NYC in Jan with 13 yo
 

Taking my daughter on her dream trip as a surprise Xmas present - weekend in NYC in January. We will have just over 48 hours - arrive Friday at 2pm, depart Sunday at 4 pm. She is a musical theatre NUT, so we have tix to see "Legally Blonde" on Friday night (Yes, "Wicked" was my first choice but couldn't get anything for even face value, and got great seats at a great price for LB). Questions: Will any of the holiday decorations still be up weekend of Jan 11? What's the best way to get last minute theatre tix? We have tix for Friday night but would love to sneak in another show Sat if we can find a last minute deal. What's a reasonably priced, great Italian place for dinner before the show Friday? (Convenient to the Palace Theatre) Any other suggestions for us? I want her to see the Statue of Liberty and get a sense of the City so we will probably take the "half" harbor cruise and walk around Central Park. She'll want to see the famous stores as well as find some cool stores she can actually afford to shop in. I want her to see the Natural History Museum, but what's the minimum time required for that to be worthwhile? We have such limited time... Thanks for any advice!!!

To answer just a couple of your questions.

No - by Jan 11 Christmas is done and the windows will be all resort wear.

To get a discount in advance go to broadwaybox.com - it will list which shows are offering discount tickets you can buy in advance.

Roberto Passon

The half Harbor cruise doesn't go to the Statue of Liberty - it just gives you a view from a distance. To actually see the statue up close will take the best part of the day (and buying advance tickets to the Liberty/Ellis Island ferry, security - as in airline - line, then another line on Liberty Island.) Don;t reco all of this for someone with so little time.

For Central Park you will have to depend on the weather. Today we have a high of 33 and about 2" of sleet - although slightly north has 6" of snow. You could get similar - or you could get 45 - no way to know. Check out the web site of the Central Park Conservancy for info on what to see and do.

Definitely reco a stop at the Met - also check out the web site to see what departments you want to see. As with the Museum of Nat'l Hist - it depends on what you want to see. Check the web site to see what departments you want. Both are crowded in the winter.

You might also want to look to see what's on at Lincoln Center - and see if there are any backstage tours while you're here.

Broadway Box is probably the best place to find the shows that offer advance discounts. Sadly, many don't offer them for Saturday nights, but there are current discounts for The Color Purple and Drowsy Chaperone including your Saturday night available. I think both are good choices for her (and you).

Given your limited time and when you're coming (January could be balmy or bitterly cold - depending), in order to see the statue, head down to Battery Park. If it's nice, you can wander through the promenade with great views of the statue, then head over to the South Street Seaport booth for TKTS to see what's available for same day tickets or matinees the next day (althought i thnk you're leaving too early for a sunday matinee). You could also see if anything is available at the TKTS booth in Times Square (Mariott's lobby) before your friday night show but not sure you'll have time. To get a sense of the city, I'd recommend a bus tour in lieu of a harbor cruise. ONe of hte hop-on/hop-off tours usually works pretty well and if it's very cold, you can stay inside and be warm. For famous stores, 5th Avenue north of 42nd and then walk head one block east for really glamourous stores on Madison Avenue. Since your'e in the area, you coudl head to the Met instead of crosstown to the Natural History Museum - you need at least 2-3 hours to do any justice to the NH museum; the Met has 1-hour "highlights" tourv (and yes, I'm a huge Met fan but don't mean to push). You could head to Soho for more cool stores with some neat boutiques you can actually shop at and for brunch. The east village is also an option for unique shopping options.

Wow, thanks all for the good advice! Just checked out Roberto Passon, looks PERFECT and the prices look good too! I will check out the Met - she really enjoys art museums (we have some great ones in Fort Worth - believe it or not ;-) We will be prepared for the cold so it will not slow us down! (My husband and I were there in Dec a few years ago during record cold/snow and still walked everywhere - it was WONDERFUL!) We will definitely check out the TKTS booths - maybe we'll get lucky!

Fort Worth has the Kimball, with the biggest acquisition budget in the country(and Camille Pisarro's great grandson as curator!). I actually saw Terracotta Warriors in Fort Worth years before the big hullabaloo at the British Museum.

Don't feel badly about doing Legally Blonde instead of Wicked - it is amazingly funny and my ten-year old daughter saw it in October and loved it! I have since purchased the CD for her and she walks around singing it all day (sure beats Britney's new stuff too!).

Have fun - "Oh my god!!!" (you'll see!!!)

I think that she would love Hairspray, you can probably get discounted tickets. The Top of the Rock (at Rockefeller Center). Even though the Christmas decorations will be gone, she may enjoy walking on 5th Ave - Tiffany's, Saks etc. are all there. A few streets south is H & M for shopping.

Thanks again! I actually just got her the LB cd so we can be ready for the show! We saw Hairspray here (FtW) and LOVED it, would do it again if we can sneak in Sat. NEXT QUESTION: hotel choices (want to be near Times Square, Theatres, etc.)all these are in our range, I am only familiar with one:
-Roosevelt (stayed there before & loved it)
- Wellington
- Paramount
- Ameritania
- Park Central
Any thoughts on these?
Y'all are great ;-)

The Roosevelt is far and away the best option on your list but it's not so close to TS. (The other hotels are not very good). There should be discounts in Jan. Have you checked travelzoo.com? The Millenium Broadway and the Time hotel (both in TS) have $199/night specials.

Maria Pia and ViceVersa are other Italians in the theater district that have prix fixe dinners.

You can take the Staten Island ferry for free to see the STatue of Liberty. That's probably plenty given how cold it will be. ;)

I ended up getting the Roosevelt for $140 a night so I booked it! Since I'd been there before and loved it I figured it was a safe choice. Can't wait to get to NYC!!!

Sorry - you can;t go TO the Statue of Liberty on the staten Island ferry. All it does is cross NY Harbor from South ferry to Staten Island and back for commuters - hundreds of thousands per day. You can get a veiw of the Statue that's closer than from the tip of Manhattan - but you're not really that close.

(I agree with the concept - esp in Jan and given the amount of time/trouble it takes to get to Liberty Island - but don;t want you to be disappointed.)

I will be in the city Jan 11 as well. We got tickets thru Broadway box at a decent price without a problem. We have reservation for a few of us at Camine's for dinner. It was highly recomended. As read and told this is a family style restaurant and serves very large, good Italian food.