NYC First Draft Itinerary with Tweens
 

We are traveling to NYC for a long weekend in a couple of weeks. My daughters are 9 and 13 (ok technically a teen!). They are both in a production of Frozen, Jr in December (as Elsa and Young Elsa) so we already have tickets to see the show. Then we also have tickets to see Harry Potter. I have spent hours browsing the forums and was a bit overwhelmed, but think I finally have a rough outline of what to do. I've only been to NY once and I was probably about their age if not younger.


Thursday
-Arrive at 5:20pm
-check-in hotel (approx. 6:30-7) Hilton Times Square
-Dinner at Ellen’s Stardust Diner

Friday
-Statue of Liberty/Eliis Island (no crown, maybe pedestal)
-Chinatown - dumplings and ice cream, get Aura read?
-Dinner reservations at Tony’s di Napoli 6:00 pm
-Frozen at 8:00 pm

Saturday
-Cooper Hewitt Design Museum
-Central Park
-The Met

Sunday
-Harry Potter - 1pm and 6:30pm

Monday
-The Art of the Brick at NYSCI (or Columbus Day Parade)
-LaGuardia 3:00 flight

Questions:
Any other must-dos that I've left out that would not be too far out of the way? We decided not to do the ESB because we get a good view of it from our hotel and we recently went to the top of the Willis Tower in Chicago and feel like it would be a similar experience. We also decided to skip the 9/11 Memorial this time around.

Places to eat? I especially want reservations for a late lunch at 4:00 between Harry Potter Part 1 & 2. Good place for brunch before?
Places to eat near Central Park/Musuems? (the Met, Cooper Hewitt)

If we have time, we may fit in a few things close to our hotel like Bryant Park and the NY Public Library. Also, Madame Tussaud's or Gulliver's Gate.

I'm thinking the best way to handle our luggage on Monday morning is to find the nearest storage to LaGuardia then go the NYSCI.

Fun trip! Lucky girls! I took my daughter to New York for the first time when she was in 6th grade. We had a blast and have since returned many times (she's now 31).

At first glance, here are my thoughts:

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are huge time commitments. Maybe take the Staten Island Ferry to SEE the SOL from the water, then add the Lower East Side Tenement Museum if you are wanting them to learn about the immigrant experience? It's near-ish to Chinatown.

On Saturday, unless someone in your group is just dying to see the Cooper-Hewitt, I would omit that. I've toured it, and really enjoyed it, but Central Park will be much more fun and if you are lucky enough to have good weather that day, you can spend hours there. The Met will probably be crowded (and pricey), but of course it's a must-see even though it would take DAYS to see it all.

Saturday is the busiest day at the Met, in my experience. I would suggest you visit early in the day to avoid the heaviest crowds and walk through Central Park in the afternoon. Admission to the museum will be $25 for you, $12 for the thirteen year old, and free for the nine year old.

For your Statue of Liberty visit, I suggest getting tickets for the pedestal even if you do not go into the building. These tickets are timed and the line to go through security is much shorter. The cost is the same general tickets. There is a separate line. Do not let the first guy you see at the entrance tell you there is not. This happened to me. The general line was about 3 hours long. I knew that he was not correct. The second person pointed me in the correct direction. I waited 10 minutes in line