Hi,
Well after humming and hawing about where we should go for New Years - NYC or Boston, we have finally decided to split our stay and have booked flights and hotel - 4 nights at The Sofitel December 27th to December 30th inclusive flying to Boston the morning of December 31st for 3 nights (probably staying at Jurys but not booked yet),returning home on December 3rd.

Now here's where you guys come in (PLEASE!!), we want to try and organise our time there and I have LOTS of questions (nothing new for me if you ask those on the Africa board!)

Anyways, I'll start with the NYC portion first: We want to see some shows and need recommendations. We have been to New York before and went to see

We will be there from December 27th to 30th inclusive

oops, made a bit of a mess of all that and hit the post button by accident - sorry!

Anyways, what I was trying to say was, we've been to NYC before and saw The Producers which, unfortunately, we didn't enjoy - I think it's that Irish humour is different than American (??). We also saw Slava's Snow Show which we LOVED (in fact, if we have time this trip, we will see it again). We have also seen (in Vegas) Blue Man Group, O and Mystere which we greatly enjoyed.t started looking at what's on and am considering The Lion King, Wicked, Mama Mia as well as maybe Beauty and the Beast which I hear have had tickets at the TKTS booth recently. We also don't mind going off broadway either. Any comments on the above and / or recommendations for other shows??

Another question, I have read about 'Rush' tickets, what exactly are these and how do you get them? Cost? Availability? I have signed up for Playbill etc in order to try to get discounted tickets.

When we were in NYC last we did some of the usual tourist sights - Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero to pay our respects. We missed Central Park which I plan to do this time around but what else should we do?

One last question (for the moment anyways), we want to try to get some Lee jeans for DH (can't get them here in Ireland anymore and he lives in them) - anyone know where is the best place to purcahse? Last time we found a little shop somewhere around Century 21 that stocked them but I'm not sure if we will be able to find nit again.

Sorry for being so long winded and thanks for any help,

Imelda

Imelda -

Not much help to offer, re: Lee jeans. I saw Mamma Mia in Vegas, and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I'm guessing the NYC version will be great.

They just had the LA gtg - maybe we should think about an east coast gtg???? Do you have any free time when you're here, or are you going to be crazy busy? Seems to me that Vermont (ahem, my home?) might be a likely spot - convenient to both Boston and NYC?

At any rate, good luck with the planning!

Cyn

Well - Central Park will hardly be at it;s best in December - all brown and crunchy. Although you can still see the zoo and a few of the other highpoints. You might want to consider ice skating at Wohlman rink.

Which of the museums have you been to? The Met always has new shows as well I'm sure some departments you haven;t seen yet. MomA?Frick? Natural History?

How about the Top of the Rock.

And you can't miss seeing all the store window displays along fifth avenue.

we always try to get seats for the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. And have dinner at Sea Grill in Rock Center to watch the skaters while we eat.

Agree on Mama Mia, The Nutcracker, the Frick and MoMA.

How about a horse drawn carriage through Central Park? They'll put a nice lap blanket over you and off you go!

The lower Braodway area used to be the best place for authentic jeans and probably still is. Someone will give you the name of a great store.

Hit some other stores for the after Chrismas sales - your money should go pretty far assuming the exchange rates stay in your favor.

ABC Carpet is an amazing home store which is worth a visit.

A wander around Greenwich Village is always fun and beautiful - I think it is the prettiest part of NYC.

Hey Cyn,
How are you getting on. It's good to hear from someone familiar especially as this is only my second post on the US board and I'm still a 'newbie' here!
I haven't had much time for surfing the Africa boards at the moment, especially with this last minute trip to the States. Had heard that they had the LA gtg but did they post a report ? Good idea about one for the West Coast and I would definately be up for it but (and isn't there always a but!) I'm not sure if I could make Vermont. How far away from NYC / Boston is it? It looks quite a way on the map? We won't be hiring a car so I don't know how we would get there. I'm going to stick my neck out and say, would it be a possibility to have it in New York or Boston?? Hope you don't think I'm being cheeky by asking that and I'm up for suggestions -would love to meet up!!!
Anyways, back to NYC - thanks for the tip on Mamma Mia - Deck (that's hubby) wanted to see it in Vegas a couple of years ago but we didn't make it, that's why I'm considering it for NY. Looks like it might be a good bet.

Nytraveler - I missed Central Park on both my previous trips to NYC so this time I want to try to fit it in. I know it's definately not the best time of year for there but I suppose I just want to see it for myself .Is that where the Wohlman Rink is? That sounds like fun.
We actually haven't been to any of the Museums in NY as we're not really into museums.
We will absolutely stroll down 5th for the Window displays (haven't done that before either!)
I have read here just recently about Top of the Rock - what exactly is it and where is it located?? Are there any other nice restaurants around Rock Centre where we could watch the skating - I'm vegetarian and don't eat fish and hubby isn't a fish person either and one last question - where is Rock Centre located - is it connected to Top of the Rock (sorry if that's a stupid question).
Also, the Nutcracker is also a very good idea - what about the Radio City Christmas Show??

Amaclise - The horse drawn carriage idea sounds very romantic - will try to persuade hubby. And the plan is DEFINATELY to hit the shops for the sales - no trip to New York would be complete without a couple of days shopping Do you think that shopping will be better in NYC or Boston (price wise)? That ABC homestore sounds good but with my history, hubby will probably want to keep me out of there - last trip to NYC left us coming home with TWO sets of dinnerware!!! (this was pre carryon restrictions). Just in case though, where is the store located?

Thanks again,
Imelda

If you've never seen The Lion King, I would put that at the top of your list. I finally got around to seeing it this year, and thought it was one of the most visually creative and exciting things I'd ever seen!

I enjoyed Mamma Mia and Wicked, too, but the Lion King is truly a spectacular experience! Beauty and the Beast is good, too, but I would put that last as an option.

Here is another link with lots of info on theater tickets, shows, discounts: the 'frugal theater goer' -
http://tinyurl.com/jmlez

In NYC, you might want to consider going to the Cloisters, (link: http://tinyurl.com/3o22l

and walking the Soho/Nolita area one day for shopping, browsing, lunch/brunch/dinner. East Village, West Village, they all have their own beat which you can read about online and see which one sings to you.
Here is a link to the big onion walking tours, even if you don't sign up for a tour, the web gives you an idea of the different areas and what is there - even Little Ireland area in the lower east side -

http://tinyurl.com/yxu33r

I love walking thru Central Park, starting at the MET (even if you don't do the museum), and walk through the entire park with a map, it is quite lovely even in the winter walking in that space with the city towering around you, watching the ice skating, etc. Here is a link you might find useful, with a good map of central park and all the sites which might help you decide ifyou want to see parts of it or all of it.

http://tinyurl.com/yy8y6f

For shows, I also enjoyed Lion King, Mama Mia, Spamalot (if you like Monty Python humor)

Thank you so much for your help guys.

Skatedancer, Escargot, Do you have any recommendation for the best seats for Lion King? When I search ticketmaster the 'best available' tickets' showing are Mezzanine Row DD ($128.25 each)- how are these?

Skatedancer, One of the reasons I was considering Beauty and the Beast is that TKTS have had tickets for that show recently but if the Lion King is that much better then I don't mind paying full price. Also, I love the Lion King music.

Escargot,
Thank you so so much for all those fantastic links. It will take me a while to go through them but they look really good. LOTS of information that I didn't know and I like your idea of checking out the BigOnion tours and picking the bits to do ourselves...... I never knew there was a Little Ireland in NY!! Will definately have to go there!

Thank you again for all your help,

Imelda

i;m sure you'll find here alot of threads that have ideas of what to do in new york city
i usually check out stuff at this site
http://www.tripcart.com/usa-regions/New-York-City.aspx
they have a short but useful guide
i don't know if it's still running in New York but i really liked the broadway production of Chicago
have a good time

have a great time

From what I can tell by the seating chart for the theater, those seats would be in the front of the mezzanine, on the side. When I saw it, we were in the orchestra, which I thought was ideal, especially since the performers come through the audience. My daughter saw it again with her camp and was seated in the very back of the mezzanine and could see the trap doors that people were coming up from, so it ruined some of the magic for her. Maybe you can repost the question to see if anyone has sat in the front, side mezzanine, to be sure you won't have this problem.

I think Beauty is a good show and a great recreation of the movie, but I think the Lion King is unlike anything else.

I don't think you'll go wrong with any of the shows you're considering. The staging and energy of these Broadway musicals are just incredible.

The Sofitel is great and will make your trip very comfortable. On the same block is the Red Flame Coffee shop good for breakfasts.

On your theater tickets questions, I think the fact that TKTS has seats for certain shows NOW is not indicative of what will happen during your trip in Dec. The city will be filled with visitors and TKTS may not be a good option for that time period. I think your best bet is to try to get tickets online in advance, whether discounted or not. The discounts currently posted on playbill and broadwaybox mostly expire before your trip, but whatever is available at that time should be posted within the next few weeks.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is a classic NYC holiday event. While it's often considered best for families with kids, so is Slava and since you liked that....I'd give it a try. There are discounts here
http://broadwaybox.com/shows/radio_c...c_tickets.aspx

There's info on rush tickets (and standing room) on playbill website here
http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuz...cle/82428.html

but I was at a Wicked matinee this past weekend and there was quite a mob trying for rush tickets. It takes a fair amount of time and if your name isn't picked, you've got no tickets at all. Not a good idea, imo, for a short visit.

Altar Boyz is a popular off Broadway show that's usually available on discount either at TKTS or broadwaybox etc. Here's some info on what it's about
http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/altar950.htm

Here's a link to last year's NY magazine holiday guide. http://nymag.com/guides/holidays/index.html

Many of the listings are annual things. Will give you an idea of what's going on.

Lion King is fabulous - the costumes are magnificent - but I would prefer to be in orchestra, or on the 3-5 seats in on either aisle side - but that's me, everyone has location preferences.

I ahven't seen Beauty and Beast.
Radio City music Hall is a 'spectacle' - most people enjoy it at least once in their lives, it's a bit of a tradition in our family to have everyone go at least once during their life - I don't think you 'd be disappointed -

I would defnitely get my tix ahead of time and as soon as possible.

MORE fantastic websites and information- thanks a million! Will have lots of reading ahead of me for the weekend

Also, good to have a tip on a place for breakfast - don't want to be paying those crazy hotel prices.

Re the Lion King tickets, Ticketmaster is showing 'best available' of Orchestra Row X. I know the seats will be a bit far back but do you think they would be better than Mezzanine? I am having difficulty trying to find tickets in the orchestra on ticketmaster other than these for ONE of the nights of our stay (and they don't tell me what seat numbers they are) - any tips?

Again, thanks!

Imelda

seat location can be such a personal thing, some prefer mezzanine, etc - but I would take row x, but that's me -

I was in NYC last year near Christmas. It was well below freezing and the wind howling (it was during the transit strike too but that's another story). Dress warmly and make sure everyone else brings along coats, warm boots etc. Scarves, hats, gloves are very inexpensive and plentiful on the street if you'd like new ones. It can be expensive to outfit kids (especially teens who haven't packed well). On the other hand you may have a warm spell - check ahead.

We'll probably go again this year but I haven't started looking at plays yet. Have a great trip.

Lee Jeans
1411 Broadway # 9, New York, NY
(212) 575-7820

That's an adddress for Lee's Jeans but I don't know if it's current or maybe a corporate address. My guess would be Macy's otherwise, they should have a Lee's department.

Thanks escargot, these seem to be the only decent-ish tickets through ticketmaster. There are some on another site but I balk at paying $200 to $400 per ticket!! Is there any other website you would suggest? Do you think if I telephoned the box office I could reserve seats by CC?

Kakalena, We definately plan to wrap up. We were in NYC for New Years a few years ago and it was FREEZING so this time we know what to expect. Thanks for the Lee information - hopefuly it's current. Macy's don't do Lee, at least when we were there a couple of years ago they didn't. They are pretty hard to get

One more thing, it's just DH and I (early-mid 30's), no kids, Lion king still the one we should opt for? (just read an old post about some 'older' teens and adults not really enjoying the show).

Imelda

You can't call the box office and reserve tickets for any Broadway show. For Disney shows, call its hotline (800-755-4000. For all other shows, you must either go through Ticketmaster (223-7565) or Telecharge (800-432-7250), depending on which show you want to see.
You will be in NYC the business week of the year for Broadway shows. Thus, I would strongly advise getting tickets NOW.

Oops, that Ticketmaster number should have an 800 before it.