Trying to plan NYC trip for Ds bday and need help!!

[claytonsmama]

i am hoping that all you disers out there will be able to help...my going to be 5 year old ds wants to go to NYC for his bday. i am wondering if this is do-able. we travel a lot as a family, but NYC seems so fast paced for us?? any suggestions would be great. i thought of taking in the lion king show, going to the wod store, toys r us, some of the landmarks, etc. we will be driving and it is about an 8 hour drive and will be staying overnight and i have heard horror stories about hotels so i do not have the slightest idea of where to stay. when i went before, we stayed in times square area, but that was a girls trip. any help would be greatly appreciated!! thanks in advance!!!

 

[Disney*All-Stars*]

claytonsmama: You will have a great time and your ds (oops! had to edit) will have a blast!! A great birthday present which I have done for my son. I live on Long Island and work In NYC. Every year I take my son (now 16) on a mini vacation. We have stayed at the Millenium and Hilton Hotels (one in Times Square and the other blocks away)-all were top notch (even got upgrades). I booked through Priceline and paid under $139 a night for 4 star hotels in Time Sq area (can't lose). We went to see Beauty and the Beast, visited Madam Tussaud Wax Museum, Ripley's believe It Or Not, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, Toys R Us (huge!), Disney Store (huge!!), Empire State building and Ground Zero (take the subway/cab), Central Park, movies, Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hydes Restaurant (exact name?), Hard Rock Cafe, ESPN Zone (3 stories of endless games), Bubba Gumps, Dave and Busters (more games), Statue of Liberty (takes a good half to full day, take subway/cab), Hershey chocolate store, M & M's store, shopping everywhere....American Girl (not for Boys oops again), JC Penney's to Macy's....all walking distance. Hope this gets you started. Next time I said I would do the Circle Line boat cruise, visit more museums (the history one in Night at Museum) and take the tour bus that takes you to see the morning show. Search the internet for NYC government websites. It's all there with discounts and all. FYI: NYPD is present throughout Times Square which gives it a safe and pleasant atmosphere.

 

[eliza61]

i am hoping that all you disers out there will be able to help...my going to be 5 year old ds wants to go to NYC for his bday. i am wondering if this is do-able. we travel a lot as a family, but NYC seems so fast paced for us?? any suggestions would be great. i thought of taking in the lion king show, going to the wod store, toys r us, some of the landmarks, etc. we will be driving and it is about an 8 hour drive and will be staying overnight and i have heard horror stories about hotels so i do not have the slightest idea of where to stay. when i went before, we stayed in times square area, but that was a girls trip. any help would be greatly appreciated!! thanks in advance!!!

1) Forget the horror stories. Now, I will admit I was born and bred in NYC so I'm prejudice. I tell every one this: Use simple every day safety common sense. Yes, NYC is fast paced, after all there are a lot of people stuffed in a small (8 miles) space. but you don't have to go fast. Just do some research.

here are my suggestions:
I've stayed at the Wellington hotel. It's about $200/night but its near central park and walkable to the theater district.
http://www.wellingtonhotel.com/
They always have discounts available.

also check out
www.citysearch.com
they usually have great listings for kid friendly things to do in the city.

 

[java]

I am pretty sure the World of Disney store is closed in NYC now. They are going to reopen something in the Fall of 2010- someplace else - the old Virgin Megastore in Times Square I think? To tie in with the shows I'm guessing.

Central Park is great for that age. There is a small zoo that my 5 year old enjoys.
and free playgrounds!

I usually end up at the Mariott Marquis- just because it's convenient and I know what to expect. It's in a good central location. And I can usually find a deal on the room.

Don't forget the Nintendoworld store
http://www.nintendoworldstore.com/

With our kids in the times square area we enjoy to eat at Virgil's BBQ
http://www.virgilsbbq.com/

 

[Bren's Mom]

We live an hour by train from NYC and we love to go into the city with our kids. Lots of fun, different things to see and do. I don't think it's any more strenuous or more walking or more complicated than taking the kids to Disney. You just have to be smart about your planning, like with any vacation.

Some things to put on your list:

Statue of Liberty, you can do 2 ways...go to the island or just 'float' by it by taking the free Staten Island Ferry.
Top of the Rock, I prefer this to the Empire State Building. Less crowded, and you can SEE the ESB from it. Awesome view. Can be a little intimidating for younger kids particularly if it's a windy day/night.
Rockefeller Plaza, there is a Wii store there that appeals to my kids
Sony Wonderlab
Gazillion Bubbles Show
Times Square including the gigantic Toys R Us with the ferris wheel inside the store, giant Lego sculptures and every toy known to man, the Hershey and M&M stores, the Wax museum
Mars 2112 restaurant (you don't go there for the food, it's ok but not anything to write home about, but the whole atmosphere, theming is great fun for kids)
Central Park including the zoo and children's zoo, carriage rides, RC boat pond, carousel, neat sculptures and more. Centralpark.com will give you a complete list of things to see/do and a map.
FAO Schwartz
Little Italy
Chinatown
Max Brenner's, especially for dessert. Check out their menus, some things for the kids that they offer are a chocolate hamburger with strawberry 'ketchup' and a chocolate syringe you get to squeeze right into your mouth...great fun! Bring wipes!!! LOL
Street fairs and festivals, see the current schedule here and check back for 2010s schedule closer to your trip http://www.nycstreetfairs.com/sched.html
NYC Fire Museum and the FDNY Fire Store http://www.nyfirestore.com/visit.html
Children's Museum of Manhattan
American Museum of Natural History
Children's Museum of the Arts (near Chinatown) http://www.ny.com/museums/children.m....the.arts.html
Bronx Zoo (obviously not in Manhattan but there is, or used to be you'd have to confirm this, a free shuttle from Manhattan and it is a GREAT zoo, so worth it)

Hope that helps!

 

[mjkacmom]

Mars 2112 participates in restaurant.com, so with the current 80% off, you can get a $25 gc for $2, but you have to spend $50 (which really isn't very difficult). My kids liked it.

 

[java]

aaack! Mars2112 is on our NEVER AGAIN list. The last time we went the food was beyond horrible. The service was awful, rude and mia most times.
Even my kids said they hated it. (we have been 4 times the 3rd time wasn't great but I though it was an off night- the 4th time we went it was 100times worse) With so many GREAT restuarants in NYC I just can't suggest this one.

 

[njsam]

I agree...Mars 2112 wasn't good for us, either. There are many other nicer places to go. Jeckyl & Hyde's is fun but I'm not sure how and if little ones might react to it. All children are different. My kids always loved approaching characters, Santa, etc. they were never apprehensive or timid. Other kids might not like the "scarey" atmosphere of Jeckyl and Hydes. You knonw your children better than anyone.

I also recommend the Marriot Marquis in Times Square. It's in a great location and they used to have a great revolving restaurant upstairs. The view is wonderful! Not sure about the rates, I live across the Hudson in NJ so I never stay overnight in NYC but I have been in the hotel and in the restaurant. Another place to check out would be the Doubletree if you are familiar with that hotel chain. They also have a location in Times Square. If you don't want to pay a fortune to eat, check out Prime Burger next to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's between Fifth Ave. and Madison on 50th or 51st Street. The burgers are fresh meat, not frozen and the fries and onion rings are excellent! The kids will like the seats, too. Each person has their own seat (situated in a semi-circle) with a flip over wooden tray! My kids loved to go there besides, the food was delicious!

If your kids enjoy libraries, don't forget to stop by the NYC public library and show them around...it's a magnificant building and really beautiful inside.

The Lion King and Mary Poppins are both fabulous shows if you can get in to them. Make sure to do your homework and I would definitely stay at either the Marriot Marquis or the Doubletree right in the heart of Times Square. You are right in the heart of all the fun (M&Ms store, Hersheys, etc.) I hope you have a great time! Good luck!
Nancy

 

[monorailsilver]

We just took the train in last week. It was my parents, me & my 3 kids ages 8, 6 & 3 (almost 9 & almost 4). I just brought my umbrella stroller for ease of lugging it up/down the subway steps.

The only thing we did was the Central Park Zoo (my dad was tired=he is over 70). My kids liked it but it was cold so not all the animals were out. But for the price it was OK.

They are dying to go back buy my hubby isn't but he will.

 

[claytonsmama]

thanks for all the info!! my dh is leary of driving in the city...is there a way to drive, leave the car at a train station and take the train in to the city and stay there? is that safe? where? thanks in advance!

 

[louey]

Not Hijacking just a quick question which site does everyone use to get the best rates on hotels?
Thanks

 

[Chelley00]

We have stayed at the Millenium and Hilton Hotels (one in Times Square and the other blocks away

DH and I stayed at the Millenium Broadway in June and we loved it. We payed $129 a night (I think) through Travelzoo. It was close to EVERYTHING - Times Square, theater district, subway station etc.

 

[katie26]

thanks for all the info!! my dh is leary of driving in the city...is there a way to drive, leave the car at a train station and take the train in to the city and stay there? is that safe? where? thanks in advance!

You could get a hotel room in Brooklyn or Queens and take the subway into Manhattan - or you could even stay in New Jersey and take the train! There's a Marriott Marquis in downtown Brooklyn, just over the Brooklyn Bridge, that is very close to a major subway station in Brooklyn. The trains and subways are very safe! (Though they can be a little bit tricky to negotiate with a stroller - stairs/turnstiles make it difficult.)

If you'd rather just park once and leave your car for the whole vacation, Metropark in Iselin, NJ is a main station on a New Jersey Transit train line. They have a large parking garage with daily rates.

(Oh, and I second the PP's suggestion about taking the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. It's the best free ride in the city!)

Enjoy!

 

[Sagginit]

dont forget dessert! there is a magnolia bakery in the rockerfeller center area now and there are places like serendipity and crazy candystores too. i would skip dessert at one of the theme restaurants and take a trip to a specialty bakery instead.

oh and a word of caution. the ferris wheel at toys r us can take a loooong time. you have to get a ticket, wait until assigned time, wait to load, the ride is kinda confusing because they don't load the cars in order, the cars themselves are small so you can really only fit one adult and one child on each bench but they will cram you in there if they can. it was something we had wished we had skipped. personally i prefer fao schwartz, i think the store is cleaner and easier to navigate. they have those photopass type people in toys r us and it blocks up the pathways too.

 

[hsmamato2]

thx for the info on Mars 2112- it's so corny, but my ds loves it,so I can use this to take some $$$ off their overpriced food!

 

[VirataMama4]

We have recently found that it is so much cheaper to stay in NJ and take the Staten Island ferry over to NYC. We just use the subway to get us where we want to go. We use priceline for the hotel and got a great rate! We're actually planning on doing it again in April for my DD's 12th birthday!


BTW- We loved Mars2112 when we went there last July! The food was actually pretty good and the kids and my DH loved "being on Mars." Also doing it again in April.

 

[39CINDERELLA]

does anyone know how the Country Inn is in Queens? my dd and friends are going in late April. They are between 19-21
how safe is area? they do not have funds for expensive hotel
TIA

 

[Priorityonecb]

There is a deal on mousesavers now for $33 off each Lion King ticket, you might want to check that out!

 

[claytonsmama]

There is a deal on mousesavers now for $33 off each Lion King ticket, you might want to check that out!

thanks, i was actually thinking about taking the little guy to see it! i was reading about the tkts booths and that you can get tickets sometimes half off...does anyone know anythign about that? is it legit? can you usually get tickets? thanks!!

 

[Priorityonecb]

It's TKS, and totally legit. However, it's for the shows that are not hugely popular and have seats leftover that day that they are willing to fill at a discount. You can go to the TKS website and sign up for their daily listing of tickets available, then you can get an idea of what shows have excess seats right now. You can usually find Mary Poppins with TKS, but Lion King is more popular so not often. You *do have to get in line *very early to get the show you want and it's typically a long line...so that is something to consider too if that works into your touring plan. We went ahead and bought Lion King before we left.