Myself, my sister, and my mom all recently visited NYC. We stayed at the Edison Hotel, which we found to be quite adequate. It was a great location, clean, and friendly staff. We did the usual sites (empire state building, statue of liberty, ground zero, central park)
We saw the Conan O'Brein show and did the NBC tour which we really enjoyed. I would recommend this to anyone. We took the Staten Island ferry (which is free) and took pictures of the Statue of Liberty. We did not pay $10 to take the ferry to Ellis Island and I am glad that we just did the free one.
We saw the following shows (in order of preference)

1.Aida(spectacular)
2.Thouroughly Modern Millie(Sutton Foster amazing)
3.Rent (vocally the most impressive show)
4.Lion King (was awesome but something has to be fourth!!)

5.Chicago (a great show, just not as WOW as the others)

A few tips to keep in mind:

- There are no free refills on sodas at restaurants.
- Bring $40-50 ones-- these come in handy for tips to bag boys, cab drivers, etc.
- Travel alarm clock - the hotel provided a wake up call, but I always feel better if I have this as a back up
- TKTS booth offers %50 off tickets and also offers $20 dollar tickets to students (with student ID) each ID can purchase two tickets. this is not for every show but we were at Aida in the third row of orchestra (paid 80-90 dollars per tic) and two college students next to us got their tickets for 20 bucks!!

A fabulous trip all in all. The subways are confusing but we used them alot and saved tons of money in cabs. Don't be afraid to hit the pavement. Just have a good map!!

Great!! glad you had a good time,Jodie! Good advice too

I'm glad you liked our city. Another good tip, if you have more then one day is to hop on the big red bus. Tickets are good for two days and you can hop on and off anywhere and all day long. The tour takes you up through Harlem and all the way down town (to see the Statue of Liberty, etc...)
You learn alot of great facts about NY and you get to people-watch which is the best part of being in NYC.

"Bring $40-50 ones"

This is totally irrelevant to the topic, but I'm just curious. Here in NY, where I grew up, everyone calls 1-dollar bills "singles", as in "do you have 5 singles for a five". I thought everyone did this until I heard someone from another state say that only NYers call ones "singles".

Is that true? Or do any of you guys from outside NY call ones "singles"?

I came from outside of NYstate and we always called them "ones".In NYC I was laughed at when I said that,so I say "singles" now too

I live in the South and they are "ones" here as well! I think I prefer "singles."

you only need to bring 40-50 singles if you're going to a bachelor party at a strip club.

I grew up in N. Jersey- 40 mins southwest of NYC- they were singles there too, now I am in suburbs of Philly, here they are ones.

Wow! Now I know why they looked at me strangely when I asked for "five singles for this five" when I moved from NYC to Florida.

I find this so interesting. I really didn't believe it could be true that only people from the NY area call them "singles", but that seems to be the case.

So if I was visiting, say, Texas, and asked at a convenience store for change in "singles", would they know what I was talking about? I assume they would understand what I meant even if they don't call them that themselves. Let's hope so, or there must be some very confused merchants in other parts of the country when we NYers come to visit!

BTW, do people in other parts of the country stand "in line" or "on line". NYers stand "on line" at the movies, etc. I've heard NYers are the only ones who say it that way. Is that true, too? If so, maybe New Yorkers should hire a translator to travel with us when we venture outside our little universe.

Hi Jodie,

Thank you for the input. I will be in NYC with sister and 16 years old son July 31st-August 4th. We are staying at the Broadway Inn--any thoughts on this hotel? And, yes, we will be going to see Lion king. How come you mentioned it was better to see the Statue of Liberty from the ferry vs paying to actually going to Ellis Island?

Bernadette - the Staten Island Ferry works fine if you just want to cruise by the Statue of Liberty, but if you have the time, I recommend actually visiting Ellis Island - the museum there is amazing, so much history.

This isn't a slam against Jodie's great report, but did anyone else feel odd thinking of ground zero as one of the "usual sites" (tho Jodie is correct, it seems to have become that)

Dawn: I noticed that too. Unfortunately it seems as though ground zero has become a tourist site, or at least it's referred to in that sense. Whenever I see people lump it together w/all the other things they did I feel like they don't really comprehend what happened there, otherwise they'd refer to it differntly.

Going stay at Super 8 Times Square with two teens July 11-14. Any thoughts on this place? Great rate, but can't find reviews.

The Super 8 is one of the Apple Core Hotels. This company has bought up old hotels and refurbished them to provide economical lodging. Most are related to classic budget US chaine, like Super 8, Red Roof, and Comfort Inn. have heard good things in general about this group. Their web sites provides a philosophy and press coverage.

http://www.applecorehotels.com/

Please do not think that I would ever consider Ground Zero a tourist attraction. I simply meant that we visited the most important historical sites in the city (statue of liberty,for example) And unfortunately because of a horrendous act againist our country, ground zero is part of our history too. I am glad that I had a chance to visit and pay my respects. It is important to remember what we've come through and press onward. It made me sad, but I am glad I went.
BTW: I didnt not stand up on the platform, I did not feel this was necessary.. So if anyone is wondering you can see fine from the street.. the empty space is just mind boggling.
I just wanted to clear that up!!
Thanks and thanks for all your replies!!