sfsteach

My husband and I are taking our 9 year old son on a whirlwind trip to NYC this weekend. It was very last minute and I am trying to figure out what the "must-sees" would be that we can fit in Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.

What would you suggst to someone? I am thinking of trying to get matinee tickets for Beauty and the Beast because I would like for him to get to see a play. Other than that, we are fairly open. None of us have ever been there before. What would you do?

BuzzyJ

I think this sounds like a blast! Take comfortable shoes. I would: go to the top of the Empire State Building; walk through Times Square; take the Circle Line boat tour (the shorter one); walk down Fifth Avenue; see a musical if you can; walk through Central Park; go to at least one museum (the new planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History might be perfect with a 9-year-old). Stop and smell the roses, i.e., if you see something you want to do and it wasn't in your plans, do it! And then go back again and again. It's a wonderful city to show a child. Have some John's Pizzas and bagels...others will have good ideas on this forum. I hope you'll let us know how it worked out.

SFer

I would advise taking a Grayline double decker bus tour of the city. The Lower Manhattan tour is the the best one to take, assuming you only have time for one tour. It's a hop on hop off tour. The buses come every 15 minutes. Ellis Island is very nice. You can buy the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island tickets at the same time you buy the Grayline ticket. If you do go out to Ellis Island, I would not suggest getting of the boat at the Statue of Liberty. You get a great view of it from the boat, and after 9/11, you can't go inside the statue anymore. For a bird's eye view of Ground Zero, go to the Winter Garden inside the World Financial Center.

www.graylinenewyork.com

Rachel

Just my 2 cents. While my hubby and I loved Ellis Island and found it fascinating, our kids found it incredibly boring. since going there takes a fair amount of time, and you only have a day and a half, I would save Ellis island for another trip. Another idea, if you're baseball fans, see if the Yanks [] or Mets [] are in town and go to a game. Although my kids were bored at Ellis Island, they were fascinated at the Intrepid, a floating military musuem. Its located in a retired aircraft carrier. Theres a submarine you can tour and all sorts of war planes on display.
finally, follow Buzzys advise-stop and smell the roses

nigelsmom

Well since your only coming for the weekend. I'll try and put the sights in order. 1) Central Park Zoo then walk south down fifth avenue 2) either get a horse & buggy ride on 59th street or run into FAO Scwartz. 3) Keep heading down Fifth Avenue you'll hit the NBA store (which might be a hit with your son) and then take in the flowers blooming at Rockefeller Center at 50th Street. 4) Start walking west towards Broadway and then head south towards times square. 5) stay out of the world largest Toys R Us and instead take in the wonderful spectacle of Times Square ie: MTV studios (look up at 44th st) lunch at the ESPN zone and all the other billboard madness. 6) Just as you hit the corner of 42nd & 7th turn west and head towards the Wax Museum. 8) Then if your still up to it make sure to head south a couple of blocks to the Empire State building. Just keep looking up, you can't miss it! Have fun.