antlori

First of all, thanks to all who helped with our NYC trip planning for the end of July. My nephew, his mother and I had a great long weekend in New York. When we arrived on Friday, we went directly to our hotel, the Ritz Carlton Battery Park and checked in--no problem with early check-in--great view of the Statue of Liberty. Took the free shuttle bus over to the South Seaport and got the water taxi over to Brooklyn. Ate lunch at Grimaldi's (nephew asked why we couldn't get great pizza like this at home), then stopped at the Ice Cream Factory for dessert. Walked back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge--very crowded and hot but nice breeze on the bridge. Walked back to South Seaport to buy 1/2 price tickets for evening performance of Fiddler on the Roof. We all enjoyed the show and were impressed with Harvey Fierstein. Nephew wanted to see Fiddler as he is a fan of HF.
Saturday got up early and took the ferry over to Ellis Island (didn't get off at SOL). We thought the lineup was long first thing in the morning, but believe me, it was much better than when we returned. We thought we wouldn't get on but the ferry holds lots and lots of people. It was well worth getting up early to avoid the huge lineups in the sweltering midday sun. Great views of the SOL on the way over but I didn't get any pictures as my batteries died & I couldn't get them replaced until the gift shop on Ellis Island. Saw a great movie at Ellis Island--very interesting. Came back around noon and checked out of our hotel and moved up to the Beekman Tower Hotel in midtown. Booted over to Madison Square Gardens just in time for their last tour of the day. Nephew loved this tour, it was his favorite part of the trip. He's a big Rangers fan and he got his picture taken in the Rangers locker room. Walked over to Empire State Bldg but the lineup was out on the street. By this time we were starving as we hadn't had anything since a muffin on Ellis Island so decided to have an early dinner. We were right by Macy's so we went to their Cellar Restaurant for steak (us) and a burger (nephew). After dinner walked back to ESB and the lineup was much better (at least it was not out on the street). We ran in and up the stairs thinking how lucky we were, only to be faced with a 1-hour wait, snaking through various lineups to go through security (got stopped because we were carrying a small plastic hockey stick we bought at MSG--lol!), buy tickets, get our picture taken, wait for elevators, etc., etc. Crowds were jammed at the top, you could hardly see anything. We were lucky to be able to get to the edge somehow at each side so we could follow the audio tour. Nephew scared to get near the edge even though there was an immense concrete wall about chest high (for me) and then big wire cables above that. This was probably our most disappointing experience in NYC--too crowded and people just standing around blocking everyone from getting by, not even looking at the sights, just standing around chatting. Not nearly as good as the John Hancock Bldg in Chicago. Then walked back up Broadway through Times Square to Toys 'R Us, which nephew had been bugging to see all day. Store was underwhelming, not much different from any regular Toys 'R Us store except they had a magnificent Jurassic Park dinosaur on disply that moves and makes noises--very impressive, was worth the trip to Times Square.
Have to go, will finish report later.

gyppielou

Oh what fun you had! Good times!

antlori

Just to finish...Sunday we got up early again to be at the Museum of Natural History when it opened. (Took a cab through Central Park to get to it.) Nephew is fascinated by dinosaurs and he loved the exhibits here. It was hard to pull him away. Had lunch at the museum cafeteria--nephew enjoyed their dinosaur-shaped chicken fingers. Took a cab down to the Intrepid, very short lineup to get through security (we bought the City Pass at ESB so didn't need to line up to buy tickets). My sister is an airplane buff so really enjoyed this (especially the Harrier and the Blackbird on the flight deck). Saw a great movie about the Intrepid, then explored the different levels. I found the 9/11 memorial very moving, also the original statue of Flag Raising at Iwo Jima. Left here around 4 pm to walk up to Mars for an early dinner. I know everyone warned us not to go here but nephew wanted to do this for his birthday. No lineups when we got there thank goodness. Walked right in and caught the next "flight" to Mars. Ride was a little more ambitious than I thought it would be--my camera went flying off my lap--but otherwise uneventful. Food was okay but overpriced. I was surprised at the variety, I had the Tilapia which was pretty good. Sis and son had the burger & fries which they said was very good. Characters circulated throughout the room and stopped to chat or have pictures taken. Nephew was quite taken with the Empress who stopped and chatted for at least 15 minutes with us. They brought him a large piece of cake and sang happy birthday dear earthling to him. He was so embarrassed it was worth the ridiculous price! Yes, it's cheesy and costly and everything else people say, but it was a highlight of my nephew's birthday trip and one he'll remember a long time. Walked back to our hotel through Times Square (bought tacky souvenirs), past 5th Avenue, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Radio City Music Hall, the back of the Waldorf-Astoria (ha!ha!). A great way to see some of the sites that didn't make our "must see" list. Finally had time for a real breakfast on Tuesday morning before we left for the airport. Walked down to a corner cafe and enjoyed pancakes (Sis), scrambled eggs (moi) and a bowl of Rice Krispies (nephew), one of the best meals we had all trip!
Thanks again to everyone who helped us plan our trip. We couldn't have fit so much into our 3 days without all the advice we received. My nephew still has the chocolate Statue of Liberty in the fridge--it's too nice to eat. He'll be talking about this trip for a long time to come!

seetheworld

Antlori, so glad you all had a great trip. I'm sure your nephew won't forget this trip anytime soon

By the way, where did you buy the chocolate Statue of Liberty?

Do you mind my asking what did a burger at Mars52 cost? I'm thinking of taking my nephews, who are visiting from the UK, there for lunch one day.

Thanks for posting your report

seetheworld

I don't know why I typed "52", but I think you know what I meant

antlori

The burger cost $12 at Mars 2112 which I guess isn't all that bad in New York. My tilapia was $17.95. The total bill for the 3 of us including a beer, a glass of wine, a soda, the cake and tip was approx $85. We didn't buy the chocolate Statue of Liberty. The Ritz Carlton sent it up to our room because it was my nephew's birthday. They called me before our trip and asked if we were celebrating a special occasion. When I told them it was Eric's birthday that weekend, they said they would try to do something special. It was a good size, about 10-12" tall (including the base which we ate and it was delicious). We froze the rest the night before we left so it wouldn't melt on the flight home. The plate it was on had "Happy 13th Birthday Eric" written in icing on the side and the statue was surrounded by truffles. Eric was really blown away by the whole trip. He didn't want to leave.

seetheworld

Thanks antlori!

Dontcha just love the Ritz!!!

Patrick

I think you've reminded us of what many forget. While Mars may be cheesy and overpriced for what it is (think also Tavern on the Green and other places) an out of towner is likely to remember the experience FAR MORE than if you had gone to a standard place even if the food had been a lot better and the price had been fairer. Sometimes these places just make sense -- not only for kids but for adults too.

antlori

Yes, Patrick, you are so right. My nephew kept asking why we don't have something like that where we live. But that's precisely why we chose to go there, because it was something we couldn't do at home. It was a special occasion so we could justify the cost, and my sister and I enjoyed it because we knew Eric was having a good time. What I really hate is taking the kids someplace you think they're going to enjoy and finding they hate it and you've wasted a huge amount of money.

aussiedreamer

what a great read. I am interested to know if the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is possible over the xmas period? Or will it be to horribly cold? We don't mind cold and would love the experience. We now definatley want to experience Grimaldi's, after reading so much about it.
Does anyone know (Patrick?) if Tavern on the Green would need to be booked over that same period? Arrive 21 Dec depart 28 Dec.
And can't wait to try our luck at Tkts booth, don't mind what we see, I just want to come home and say "I saw a play on Broadway". Any suggestions for a family of 4 (teenagers 17 & 19) who LOVED We will Rock You (in Australia) and is a must do when we are in London on the same trip.

Thanks.....4 months to go ........Patrick you are a wealth of info.