MnJ

We are planning to take him to Empire State Building observation, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, FAO Swartz, American Museum of Natural History, and perhaps a "hop on, hop off" Greyline Tour. We will have 4 full days. We would really like your suggestions and recommendations. This is his first trip the NYC. Thanks much.

mclaurie

Top of the Rock is better and faster than Empire State. Toys R' Us in Times Square has an indoor ferris wheel. Central Park! http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/P...ator/kids_todo
Take him to a show of some sort-Broadway or off Broadway (Shrek or Lion King on Broadway--Blue Man Group or Stomp off Broadway). You can usually find discount tickets on the left column of broadwaybox.com

A ride on the Beast http://www.circleline42.com/site/browse.aspx?group=2

I'm not sure how good a hop on/off tour is with a 9 yr old. Kids love riding the subway, esp. if they come from some place that doesn't have them.

Shar

Sounds like you have it covered for 4 days and I agree with some Broadway. Just saw Billy Elliot with my 16 year old - lot of dancing but Lion King would be great as well as Shrek.

Shar

Forgot to mention the Lower Eastside Tenement Museum. They have wonderful tours for those 12 and under. You actually visit an old tenement and learn about the people who lived there. You can get tix on line Advise that also for Ellis Island. Saves lots of waiting in line time.

musicfan

The Intrepid; I've never done a tour, but it was sitting next to the boat when we did the Circle Line tour and it looked COOL.

doug_stallings

You don't say when you'll be coming, but there are a lot of seasonal activities in the summer if you're not coming until mid-June or later.

For a 9 year-old, the wait time for the Statue of Liberty is going to be a real drag. This trip takes you about 5 or 6 hours total and involves and lot of standing around. I don't recommend it for younger kids. And the Ellis Island Museum will be completely lost on him. Instead, I'd simply do the Staten Island ferry and perhaps go to the Tenement Museum if you him to learn more about the immigrant experience.

I completely agree with mclaurie about the hop-on bus tour. If you want to do this, ride regular city buses and the subway so you're not stuck in traffic for hours and have long waits for buses.

He might enjoy the Donut Plant on the Lower East Side with a visit to Economy Candy (esp. if you do the Tenement Museum). Or the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I think a dim sum lunch is a great thing for a kid.

He might enjoy a walk halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge (from the City Hall side).

Some kind of show (The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Wicked, Stomp, or something at the New Victory Theater) would be fun. Cirque du Soleil is at Randall's Island until June 21.

SueNYC

Also, the Forbes gallery has antique toys and soldiers. If you happen to do the Met, go in on the ground floor. They have lots of info for kids like scavenger hunts and things to look for while wandering.

Subways, Buses - The Transit Museum in Brooklyn!

Aduchamp1

Forbidden Planet is a psuedo-science game and toy store on Broadway and 13th that kids love.

The zoo in Central Park is small but interesting.

When you go the Museum of Natural History be sure to see the dinosaurs and the whale.

padams421

I have 2 sons who were in NYC a couple of years ago when the younger was 9 and older one was 11 on a school trip with lots of other kids their age. So, I have lots of feedback from 9 year old boys about NYC. The waiting in line for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island makes the experience not worth it. Skip it and take a tour boat ride and see the Statue of Liberty from the boat. If you want him to learn about immigrants go to the Tenement Museum.

The view from the Top of the Rock is very good. If you want to go to the ESB, order the VIP tickets online ahead of time to skip the lines (again waiting in lines is really a drag when you are a 9 year old boy).

Walk around Central Park, see the statues like Balto and visit the playground. A boat ride on the pond would be fun for him.

The Museum of Natural History is a must do. I'd include the Intrepid and the Met.

Dylans Candy Store, the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (and Chinatown in general), Toys R Us in Times Square, Nintendo World, the Sony and Apple stores, Forbidden Planet and FAO Schwartz are boy favorites.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is fun. Taking cabs and the subway is also entertainment at that age.

Take him to a Broadway show. Lion King is a good show at that age if he has not seen it. Other good choices are Blue Man Group or Stomp. My sons saw Shrek last month (now 11 and 13) and thought it was just ok.

Fodors makes a good guidebook for things to do with kids in NYC. I suggest you buy your grandson the book and let him decide some of what you will do.

Have a fun trip.

tchoiniere

Go to a Yankees or a Mets game if he is a baseball fan. Plenty of empty seats at each at various prices.

BaltoTraveler

Others have made most of my points (avoid long lines - Empire State Bldg and Statue of Liberty; avoid "boring for 9-year-old" - Ellis Island; definitely see a show or two), but here are some more thoughts:

- Times Square after dark is not to be missed.

- The Metropolitan Museum... suits of armor, weapons, mummies, and other stuff that boys think is cool.

- Walk all around Chinatown. (It is near the Tenement Museum if you're going there.)

MnJ

Thanks for the great suggestions. Have you used the City Pass?
Would having the City Pass make the wait times less at the Statue of Liberty? The ideal of just seeing it from a boat sounds good since we can't up and into the statue itself.
What boat tour do you suggest? I think he would really like to see armor, swords, etc at the Metropolitan Museum. Is that the Metropolitan Museum of Art? I like the suggestion of getting a Fodor's book for kids and having him make some selections. Again, thank you all very much.

doug_stallings

No, the City Pass will not help you avoid lines at the Statue of Liberty. Only a reserved ticket will do that, but you can certainly reserve a ticket that will allow you to enter the Statue of Liberty (but these do sell out early, so if you want the monument pass, get it soon ... though it will not allow you to climb into the crown until July). And the City Pass just isn't worth the price unless you plan to visit every single one of the attractions.

The Staten Island Ferry is free and goes past the statue (as close as any of the other boat tours). But if you really want to take a boat trip, then Circle Line has some good ones leaving from both the west side and from the South Street Seaport.

If you can still find a copy, the book you want is "Around the City with Kids." But this series is not being supported any longer, so you may or may not be able to find one.

LaurenKahn1

You can easily take the Staten Island ferry back and forth to see the Statue of Liberty from a distance if that will satisfy your grandson. I don't know that I would recommend Ellis Island for him unless he has been well prepared (nevermind the wait times). I am not so sure he would be interested at age 9.

The only other thing I would consider that no one has mentioned is the Bronx Zoo. You can't miss with a zoo, and the Bronx Zoo is a good one.

BaltoTraveler

Yes; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, right on the edge of Central Park on the East Side. The "Arms and Armor" exhibit is a favorite for many boys. (Certainly was for me!)

http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/arms_and_armor

nytraveler

Definitely go to the web site of the Central Park Conservancy to see what you want to see/do there. You can rent bikes or a boat for rowing on the lake. Also, don't ignore the Met. when my brother was younger than that he loved it - esp the Arms & Armor section, the Temple of Dendur and the Egyptian department (he always tried to get into the sarcophagi to find a real mummy).

The zoo in the park is small but interesting. the real zoo, in the Bronx, is much better/larger - but requires most of a day with travel and seeing a lot of things.

debsnj

Skip Ellis Island. I would not recommend Billy Elliot for a 9 year old. NYC pizzerias are the best. Walk around Canal Street in Chinatown.

Elainee

My grandaughter, age 9, loves Metropolitan Museum. There is information at the info booth about treasure hunts in the museum for kids...giving them a list of things to find. Plus excellent drop in art classes...hands-on always good. Going into a real Egyptain temple, a Chinese teahouse, the men in armour on horses in armour..excellent. Plus a good cafeteria and it is in Central Park. Plus a room from Pompei.

Claudia99

Here's a short list of the top ten attractions in New York City. You probably won't be able to hit them all but hopefully you can work some of them in. Have fun!

http://what-are-the-best.com/the-bes...tractions.html