We will be in NYC for six days the first week in July. Should I purchase tickets in advance (online) for the NBC Studio/Rockefeller Center/Radio City Music Hall Tours? I've read that unless you are there for some of the tours before noon the day's allotment is gone. Are all of these worth seeing for the money? Thanks for any advice!

I definitely think the NBC tour is worth the money. I haven't taken the RCMH tour. If you can buy them online ahead of time, I would.
Have fun!

Any recent experience with the NBC Studio Tour? Would two teenage boys enjoy it?

Thanks.

I think they would. You see sets from a number of shows, including SNL. It's a great tour.

We took our 2 teenage sons last summer and they liked it. We did buy our tickets in advance.

Thanks for the tip! I am looking for indoor things to do w/my 13 yr old daughter at end of August and the NBC tour sounds like a winner. Had not thought of that one at all...

We went on the NBC tour last Monday and I thought it was really worth the $$. One of the highlights of the trip for me, since I had never been to a tv studio or movie set before. We did book ahead, the time slot I had wanted was full, but I took one 15 min earlier. They tell you to get there 30 min ahead of time, which was a bit ridiculous, but it give you time to look around at the store.

There were teens on the tour and they seemed to like it. We got to see where they do the nightly news, Conan's set, and the Sat. Night Live set, but which ones you see will vary.
The insider info was really neat, and when we got home we were excited to see those shows on NBC with our knew knowledge.

We took both the NBC Studio Tour and the Radio City Music Hall Tour the first week in May. We booked the tickets ahead so ensure we were able to get the times we wanted. We had the first tour of the day for NBC (0830 hrs) and it was great as it wasn't full. (The Today Show was still going on) We had about 10 in our group and the guide said the groups are usually about 30 people. Something to think about. Booking tours ahead enables you to better plan your day. We were staying near NBC so wanted either the first tour or the last in case were were at the other end of the city in the middle of the day.

We also booked Radio City Music Hall for the 3 pm tour but probably not really necessary as people just walked in, and went next door to the store to buy tickets for our tour. Remember though it was the first week in May. We really enjoyed the tour. You were able to go backstage to a rehersal hall for the rockettes etc. The musical group Chicago was doing their sound check for concert that evening so were only able to sit in the back of the hall but we really enjoyed it. Don't miss out on something you want because you didn't book ahead.

Thank you, amelie and Jilliansmom. That is great info. We are planning on doing the NBC tour (and wil sign up for an early one, good tip) and the Rockefeller Center tour. I think the general Rock center one looks very interesting, but now Jilliansmom is making me think about Radio City...

Forgot to mention that on the NBC tour they said Thurs. or Fri is the best day because the sets may be up for SNL and on the Fri they may even be there rehearsing. (FYI)

Check out www.newyorkpass.com. We were in New York City for the first time and found this was an excellent deal for our family.

It included the NBC Studio, Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall tours as well as Madame Tussaud's and lots of others. At the time they included public transit passes too with it, which made it even a better deal. I don't think they do that now. But look the site over.

4khansen, I am very interested in that pass. When you had that pass, how did you sign up for times for the tours? Call the places? I ask because to sign up for times on the web you have to purchase tickets on the attraction's website (eg. the NBC Studio Tour, Radio City Music hall, etc.)

It's been awhile since we were in New York City. But I think I did call ahead and make reservations for the tours that you could do that. Such as the NBC Studio Tour and Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Tour. I just mentioned that I have New York Passes to use and they made a note of that? from what I remember. But its been about six years ago.

Thank you, I appreciate the info. I am getting so excited about this upcoming trip. Trying to plan some indoor things like this since it will be hot at end of August, although the weather here in DC has been low humidity and very nice for most of this summer, including now, so I am hoping the moderate weather holds...

We are from Iowa and New York City was one of my favorite vacations..... Would love to go back again.

Have fun!

We very much enjoyed both tours. I would recommend booking online so you can pick your times and not have to adjust your itinerary around whatever times you can get once you arrive.

Our daughters were 14 and 16 when we were in NYC and even though they are NOT baseball fans, one of the fondest memories was the Yankees game and just the whole atmosphere of the place.

You can take the subway right to the ballpark from Manhattan, it is a cool experience.