ShellD

Hi! I'll be travelling to NYC this Saturday on a bus trip with a youth theater group to see Mary Poppins. We'll be arriving around 10 am and participating in a "behind the scenes" tour of the theater which will last approx. an hour or so. When that ends, we have about an hour and a half free time before we have to return to the theater for the show.

It's not a lot of time, but it's certainly enough time to do something. So, I'm looking for some suggestions on ideas for what we could do. It would be myself and my 10 year old daughter. I'll also have my mother with us, who is 65 - but she's pretty much up for anything. We're really looking for things to appeal to my daughter, since the trip is for her.

I think when we leave on Saturday morning, we'll be getting a list of things in the area, but I'd like to have a plan before we leave. Even some of the "less touristy" type things as well. And on the "more touristy" type things - How far are we from places like the American Girl Store? Is there a good resource online to print out a map? etc...

Thanks!

bmw732002

One and 1/2 hours in NYC?

Go to times square, take some photos, watch the world go by, go back to the theater!

-john

SueNYC

Get a timed ticket for Top of the Rock. Yes you can walk to the American Girl store but it'll be crowded and crazy and no fun. Better to walk to the Public Library and say hi to the original Winnie Ther Pooh doll.

panecott

Agree with john.

The American Girl Store is on 49th St and Fifth Avenue. It's a few blocks from Times Square. Definitely doable

If it's a nice day, you might want to take a walk up to Central Park -- it starts on 59th St.

There's really not much you can do in an hour and a half.

ShellD

Oh, I did forget, we probably will need to squeeze lunch into our very limited time! Is there a quick, preferably not McDonald's type lunch you could recommend? Guess our time just got really cut down.

I like the Central Park idea. Of course Times Square is good too. I was told about some cupcake place around there as well, but I'm not sure the name...anyone?

Aduchamp1

There is a Magnolia Bakery on 6th Ave and 49 Street and one downstairs in Grand Central Station.

HowardR

Let's be realistic here....You've got a mere 90 minutes between the tour and the show. Unless you're planning to grab something on the run (or, on the walk) from a street food vender, you're not going to have much time for anything, especially if you decide on a sitdown lunch.
Let's take one possible alternative scenario: Walking from the theater to, say, Magnolia Bakery on 6th and 49th, will take at least 10 minutes each way. So that leaves 50 minutes at most for each and sightseeing. You're in the Rockefeller Center/St. Patrick's Cathedral area. Spend the remaining minutes visiting those worthy sites.

MichelleY

Go to the Top of the Rock.

Bowsprit

A cupcake is not lunch. Is the bus dropping you off at the New Amsterdam Theatre? Try to get a table at John's Pizza on W. 44th street. If you get there right after the tour you should be able to squeeze in lunch before the show. Here's the link:

http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com/index2.htm

If you have time after the show, go to TOTR. If you really get caught short on time, visit the concession stand at the theatre. They sell enough candy and junk food to count as a meal. Your daytrip sounds like fun! Have a blast!

cferrb

Looking for confirmation from native New Yorkers on this one, but it seems like you could walk to Grand Central and eat quickly there and then walk back to the show. That is, if your daughter and mother are both willing to be brisk walkers and fast eaters.

Personally, I would prefer just to find a meal in Times Square and experience the craziness of that area.

Bowsprit

If you go to GCT, go downstairs to the food court. You can eat lunch And get a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery.

nytraveler

Well you'll need to eat lunch - or be starving after the show. so I would pick out something casuale nearby. then - if the weather is decent do Top of the Rock - you can reserve tickets that am to get the time you want. If you want to do something indoors you might want to drop into MoMA. another option is the main branch of the NY Public library - which always has great exhibits and has an absolutely shatteringly beautiful reading room.

nyer

You're leaving right after the show?
In your 90 minutes, just have a slice of pizza or some other quick meal (there's a pedestrian only area with seating right on the streets nearby), stop into some of the stores in Times Square (M&Ms, ride the ferris wheel at Toys R US, whatever), have a cupcake, and get to the theater a few minutes early to take it all in.

I'm a big proponent of culture, but with so little time and a kid that age, I would not try to run around just for a taste of this or that. By the time you walk to and from Rockefeller center,or Grand Central (not really fun for a 10 year old anyway, in my opinion) you're probably talking about 30 minutes. Who wants to rush so much?

travelbuff

You might try the Discovery Center which is in Times Square, and last I heard there was a Harry Potter show, lots of items on display from the movies, costumes wands, and of course a themed gift shop. If she is a Harry Potter fan a must see.
Get your tickets online.

Eating in the theatre area is probably the best idea and I would suggest the Cafe 1,2,3 on W.43rd just off 6th Ave, something for everyone there, and for desert the creme brule is heavenly.

If you can walk a bit further your daughter would LOVE Ellen's Stardust up on Broadway around 49th. The servers are all wantabe broadway performers so you get lunch AND music.

Hope this helps.

travelbuff

Sorry, just checked and the HP exhibit is gone, Dead Sea Scrolls might be good for you and Mom, but probably not much fun for your Daughter.

How about the ToysRUs in Times Square with a ride on the 4 story ferris wheel, or a walk over to Bryant Park 6th and 42nd and a ride on the Carousel.

From there to Cafe 1,2,3 and then to the Theatre.

Have a GREAT time.

ShellD

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I think my daughter would love Ellen's Stardust, so our plan is to head there after our tour and then just check out Times Square. It's too bad we don't have more time, but we'll make the best of what we do have and have a blast I'm sure!

Bowsprit

Ellens Stardust diner serves some of the absolute worst food in the city. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. Really, you'll be happy you did.

Aduchamp1

Ellen used to have a restaurant across Broadway from City Hall Park. They made one thing I liked for breakfast and I used to run into Ellen on occasion. She was Miss Subway 1959. No kdding. They would post the pictures of five "hot" women in the subways and NY'ers would vote for their favorite.

She was tiresomely vain becasue of her 1959 election and her staff thought they had found a cure a cancer rather than dispensing coffee and biscuits. I have never been to her singing dinner since I never heard a good word about it and I had no good words for Ellen.

HowardR

To call Ellen's Stardust Diner the worst food in the city is a bit of hyperbole. No, it's hardly gourmet cooking, but then, what 10-year-old is looking for gourmet cooking? Rather, it would be a fun experience for the child.

Bowsprit

I did qualify the hyperbole by saying Ellen's serves "SOME" of the worst food in the city. They serve inedible food. Gruesome. If you go, order a cola. Then leave.

If the 10 year old knows anything about the iconic Eloise character of The Plaza Hotel fame, she might enjoy the (also not gourmet, but 'fun') Eloise tea offered in the recently revamped Palm Court at the Plaza.

But I don't think you have time for that....