NYC trip report--part one
 

This is a duplicate of another post that filled up with"sss..." and could not be replyed to! Phantom in the computer! <BR> <BR>Just returned from our Sat-Wed trip-- used many of your ideas and fit alot into the 3 1/2 days! Went to 3 shows, 4 museums, plus all of the main sights. We stayed at the Beacon on the West Side--loved the neighborhood as many of you said that we would. Our 1 BR suite was large and comfy. The Fairway across the street was great for breakfast and snack food. My 16-year-old son even brought back flowers from the sidewalk for his girlfriend! <BR> <BR>Best decision--hiring a limo from LGA to hotel for $80 total for the six of us, not much more than two cabs. It was a fun surprise for the kids to be met at baggage claim by our amiable driver, "Bob the limo man" of cheaplimo.com. Limo was a little shabby(wouldn't have wanted it for a prom or wedding) but it had drinks, TV, etc. and the kids thought it was cool. <BR> <BR>Citypass--saved us both money and time. We used it for MOMA, Natural History, Guggenheim, WTC, and Empire State. The museums all had long lines in general admission, which could be avoided if you were using the pass, as the Citypass was sold or processed at the membership desk which always had short or no lines. To be continued...

Continuation... <BR>Longest line--Empire State Bldg. on Sat. night took 2 hours. NYSE also had about an hour wait on Tue. at 10:30 am. <BR> <BR>Shortest line--WTC on Monday at 5 pm. There was no line, and it was so uncrowded and beautiful that we stayed through sunset into the darkness. The kids wanted to eat Sbarro pizza with a view instead of going somewhere nice in time to get to the 8 pm Phantom. It was a great decision! That was totally unplanned--we had changed our schedule around due to snow in the am, and should have been at WTC in the middle of the day. Don't know what the lines would have been like, but we would have missed the sunset! <BR> <BR>Besides Phantom, we also saw Lion King and Kiss Me Kate--all were fabulous! We used the TKTS booth at WTC for the Kate tickets. The wait was about 25 minutes at noon(they open at 11). The wait time passed quickly talking to others in line and exchanging opinions on the shows offered that day. I noticed that they also had Music Man, Fosse, Contact, Cabaret, Bells are Ringing, Tom Sawyer and about 10 more. They do not handle tickets for Blue Man Group. Didn't have Annie Get Your Gun, Phantom, Lion King(of course not). <BR> <BR>This report is continued on another NYC trip report post.

We are from Australia and planning to visit New York late June this year. We would like to get a Citypass but our travel agent has told us that this is only available with a particular tour operator, unfortunately not the one we have booked through. Do you know of any way of getting one in New York when we get there, and what the cost is?<BR>

You can get info at www.citypass.com. You can buy it at the attractions.

Your information was SO helpful to me! Thanks so much! I am going to look into the Citypass...I've not heard of it before. What exactly does it cover?<BR>Thanks! Can't wait for MY trip to NYC this July!

The Citypass is good for MOMA, Guggenheim, WTC, Empire State , Am. Museum of Natural History, and the Intrepid Museum. All the details and prices are listed on the website Caitlin mentioned. You can order it online or get it at the NYC Visitor Center or at any of the attractions. We were at the Natural History Museum and Guggenheim on the weekend--maybe the lines we avoided wouldn't be bad during the week--you never know! It is a good deal dollarwise if you plan to go to at least 4 of the attractions. It is valid for 9 days from purchase date.

We are plamnning to take our family to New York next month, and I am wondering if I need to take nicer clothes for the kids for the theater, or will they just wear jeans like they would have on for the day? Did you change for the evening, or did you even have time?

We were doing well to get our crew of six dressed and out the door once a day; changing again would have been a hassle, especially since we were staying on the West Side. We dressed for warmth with comfortable shoes for lots of walking. The kids wore jeans some days and were fine for the theater. I don't think dress matters unless your dinner plans dictate a dressier look, but we only went to casual places. At the theater, we saw plenty of people in jeans(not just kids), and at the other end of the spectrum saw a group of high schoolers getting out of a limo, dressed in formals like they were going to prom! The New York black clothes worked great for me and made packing a breeze!