Just returned from a fabulous weekend with my 13 yr old daughter in NYC. Got so much good info here, had to post our report!
Friday - I was in town on business (stayed at the Hudson Hotel for the biz part, tiny room but still very nice), so daughter was flying in to arrive at 2:30 pm at LaGuardia. We had 5 pm reservations at Cara Mia and tickets to “Legally Blonde” at 8. Her initial flight to La Guardia was cancelled, her second was delayed so we finally got her on a 3rd flight to Newark - THAT was delayed as well so instead of arriving at 2:30 pm she arrived at 5:50pm. So much for our 5pm dinner reservations, but we just cared about making our show!! As soon as she stepped off the plane we ran for a bus (Newark Airport Shuttle - $14 for adults) that took us to Grand Central, close to our hotel, The Roosevelt. Despite bad traffic we arrived at GC at 7, raced to the hotel, threw down our bags (I had checked in earlier in the day) and headed for the Palace theatre. Got there at 7:45 - just enough time for a big pretzel and a bottle of water on the corner! The show was GREAT - really fun, great music, we both really enjoyed it. After the show we walked all around Times Square - she loved it of course - and then stopped at Juniors for some "real" cheesecake - she was in heaven. (I thought it was good, not fantastic – but fun to sit outside and watch all the people.) Nice walk back to the hotel around 11:30. The Roosevelt was great (my second stay). We got a rate of $169/night for a “cozy queen” but the room we got was bigger than expected and on the 16th floor, so they may have upgraded us. The location was perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
Days 2 & 3 to follow....

Sat - We had planned to do a "See It All" from NYC Party Shuttle at 8:30 am, but since it was a slow time of year, the 10 am was the first available. I left a message Fri night for them to call us to get a reservation but we never got a return call. While waiting on the call (that never came), we stopped for breakfast at Café Manhattan on 45th between 5th and 6th. The meal was great and the day was turning out so beautiful we decided to skip the tour and head off by foot. What a great decision! We started off down 5th Ave. Daughter was so excited to see all the stores - and even found a couple she could afford – she especially liked H & M. We took 5th to Central Park where we took a "handsome cab" around ($40, very enjoyable) and then took off on foot. We ended up at the Central Park Zoo which we both LOVED. It was $8 to get in and I was very impressed with what they had – the seals and polar bears were our favorite, as well as the Rainforest. After the zoo, we walked to the Museum of Natural History and did the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. It was wonderful, daughter is interested in studying Marine Biology and really got into it. From there we walked around some neighborhoods west of the park and ended up at Patsy’s Pizzeria at 61 W. 74th for a late lunch - it was GREAT. I had a white pizza and she had fettuccine alfredo with chicken. We then headed off to try the subway to SoHo – neither of us had ever ridden a subway before and were committed to figuring it out! The subway turned out to be pretty easy and convenient and we used it quite a bit the rest of the weekend. (Side note – funny comment from 13 yo raised in the suburbs at the end of the weekend – “I’m going to miss public transportation!”) We got off at Prince Street and hit some nice stores on our way to Canal – daughter got her make-up done at Bloomingdales. Canal Street was wild - everyone trying to sell us a knockoff handbag. Daughter bought a knock-off Tiffany necklace (the silver heart charm) - she bargained the lady down from $50 to $20 and thought that was very cool (ok, it might only be worth $5!). But no one is supposed to know it's not real, so you didn't hear it from me About 5:00 we were exhausted from walking for 9 straight hours, so we took the subway back to our hotel for a quick rest.
Headed out at 6:30 for a casual meal (can’t remember the name, but a little grocery/café on 45th right by the Lyceum. Nothing special but perfect for a quick meal) on the way to our second show. On to the Lyceum for "Is He Dead?". The show was absolutely HILARIOUS!!! We were in the front row and both laughed until we cried!! The audience was very diverse and everyone seemed to have the same reaction. The first 10 minutes or so are a little slow (not bad, just a little slow while they set up the premise) but then it is just a riot! After the show we walked around Times Square again (she loved the Hershey store) and then to Rockefeller Center and did "Top of the Rock". Being up there at 11:00 was totally cool. Headed back to the hotel about 11:30.
Next, day 3…

Sun – Up early again, checked out and stored our bags and took the subway to Battery Park. Walked around the waterfront and saw the Trinity Church and then took the 10:30 Staten Island Ferry. Great views of the Statue and the city. Arrived in Staten Island and immediately jumped on the returning ferry! More good views... (And all for free!) At this point we had about 90 minutes of free time left and I let daughter choose how to spend it. No contest - she wanted to go back to Central Park, so back on the subway to the Park where we walked around some more and hit the zoo AGAIN. (For $8 how can you beat it???). Walked back to our hotel, grabbed our bags and took a private car to LaGuardia ($40 inc tips, we were exhausted and enjoyed it). Flight home was on time. Arrived extremely tired but happy...... What a great city – I can’t wait to return!!! I have to add – I was constantly asking people for advice, directions, etc –everyone we encountered was gracious and extremely helpful. I felt completely safe everywhere we went, which was nice for a mom and daughter alone in the city. We hope to return with the rest of the family for a longer period of time next time!

Day 2 http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....t=0&keyword=95

Day 3
http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....t=0&keyword=95

Hope you don't mind.

whoops. Ignore links.

not at all - i figured out my error and fixed it, but now the title is wrong and the others are floating around. sigh.... i will blame in on exhaustion from my big weekend

Nice report, lt20 It's great when things work out well as your weekend did. Your daughter sounds like a good traveler!

What an amazing, mature 13 year old daughter you have. Kudos to you. Sounds like you had a great time!

Really interesting trip report, but hard to read because of lack of paragraphs.

Glad you had a good time.

Fun report. Sounds like a great trip despite the poor start. Hope you can come back.

What a great trip you had! Thanks for telling us about it - I bet you 2 are already planning "next time"