expensive shopping
South Street Seaport
Union Square- amazing green market on the weekend

Ride the Staten Island Ferry-super views of the city and Lady Liberty at a dirt cheap price.

A cannot agree more with Paul. Do not attempt to drive. The subways and buses are efficient and fairly easy to use. Just buy a Metro Card and a good map before you get on.

 

[luke]

Yankees or Mets games,

I'd really like to see an American sports game, which sports season will be on late July-early August?

st. Patrick's cathedral

The hotel we're looking at booking is on Madison Avenue and adjacent to the cathedral which sounds nice

My advice to you is find a good deal on long term parking and use the cities transportation system to get around. Driving and parking in NYC is a pain. Besides, the subway can be an adventure all by itself. Good luck.

We were definitely not planning to hire a car, as I think Orlando is the most adventurous US place I would drive I imagine

Thanks for the tips guys, keep em comin'

 

[dana1003]

ok so i live on the jersey side of the hudson river (10 min out of the city) i would suggest staying at a hotel in weehawken,nj. it s right on the river so u have a view of the city and u can catch the ferry at ur doorstep and ur gonna pay ahell of a lot less than in the city. once u take the ferry over ( btw thats where the great capt sully landed the plane) it only takes like 10 min to get over u can catch a free ferry to differerent places in the city. itll drop u off lets say on braoadway and then from there youd have to cab it or bus to to different locations but coming back just find ourt where the shuttle picks u up and u get a free ridr back to the ferry. i think the ferry is $9 r/t. good luck

 

[dana1003]

sorry not a free ferry i meant shuttle bus

 

[mf1973]

I'll echo dana1003 at staying just outside the city. Instead of Weehawken, try Hoboken. Literally accross the river. W Hotel [starwood] in Hoboken recently opened.
5 minute walk to PATH train ('subway' but not really). The PATH will take you as far 'up' as 34th street, and as far down as WTC with Village and such in the middle. In some cases, Hoboken to parts of Manhattan are easy/easier to get than from even within Midtown itself.

You'll get all the convenience of staying in Manhattan, with a much more leisurly atmosphere in the evening. Hoboken is a fun town, easy walking, *lots* of restarants and pubs.

Give it a try, trust me.....

 

[dana1003]

I'll echo dana1003 at staying just outside the city. Instead of Weehawken, try Hoboken. Literally accross the river. W Hotel [starwood] in Hoboken recently opened.
5 minute walk to PATH train ('subway' but not really). The PATH will take you as far 'up' as 34th street, and as far down as WTC with Village and such in the middle. In some cases, Hoboken to parts of Manhattan are easy/easier to get than from even within Midtown itself.

You'll get all the convenience of staying in Manhattan, with a much more leisurly atmosphere in the evening. Hoboken is a fun town, easy walking, *lots* of restarants and pubs.

Give it a try, trust me.....

love hoboken..wish i could live there...im in north bergen so not too far..forgot the W opened up???

 

[dana1003]

btw hoboken birth place of frank sinatra and baseball..cant get any better than that..oh yeah and now home to reality series " cake boss"..love the lobster tails!

 

[kab407]

Newport/Jersey City is another alternative. Both the Courtyard and the new Westin are a very short walk to the Pavonia Path station. The Hyatt is right near the Exchange Place Path.

 

[auroralark]

I'd really like to see an American sports game, which sports season will be on late July-early August?

It will be baseball season! Both the Yankees and the Mets have new stadiums... But I am a Yankees fan, so I recommend going to see them. They just dropped the ticket prices, I believe. (They were really expensive, now they're slightly less expensive.) Baseball games are a lot of fun.

And I also agree on the no driving thing... We live an hour away and never drive when we go down. We take the train and then just take the subway. Driving is a headache in NYC.

 

[Becx N Gav]

And I also agree on the no driving thing... We live an hour away and never drive when we go down. We take the train and then just take the subway. Driving is a headache in NYC.

Sounds like driving in London

 

[brookelizabeth]

I haven't read others replies, so I apologize if any of these are repeated...

I used to live in NYC. One of my favorite touristy things to do was the 3 hour Circle Line cruise around Manhattan. I believe it was only about $30 per person and gave you a history the entire island, beautiful scenery and areas you would probably never see otherwise.

Another favorite is walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. There is a walking path and it's just a neat thing to watch the cars go past and see Manhattan from a different angle, as well as Brooklynn. There are some great eats just over the bridge on the Brooklynn side too.

Visiting Times Square at night is a neat experience-everything is all lit up. I would always be sure to take family and friends and their jaws would drop at it all.

Washington Square Park and Greenwich Village are fun areas-lots of random shops, good food, and beautiful architecture.

Walking along the Manhattan promenade down by Battery Park is also a fun thing. The Brooklynn promenade provides some amazing views of Manhattan.

Hoboken, NJ also provides amazing views of Manhattan-I think there is a shuttle bus for about $5.

And of course, catch a Broadway show.

 

[disneyholic family]

my super touristy recommendation? the double decker bus tour in NYC is excellent..

it sounds stupid, but it's a really great way to see the city...

DH and i lived in manhattan for 3 years (72 st and central park west), but only went on the double decker bus tour of the city when we brought our kids back to see NY when they were teenagers..

i actually asked the concierge at our hotel to recommend the best private tour guide of the city and he said - do yourselves a favor, take the double decker bus tour - the view from up there is the best...

so we did and loved it....

as i recall, there are 3 routes....lower manhattan, upper manhattan and brooklyn..
we just did lower and upper manhattan....plus there is a shuttle to take you over to the aircraft carrier on the hudson river...

we did both lines all the way around, but also used the lower manhattan route as a hop on/hop off form of transportation.........

anyway, i highly recommend it....

and then of course, there's all the regular stuff in manhattan that i love - american museum of natural history, metropolitan museum of art, central park, MOMA, Rockefeller Center (where i used to work), Lincoln Center, FAO schwartz, etc etc etc)...and of course broadway...we try to fit in as many broadway musicals as we can each visit...

and of course a visit to the area of the world trade center (where DH worked)...

 

[kellzkidz]

hello,

as suggested you cannot go to NYC and not see a broadway show....I work for Disney on Bway...pm me if you need discount info!

Have a wonderful time in the Big Apple!

 

[froggy5657]

See a broadway show. West Side Story is apparently very good and I really want to see it. Plus it has great music. We just saw Hair and it was good, but If you don't like hippies dancing around and singing then you probably won't enjoy it. Also, If you have younger kids don't bring them. It has some risqué lines, has drugs, and at the end of the first act everyone on stage gets naked. The Disney on Broadway shows are good especially for younger kids, but they have the same songs as the movies (with a few extra) and I feel like they just don't give you the New York experience.