KATHY

Hi all,
My husband, myself, and our 2 kids aged 12 and 16 will be in NYC for a week in July. This attractions we want to see are Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Time Square, the Empire State Building, a Broadway play, Coney Island, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the World Trade Center, and Rockefeller Center.

Where should we stay that would be convenient to most of these attractions? Downtown, midtown, uptown, upper east side, upper west side? We are looking for a nice moderately priced hotel in a convenient area. Also any ideas on a broadway play would be greatly appreciated. Is there a web site that lists all the theater happenings in NY?

This is our first trip to NYC so how user friendly is your subway system?

Thanks,
Kathy

John

Hi Kathy:

Those sights pretty much cover the whole island!! So..I would stay midtown. Why don't you post your price requirements and the good folks that know New York City will be more than happy to make recommendations! Also..Do a search on NYC in this forum and you will get a head start!
JOHN

Rand

Hi, Kathy--

John is right--you're all over the map, so no single location will be central. A couple of thoughts, with a few Web sites to follow:

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are a single trip on the same full-circle ferry ride (you get on and off at each location for a single price). This is a (VERY!) full day, and in high tourist season the lines are LOONNNNGGG, so start out early. Afterward, stop in at the Museum of the American Indian just a few north of where you disembark from the ferry--it's great and FREE.

It's a bit redundant to go to the top of the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building, and the price is about $10 apiece, I think. I'd go just to the WTC. The simulated airplane ride is pretty cool, and the view is better, since when you're atop the WTC you don't have to look at that awful excuse for architecture! I think there's a Ripley's Believe It Or Not exhibit at the Empire, though, so it might be worth going in even if you don't go up.

Times Square you'll be able to see just enroute to that Broadway show. But consider an off-Broadway show, too--kids of 12 and 16 would LOVE "Stomp".

The Met Museum is open until 9 PM Fridays and Saturdays. This is the best time to go, as the crowds have thinned. Bonuses: the quintet playing classical music on the balcony, and refreshments in the roof garden as the sun sets over Central Park. (The Met is right on CP, so this is another good combo--just hit the Park first, BEFORE dark!)

There's not much to Coney Island anymore, and as the locals there would say, it's quite a schlep from Manhattan. If you're determined to see it anyway, try to construct a full day's itinerary in Brooklyn--the Transit Museum, the aquarium, Brooklyn Museum, cheesecake at Junior's--or you'll wonder why you spent all those hours on the subway. I believe there are tours of Brooklyn that might suit you.

OK--Web sites: www.newyork.citysearch.com contains more information than you could possibly hope to read. For a more Broadway-specific site, go to www.playbill.com. And Zagat's is online if you to check out the restaurants.

Enjoy!

AC

Hi Kathy:
Ah my favorite subject!! NYC!!
I would suggest you stay in midtown
You'll get all kinds of suggestions. How about an apartment? Radio City Apartments seem to do well with Fodorites. www.radiocityapartments.com
Why Coney Island? Not much to see and a pretty long subway ride.
The subway system to a novice might be intimidating but we are a very helpful bunch ask anyone for help and they will be glad to assist you. Get Metro Cards as soon as you arrive A $4 unlimited pass is good all day or if you plan to be here for a week and plan on using public transportation the whole time, a $17 weekly Metro Card is ok. Go to Grand Central Terminal (it should be on your list anyway)You can get travel information at the Transit Gallery located by the Station Masters Office. There is a visitor Center in Times square on Broadway at 46 St. You can get free subway and bus maps and Metro Cards there. The NYC Official Vistors Information Center is located at 53 St and 7th Av You can get free brochures, maps and discount coupons there.
The MTA website: www.mta.ny.ny.us
The NYC Vistors website: www.nycvisit.com
Broadway website www.broadway.com
Have a great time! Welcome to NYC!
Howard, Owen and Caitlin will have some great ideas too!

Penny

I'd suggest staying in the Times Square area. If your kids are like ours (ages 12 and 15), they'll love seeing all the people and activities. If they're MTV watchers, well, they're right there.

My husband took my daughter and a foreign guest to NY last summer (in July), and they stayed at a Doubletree right in Times Square. It's a suites hotel, so it might be fitting for you, too. I've also heard that apartment rentals work well for families.

Another reason to stay in Times Square is to be near the half-price ticket booth, which generally seems to have more things available than the booth at the World Trade Center. (We've learned this from experience.) There's a web site where you can track what's been showing up at the half-price booth--but i can't remember what it is. Perhaps someone else in this forum knows it.

Regarding Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: if you're driving, you might want to go over to New Jersey and approach from that direction. My husband tried that with the girls, and found that it cut lots of time off the trip.

The Comptons

We're novices re NYC, but we're working on a trip in April with two 14-year-old girls (granddaughter and her friend).

Although it's not complete, we have a web site giving our itinerary. we've already been told that our days are too full, but we'd rather have too much. The girls can make decisions.

We're also very "tourist" and "budget," so we've picked the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel at 8th Ave. and 51 St. The rate is $127.90 plus tax (children stay free--that helped). Our other choice (which seemed better to some Fodorites) was the Park Savoy at 158 W. 58th. We'll know better in mid-April.

The incomplete web site is at http://www.geocities.com/judcomp/nyc-itin.htm

KATHY

Penny,
We plan on relying entirely on public transportation while in NYC, so we won't be able to approach the Statue of Liberty from Jersey.

Thanks for the tip on half price tickets. If anyone knowt the web site address for this please let me know.

Also, keep the tips coming. You guys are great!

KATHY

The Comptons,
I looked at your website and it was really fun. I only have one thing to say about the number of things your doing each day "ARE YOU INSANE"?

It was great that you had so many web sites listed.

Can you email me more information about the Berlin Wall. That sounds really interesting, and like something I definitely want to see while I am there.

Why are you flying to Atlanta then taking a train to NYC. That seems like a big waste of time?

Kathy

tkts info

http://newyork.citysearch.com/feature/34849/

If this ages then start at the .com first.

angie

Check out hoteldiscount.com,they always seem to have good deals.
I would recc BLUE MAN GROUP "TUBES" as a good show playing at astor place.
Also RUBY FOO`S at 49th/b`way is a great place to eat.(times square)
have fun!

KATHY

Angie,
Thanks for the tip on hoteldiscounts.com. Just before I read this I was looking at hotel room rates, and was surprised at how much more they cost then they do here in the midwest. We want to stay at a well known chain such as doubletree, mariott, hyatt, hilton, or novotel. I wasn't expecting to pay much more then $200 per night, but it doesn't look like I'm going to get that rate. If anyone else knows of any discount hotel web sites, please let me know.

Also keep any other tips coming. This is really great!

Kathy

AC

Hi Kathy:
If you do a search here you will find that there are hotels besides the big names that will give you better prices. July is high season in NYC. I might have given you this info on your other post but try www.wolcott.com you might find something there if Radio City Apartments are not good for you.
Good luck!

The Comptons

Kathy . . .

We picked up the Berlin Wall bit from Frommer's New York City. This is all it says: "You can find five sections of the Berlin Wall, graffiti intact, in a small park behind 520 Madison Ave., on the north side of 53rd St., between Madison and Fifth Aves." Does sound interesting.

Not sure if it's mentioned previously, but you can get an excellent New York City Planner from http://www.nycvisit.com

We're train nuts when we can be, so we want to share an Amtrak experience with the two girls. (In May, we're taking a 30-day trip across Canada from Vancouver to the east coast at Gaspé.)
We couldn't get good connections from Dallas to Atlanta or we'd probably have done so.

Let us know how our planning goes.

Linda

Kathy,
My husband and I spent a long weekend in NYC a few years ago. We stayed in the Double Tree Hotel on Times Square and loved it. Every room is a suite that includes a small kitchenette and wonderul cookies on your pillow each day. Our room was high up (13th floor, I think) so we didn't hear ANY street noise but the view of Times Square and the folks on the sidewalks was great. The room rate was very reasonable but I won't quote one because I don't remember the exact amount.

KATHY

Hi all,

Several of you mentioned that the Statue of Liberty is really crowded, and that I should go early. How early should I go?

What do you recommend going to the top of the World Trade Center or the Empire State Building? One of you mentioned that the simulated airplane ride at the World Trade Center is fun, but do you need to go to the top in order to do this? Also someone mentioned that the Empire State Building has a Ripley's Believe It Or Not display. Is it still there? I think it's kind of redundant to go to the top of both, so which one do you recommend?

As far as Broadway or off-broadway tickeys are concerned should I buy tickets now through Ticketmaster or should I wait until I get there and get them at the Half-price ticket booth?

If anyone knows the web site address that Penny mentioned for tracking what tickets have showed up at the half-price booth please let me know.

For those who have purchased tickets through the half-price booth how early should i get there? I understand from their website that they open at 3:00 pm, so could I get there at 3 or should I get there hours before they open? Also how good are the seats that they have?

AC-Radio City Apartments look really nice from their website. Have you ever stayed there? If so how is it? I've never rented an apartment well traveling, I've always stayed in hotels. So can you or anyone else give me the rundown on how this works.

Also can someone give me a summary of your subway system. How difficult or easy is it to use?

Thanks,
Kathy

AC

Hi Kathy:
I have not stayed at Radio City but I've heard great things about it. I'll pull up a recent post for you with some positive remarks. Have a great trip!

KATHY

AC,
Thanks those 2 posts about radio city you topped were really helpful. If anyone else has anything to add about radio city please do so.

Also who can answer all my other questions?

Thanks,
Kathy

KATHY

Hi all,
One more question....

I am leaning toward staying at Radio City Apartments, but not sure yet.

I will be there in July, so is this something that I better hurry and make up my mind on, or don't they book up that quickly?

If I decide on a hotel it will most likely be one in midtown. Do the hotels in that area fill up quickly or can I taka a little time and decide?

Thanks,
Kathy

theater tickets

If there is a show you REALLY want to see, buy the tickets ahead of time. If you (and the family) are risk takers, try for 1/2 price tickets. Sometimes there are special productions in the summer (tv actors on break) that won't have tickets available until later. By the way, there might be a tv/movie actor's strike, but broadway actors are not part of the group, so there could be BIG named people doing theater in July in NYC.

Caitlin

Kathry,

The subway is not too difficult to use. When you arrive, you can easily find at any tourist info booth (they set them up on the street around Times Square, on Fifth Ave., etc. in the summer) a copy of The Map, as they call it. Another suggestion is to use the buses. They are slower, of course, but the big advantage is that you get to see a lot of the city while riding. Many on this board recommend the subway over the bus because the former is faster, but I live in NYc and like taking the bus. Except during peak times it is not usually horribly slow, although crosstown buses are always slow because of the traffic. A single bus or subway fare is $1.50 with one same-direction transfer within two hours. Buses take coins and tokens, but not bills. Most residents use MetroCards (good on subway and bus): a Fun Pass is $4 for unlimited rides for one day; a weekly unlimited pass is $17, and an eleven-ride card is $15. You will probably find that you will do a lot of walking around, especially if you are staying in midtown and doing a lot of activities in that area, so consider this when you decide on which transit passes to buy. Check the MTA web site (www.mta.nyc.ny.us) for lots of info.

I think you will find that independent hotels often have better rates than the chains you mentioned above. Radio City apartments is absolutely no-frills, but consider the handiness and cost-savings of a kitchenette for having breakfast and bedtime-snacks, being able to reheat and store restaurant leftovers, etc., combined with the fact that you'll like;y be spending little time in your hotel room.

As far as show tickets go, whether you buy in advance or hold out for half-price at the TKTS booth depends, in addition to how much you'll pay, on how determined you are to see a particular show, because you can't guarantee what will be available when, and July is pretty busy. If you're flexible about what you want to see, you may be able to get very good seats at the half-price booth. One way to split the differenceis www.playbill.com; you have to join (free and not a gimmick), and you can buy discount tickets in advance for many shows.

I vot for the World Trade Center for your "tall building" experience, because from it you can see more of the city than from the ESB (and it's taller!). If you feel like spending the time, a great thing to do is go in the evening and linger through sunset so you can see the nighttime view and all the city lights as well. You're in the neighborhod of the Staten Islan Ferry, which is free and gives you a great view of the Statue of Liberty. As for Ellis Island and the Statue, it's usually suggested that during the busy season (when you'll be here), you be prepared to take the first ferry (around 8:30 am), or you'll have to stand in line for two hours or so. Some don't feel that climbing to the top is worth it (never done it, so I can't say), but the museum will be well worth your time.

I think someone suggested on your other post going to the Museum of Natural History; I say skip it because your kids are at the age where they'll probably be bored. I would consider adding a stroll through Chinatown and Little Italy, though--great people watching and cheap souvenirs which teens really seem to enjoy.