Party Shuttle See-it-All NYC

Old Jan 1st, 2008, 10:31 AM
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Party Shuttle See-it-All NYC

Hi - We plan to do the "see it all" on Sat morning in mid-Jan. Not usually a fan of group tours, but we have just a weekend and it sounds good from what others have said and I think would give my 13 yo a good sense of the city for her first visit. We plan to bite the bullet and take the 8:30 am to make sure we still have some of the afternoon for wandering. Will there be stops along the way where we can grab a snack/bagel in case we miss breakfast? I am assuming all the stops along the way are brief since there are so many, but do you at least get a few moments to see things? Thanks
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 11:01 AM
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I was just going to post a similar message regarding Party Shuttle. If I may piggyback on your message, I'm deciding between the "see it all" and "downtown." I'm wondering if the "see it all" would be too much info. What have others experienced?
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 11:27 AM
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I just answered this on another thread. I took my 2 girls (13 and 17) on the see it all tour. We did the 10 or 10:30 one. It was amazing. You get a real feel for the city, get many tips on things to see and do and you have the chance to ask as many questions as you like. On our tour, we stopped for lunch for 30 minutes at South Port. We went to a Mexican restaurant, but were really rushed. I strongly urge you to take a deli lunch instead.
btw....I am no fan of group tours either. However, you get to see so much and don't have to worry about getting there. My girls said it was the best part of their NY trip. The next time I took them back, we did a more thorough trip-spending time in the museums, seeing all of central Park, etc.
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 01:32 PM
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My girls (18 and 20) and I did the 10 am Party Shuttle Tour and loved every minute. We had an excellent guide, which of course made all the difference. There is just no way you could hit all those sites in 5 hours on your own, including a round trip on the Staten Island Ferry. There is a food court at the South Port stop, so no need to worry about time, and it has an amazing view of the Brooklyn Bridge.

We got out and walked around at the Rockefeller Center, at Ground Zero and the Dakota/Strawberry Fields, with brief photo stops for St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Empire State Building. We didn't feel rushed as we knew it was an over view (with a local to help you navigate a return to the places you'll want to spend more time).

The tour was very diverse-people of all ages(no real old folks) from several countries, and the girls exchanged MySpace details and shared Ipods with Luke, the guide. We are WAY not group tour people, but what a great way to show my daughter's friend the city on her first visit.

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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 01:45 PM
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Linda/Susan - THANKS! This is great feedback and you've eased my worries! Any other tips you want to share? Restaurants you especially liked? Shopping/experiences your daughters enjoyed the most? We are going to "Legally Blonde" Friday night and I'm about to get tix to "Is He Dead" for Saturday. Did you catch any shows?? We are just so excited - I've been before but this is a first for my daughter, we can't wait!
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 02:17 PM
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Our trip in November was scheduled to see Jennifer Garner in Cyrano de Bergerac-my daughter's best friend and I surprised her with the trip for her 18th birthday. Cyrano was great, Jennifer was gracious in signing autographs and posing for a picture,we watched the red carpet(Ben Affleck!) on opening night, and we missed the stagehand strike. We also saw Wicked, which was wonderful; the second time for the two of us, the first Broadway show for her friend. I saw Rock n Roll by myself the last of the 3 brief nights we were there, while the girls went to Top of the Rock and ate dinner on their own. I've heard good things about Blonde.

While I tend to want to see it all and keep moving, the girls wanted a slower pace, and their favorite time was a beautiful sunny half day we spent at Central Park. We came across two television shoots, lounged in the sun by the skating rink and watched people.
They loved Chinatown and took the subway on their own to go buy purses(only the ones openly on display) while I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Make sure your teen has read and/or seen "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler" before visiting the Met, and take a highlights tour-on our trip last year, my daughter's favorite area in the Met was one she never would have visited without the (free) guided tour. If it's nice out, sit on the steps outside and eat a hot dog. If not, the museum cafeterias are amazing.

We went to a taping of the Letterman show-the last one, in fact, before the writer's strike. You must be 18 to attend this show, but consider another or standing outside one of the morning shows if you're a morning person (if, like us, you're not, watch the shows while you're dressing in the am, then walk through the outside set later when there's no crowd-we did this on the Party Shuttle tour as well).
The more New York movies and TV shows you can watch, the better-my teens, at least, love to say, "I've been there!" afterward and to watch for celebrities while in NYC(this trip, in particular, was loaded with "spottings"). We did Ellis Island last year-excellent, but time consuming-and just viewed the Statue from the ferry this time.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have, and I'm so jealous-we can't wait to go back!
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 04:25 PM
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Not all the Party Shuttle tour guides are interesting or good. We had one last week on a night tour who was bored and boring. She started every single sentence with "so," as in "So I got up this morning... " etc. It became as annoying as a teenager who constantly uses the word "like."

This woman also would stop and say, "So, what was I going to say?" and then laugh. At the end of the tour she made the announcement that tips were greatly appreciated.... not a single person tipped her, so I wasn't the only one who was disappointed. I wish we'd done the Grayline tour.
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 06:22 PM
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So.....like, I got a tour guide named...um...



Mine was awesome. He could not be stumped on NYC history.Gray line tour....no way!!!
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 06:34 PM
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Sorry, I just have to - "South Street Seaport." Southport is a town in CT. Food court there is just like in any mall - but more $$. If you only have a 30 minute stop to eat, I'd bring something with me. I would imagine the tour company can tell you if they stop for lunch and what is available to eat and how much time you have. I would never try to eat in a sit down restaurant in 30 minutes, unless it was fast food.

Deb
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Old Jan 1st, 2008, 07:12 PM
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Thanks, Deb-I knew it was wrong. I did have a decent falafel there, though.
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Old Jan 2nd, 2008, 01:51 PM
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ttt
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Old Jan 2nd, 2008, 02:32 PM
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It's okay Susan, I was the one who got it wrong first, lol! We had a fun meal at the Chipotle Mexican grill but had indigestion from scarfing it down so fast! They were really nice there, too, and we told them to hurry it because of the shuttle. Girls loved it, even tho it's a chain, the food was perfect for them.
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Old Jan 2nd, 2008, 02:51 PM
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Well....I am a ding dong...hit the button too fast. We saw "Rent" which they LOVED. Very adult theme, etc, but my 13 yr old is rather precocious and already knew all the lyrics. We were in the 4th row, they were blown away by it. On the next trip, we saw "Phantom". I used www.broadwaybox.com to find special deals on tickets. The Metwas amazing. Our feet were killing us but we just couldn't leave. The Egyptian relics and the chariot were her faves, as well as the musical instruments. We ate at the cafe at MOMA and it was excellent! We stayed near Lincoln Center at the Holiday Inn...we found the "Olympic Diner" for breakfast and LOVED it. Talk about a "colorful" place...they were screaming at each other and throwing towels, etc...everyone was cracking up. Lots of Fordham students there. For one special meal we went to TAO..they filmed Sex and the City scenes there. It was very good, not cheap, but impressive! You can book there at opentable.com We stumbled in to Toloache on the way to a show. It was GREAT! Mexican fusion, bright colors, friendly. We also enjoyed a great meal at the Blue Grotto in Little Italy. Another fantastic Italian restaurant is Ristorante 110. Funny, we'd planned on a meal in Chinatown, but after seeing all the chickens and fish on display, they changed their minds! Here's a good hint...don't eat breakfast at your hotel. It's usually overpriced and mediocre. Some of our best meals were when we just popped in a small joint and took a chance! Hell's Kitchen area is great for that. SOHO was fun...we had a good lunch there and watched people. That was the day we toured NYU. You MUST hit Canal Street for a few minutes and buy some Gucci sunglasses, lol. We came back with all these Paris Hilton glasses- too funny!I hope you have a great time! I love New York and never can get too much of it...
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Old Jan 2nd, 2008, 02:54 PM
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If they have good falafel and Chipotle, I'll not starve ;-) We will probably try to eat just a snack and save our appetite for later. Our dinner the first night will be Cara Mia. Still trying to decide 2nd night - maybe just pizza and then go out for dessert after the show.
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Old Jan 3rd, 2008, 07:33 AM
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LLinda - Just saw your last post - GREAT info - thanks! We just saw Rent this summer when it came through Ft Worth - my 13 yo loved it too!! I think she will love Canal Street, so that's going to make the agenda for sure (we are having to cut lots out but hopefully will be back soon!) Totally agree on breakfast - I was there a few years ago with my husband for my 40th and we had so many great breakfasts at various delis! I think we will go super casual for dinner Saturday - probably grab a slice before the show - and then try to find a great dessert place for after. Any suggestions, anybody?
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