Shadow

I cannot believe that after waiting for years and years my dh and I will be leaving for NYC 3 weeks from today!!! So, excited!!
(Our trip is arrive: Oct. 20 leave Oct. 29)

I have some fine tuning to do on our itinerary for the 2 days we are "on our own tourists"...most of our trip (if you remember my post of several weeks ago)we are being taken around by family who are NYers.

So, one of my questions is this:
Should we go early to the Empire State Building during the day and go to the Top of the Rock at night? Or vise versa? OR....
do the ESB early and Top of the Rock at dusk?
Just not sure what would be best...also, I realize things might need to be tweaked due to weather...
These will be done on either a Monday or a Tuesday....

Thanks for any help (you NYers have already been very helpful!!) I will have more questions soon!

Thanks,
Shadow

doug_stallings

Do you really want to do both? My personal appetite for spending $20 to go up to the top of a skyscraper is limited. But the view is definitely different by day and by night, so I can understand the allure of going at different times. Perhaps you should go to one about dusk and just stay until dark?? That's my cheapskate plan. The ESB is very busy day and night, so try to book your tickets in advance or go very early in the morning or very late at night (that would actually be my suggestion if you don't want to book tickets in advance). You can do Top of the Rock anytime and not have to waste a lot of time in line.

amelie

If you really want to do both (and it sounds like you have the time, 9 days, wow! , then I would suggest ESB in the day and Top of the Rock at dusk. Only because I've heard ESB can be very crowded at dusk/sunset, and with Top of the Rock you get a timed entry and no line.

If you had to only pick one I'd pick Top of the Rock because of the 1. no lines 2. views of the ESB and central park. I went up ESB 12 years ago and Top of the Rock in June though, so Top of the Rock is fresh in my mind. It was outstanding.

Have fun!! NYC in the autumn is going to be amazing. I'm so jealous.

~amelie

mclaurie

Just keep in mind that one of the great views from TOTR is Central Park and once it gets dark, Central Park is just a big black "hole." So I'd do TOTR in daylight or dusk at the latest.

HowardR

To counterbalance mclaurie's comment, one of the best reasons (if not THE best) to go the Top of the Rock at night is to see the Empire State Building all lit up!

Shadow

OK, thanks! I think we will have to see how the weather goes but if all is ok we'll go early on Tue. morning to ESB (just have to do it after hearing about it, and seeing it in movies, etc. all my life it seems). Will do TOR on Tue. before dusk or will also have time on Friday.
Thanks....

Gosh, 19 days until NYC!!! First time!!
Shadow

gjkayak

We spent an hour, between 10 and 11 pm on the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State Building on Monday of this week, and it was spectacular. Part of the enchantment was due to the almost full moon and the weather -- temperature about 60 and spectacularly clear, we could see all the bridges, from the Verazzano to the south, the George Washington to the northwest, and all of the East River bridges. And, closer in, a great view of Fifth Avenue, Broadway, the Chrysler building, the Met Life Building, and many many other skyscrapers.

Shadow

gikayak...that sounds wonderful as you said!! Wow!! We really do want to go to the ESB and the Top of the Rock...so, we'll just have to make time to do it.....sounds so romantic up there!!!
Thank you for sharing this....
Shadow

emd

Shadow, you are so enthusiastic about NYC on your posts that it is getting me excited about the trip, and I am not going (but btw, do you need someone to come along and carry your shoes?)

We went to the Top of the Rock on the last elevator up at night at 10:45 or so in August; we walked there after a Broadway play. As others have said, it was very cool seeing the ESB lit up at night. It was green that night; does it change colors? Yes, it is romantic up there-it comes w/a feeling of being on top of such a great city (plus the Sleepless in Seattle scenes at top of the ESB kept playing in my head as I was up there; I kept imagining the elevator opening and out comes...)

Such a great city and so many good memories there for me of both work and pleasure, and being at the top of it all looking down is icing on the cake. I felt the same way at the top of Tokyo Tower last year, although you can't go outside there.

If you go to TOR at dusk, do stay up there to watch the city unfold as the lights go on.

I would have liked to go to TOR at sunset but we always see a play each night so that didn't work out. I may take the rest of my family there on our upcoming trip on a night when we won't have a play.

The views are apparently different. Don't know if you realize how much higher the ESB is than TOR- I noticed that at TOR.

You are going to have a spectacular time on this trip!

pianogirl

I just came back from NYC and we did the TOTR. We went when it was close to dusk and stayed until dark and watched the city light up. I think that is definitely the best time to go, and we could see central park fine before sunset. We just walked right in around 6:30, no line at all.

My friend has done both observation decks, and she liked TOTR much better. It is much less crowded than ESB and you get to see the ESB from the rock.

I thought they told us on our bus tour that TOTR observation deck is actually higher than ESB observation deck, just because you don't go all the way to the top of the ESB, but at the Rock you are literally on top of the building.

earl30

for the price of a drink, i'd consider just doing the rainbow grill instead of the cost of the top of the rock.

Shadow

emd-thanks! Its hard to put this into words but there are many reasons I am so excited to be going to NYC...
1) Much of this trip will be centered around my meeting and reacquanting with cousins...our parents came from Ireland and my father's side settled in NY and my father ventured out to CA. I waited too long and all the sisters (and my dad) are all gone now...but, I will have a "reunion" of sorts with most of the cousins....they are all as excited as I am to see me or meet me in some cases. My immediate family has not always been much joy so this means a lot to me.....
2) I was raised in LA but have lived in the Mojave Desert in a very small town for almost 30 years! I am a city girl at heart and miss stores, cafes, shopping, etc. So, this will be so much fun for me (though, I won't have time to do much of this but I'll enjoy what I can do). We'll just have 2 days to be on our own but that is OK since its not the main reason for the trip.
3) I've just always wanted to go to NYC!! See a Broadway play, the ESB, Central Park, etc.....I don't know why I've put it off...I kept waiting for "the perfect time"....after I met one of these cousins at my niece's wedding, we made such a connection that I decided NOW is the time!!
Thank God my husband loves being a tourist, is happy I get to have this time with my cousins and loves to travel....so, we are both so excited!!
pianogirl-thanks for your experience...sounds great!! I hope time wise it all works out for me too.....so much to see and do....so little time...so I know already I'll be back
Shadow