New York, advice please

[TheJonesys]

Hi, normally we go go the WDW for our holidays, but this year, myself, hubby and 2 children (13 and 9) are off to New York for the first time. I'm a little nervous, we're flying into JFK and staying at the Wardorf Astoria.(it was a good deal)

What would be your must sees?
Where would you recommend we eat?
Are there any other hints and tips you would give a first timer?

Thanks everyone x

 

[JenniferS]

We loved the hop on/hop off buses.

The Statue of Liberty was okay. Next time I would save the money, however, and take the Staten Island ferry for free. She is much more impressive from the water anyway. Up close, not so much.

There is a plethora of dining choices. No specific recommendations. What is hot today may not even exist when you travel.

I jogged one whole block in Central Park, just to be able to say that I had been jogging in Central Park. Paid $5 to have my pic taken with Elmo.

And of course, museums, museums, museums.

Also, get out and walk. Just enjoy the buildings and architecture. There is a wonder around every corner. And a Starbucks too!

 

[MinnieM123]

There are so many fun things to do there. One of my favorites is the Radio City Music Hall tour and/or catching one of the Rockettes shows, (if they happen to be performing at the time you are visiting). Also, I'd recommend Broadway and Off-Broadway, if you and your family enjoy watching plays. Also, it's fun to visit the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. A few more thoughts--

If you're interested in finance, the Federal Reserve (in the financial district, lower Manhattan) has very interesting, free tours. They used to have tours of the N.Y. Stock Exchange and the N.Y. Mercantile Exchange, but I think after 2001, they may have stopped having tours; both tours were great. There's an interesting museum in that area (1 Bowling Green) called the National Museum of the American Indian. I enjoyed that museum; they had some very nice exhibits.

You may want to buy a good tour book from maybe Fodors or another well-known tourist guide book company, for up-to-date suggestions of activities for your family's trip. Have a wonderful visit.

 

[artvandelay]

See a broadway show, the Radio City Music Hall tour (and if you're coming here during March and April they have a new Spring Show), go to Greenwich Village for dinner, the Hi line park, the World Trade Center site, Metropolitan Museum of Art, a baseball game if you're here in April.

A cab from JFK airport to the Waldorf is approx. $46. http://www.taxiautofare.com/us/taxi...are-from-JFK-airport-to-waldorf-astoria-hotel

The Bull and Bear is a decent steakhouse at the Waldorf. Try not to eat in Times Square. It's overpriced food that's not that good.

For reviews of almost everything in NYC, use the web site, or app, Yelp.

 

[acishere]

What season are you visiting?

One hidden gem I recommend is the Cloisters in Fort Tyron Park. It is a museum located in a European abbey that was disassembled and rebuilt in the park. You have to take the A Train all the way to 190th street, but it is a beautiful place to visit.

 

[jw24]

It all depends on your own interests. Obviously, there are usual tourist attractions like the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Times Square. But there are some great museums. The two biggest ones are the Met (Metropolitian Museum of Art and probably the Museum of Natural History.). There's always Central Park, Coney Island (That'll certainly work for families.) If you're into sports, there's the Yankees and Mets during baseball season, Knicks and Nets, Rangers and Islanders (Though they play in Uniondale, outside of the city so transportation may be an issue.). If you're into theater, countless Broadway shows and music performances. So I think it all depends on you.

For food, again, it's depends on your own tastes. I mean, the vibe I get is that Times Square restaurants overall are overpriced and not good quality overall. There a lot of pizza places out there. Lombardi's, Grimaldi's, Totonno's, Di Fara in Brooklyn are a few of the many famous pizza places. (Keep in mind that most pizza places generally sell by the whole pie and only accept cash. Not only that, some of them have a no reservation policy either.) There's Chinatown, Koreatown, probably any cuisine you can think of. I personally enjoyed my experience at Katz's Deli for a corned beef and pastrami sandwich and at a place called A Salt and Battery, the best fish and chips I've ever had.

Other than that, well, some tips are that driving in the city is going to be more problematic for someone who is not familiar with the area so I would refrain from getting a rental car. Take advantage of the subway (They offer weekly passes, btw.) or the other forms of mass transit, definitely do planning to visit the attractions and restaurants you want to see (Even from someone who's been to the city many times for leisure, I still need to consult Google Maps and/or Google Earth to get a visual sense of the surrounding areas I pass by or see when I'm getting to my destination.), buy tickets as early as possible for sporting events, Broadway shows, etc, wear comfortable walking shoes (You'll do a lot just like Disney!) and don't stay out too late. I'm pretty sure other tips can be easily searched through your preferred search engine.

 

[TheJonesys]

Thank you for your replies, lots of ideas and tips, we're going at the beginning of April, so I'll check out the Radio City Music Hall, even if there isn't a baseball game, I think my son would like to see the stadium if they do a tour

 

[BuddyThomas]

Radio City has a new show called Heart and Light. Do NOT pay full price if you go. You can find discounts to this and other shows at several sites, such as:

Playbill.com
Broadwaybox.com
Theatremania.com

Disney's Aladdin is previews on Broadway right now, so if you are fans of that, give it a shot, although I don't think there are discounts, and four full priced tickets could probably bankrupt a small country, so beware.

Don't fall for the tourist trap restaurants. There are a zillion great places and reasonable prices if you walk over to 9th Avenue in midtown. Dining in Times Square is hit or miss, but mostly miss, except for the hit it takes on your wallet. An exception is Dallas BBQ, which is right on 42nd Street, across from Aladdin and it is fairly inexpensive for the area, with huge portions of quality barbecue. The place is gigantic, so you won't wait long for a table, but the service is hit or miss. Food comes out super fast.

I live here, so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Thank you for your replies, lots of ideas and tips, we're going at the beginning of April, so I'll check out the Radio City Music Hall, even if there isn't a baseball game, I think my son would like to see the stadium if they do a tour

Here is the Yankees calendar...
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nyy#y=2014&m=4&calendar=DEFAULT
Hope they lose from the 7-9
And the Mets
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nym#y=2014&m=4&calendar=DEFAULT

 

[MickeyPeace]

I live in midtown NYC between Times Square and Central Park.
There is so much to do here! What are your interests? That would help in giving advice.

Off the top of my head- Central Park Zoo is fun, inexpensive and do-able in a couple of hours. They even have a 4D Ice Age short film that the kids will love.

Walk Central Park. There is a carousel. Ball fields. Ice Cream. A mini theme park Victoria Gardens (May not be open in April) and more.

If u miss Disney there are lots of Disney esque things to do. Bronx Zoo will remind you of AK. Rose Planetarium will remind u of Epcot. There is a Disney store in Times Square (but it's lame). World of Disney on 5 th ave was amazing! Jeckyll and Hyde on 44th street will remind u of Haunted Mansion.

Those are just a few options. Ask if u have specific questions. Have a great time here! The weather should be pleasant by then

 

[TheJonesys]

I live in midtown NYC between Times Square and Central Park.
There is so much to do here! What are your interests? That would help in giving advice.

Off the top of my head- Central Park Zoo is fun, inexpensive and do-able in a couple of hours. They even have a 4D Ice Age short film that the kids will love.

Walk Central Park. There is a carousel. Ball fields. Ice Cream. A mini theme park Victoria Gardens (May not be open in April) and more.

If u miss Disney there are lots of Disney esque things to do. Bronx Zoo will remind you of AK. Rose Planetarium will remind u of Epcot. There is a Disney store in Times Square (but it's lame). World of Disney on 5 th ave was amazing! Jeckyll and Hyde on 44th street will remind u of Haunted Mansion.

Those are just a few options. Ask if u have specific questions. Have a great time here! The weather should be pleasant by then

Thanks wdw prince, I was wondering about the weather and what we should pack.

Ellie will love the zoo, my hubby likes space, I like history and my son loves sport.....we all like eating and shopping!!!

 

[MickeyPeace]

How long u staying? The Waldorf is a beautiful hotel btw.

April should be mild but winter this year has been never ending.

Another option is to check out Groupon and see what deals are being offered during your stay. I got a deal on The Ride when my family was visiting. It's a fun interactive, historical, theatrical bus ride through midtown.

For sports u may want to take a family bike ride along the west river to Chelsea Piers Sports complex. Or through Central Park. Always deals on groupon.

The museum of natural history is attached to the Planetarium. So u could get ur space fix along with history. Keep in mind it is always packed there. Check their website. They even do sleepovers some nights for the kids ala Disneys Night At The Museum.

You can also rent rowboats to take out on the lake at the Boathouse in Central Park. It's around $12.

You can take pics with fake characters in Times Square, even Mickey, but u must tip them or they will not be happy lol.

Food? NYC is the real World Showcase. You can experience the real deal of any type of ethnic food u can think of.

Like a Disney vacation, think of what u want to do ahead of time and do some planning. You will have a smoother much more enjoyable vacation.

 

[TheJonesys]

How long u staying? The Waldorf is a beautiful hotel btw.

April should be mild but winter this year has been never ending.

Another option is to check out Groupon and see what deals are being offered during your stay. I got a deal on The Ride when my family was visiting. It's a fun interactive, historical, theatrical bus ride through midtown.

For sports u may want to take a family bike ride along the west river to Chelsea Piers Sports complex. Or through Central Park. Always deals on groupon.

The museum of natural history is attached to the Planetarium. So u could get ur space fix along with history. Keep in mind it is always packed there. Check their website. They even do sleepovers some nights for the kids ala Disneys Night At The Museum.

You can also rent rowboats to take out on the lake at the Boathouse in Central Park. It's around $12.

You can take pics with fake characters in Times Square, even Mickey, but u must tip them or they will not be happy lol.

Food? NYC is the real World Showcase. You can experience the real deal of any type of ethnic food u can think of.

Like a Disney vacation, think of what u want to do ahead of time and do some planning. You will have a smoother much more enjoyable vacation.

We're staying for a week, it's great getting hints and tips from an insider, they tell you everything the guide book doesn't from what people have told me it will become our favourite city once we've visited x

 

[MickeyPeace]

We're staying for a week, it's great getting hints and tips from an insider, they tell you everything the guide book doesn't from what people have told me it will become our favourite city once we've visited x

I hope you have a great stay. If you have any questions, ask me. You can also check Time Out NYC. You might find something interesting there too.

 

[nutsaboutdisneybelfast]

Ellen's stardust diner near the Gershwin theatre for wicked is a must

 

[prberk]

Another fun and FREE thing to do is the Today show, at, of course 30 Rockefeller Ctr. (How can you forget that address?) It's actually near 50th. They have daily tours of NBC that you can take after the show, where you will get to see the sets of Jimmy Fallon's Tonight show and Seth Myer's Late Night show and Saturday Night Live. Of course you can also look into getting tickets for those shows, but I am not sure how hard they are to get (except SNL is nearly impossible, and distributed in August each year). They also have a nice NBC Universal gift shop there. And, like the Empire State Building, you can take a trip (for a ticket) to the "Top of the Rock" observation deck (where U2 played for Jimmy Fallon's first show). This is the building where the famous picture of workers eating lunch on the steel beam was taken while they were building it, and you get to "put yourself into that picture" as part of the "Top of the Rock" experience. Kind of cool, and a great view of the city, with the Empire State Building in it.

A couple of blocks away is the Fox News window, and of course ABC's Good Morning America is in Times Square.

Of course do not miss the World Trade Center memorial site. It is free, but requires a ticket that they distribute at the preview center.

Disney's Lion King is great on Broadway, but never has discounts. Newsies might be a good choice and does offer discounts. Find them at broadwaybox.com and mousesavers.com.

 

[mcurtiss]

take the 2/3 subway to brooklyn heights and walk back across the Brooklyn Bridge. Might be a bit cold, but its a great view.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Thank you for your replies, lots of ideas and tips, we're going at the beginning of April, so I'll check out the Radio City Music Hall, even if there isn't a baseball game, I think my son would like to see the stadium if they do a tour

I like stadium tours. It's cool to see "behind the scenes".

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I grew up outside of NY...there are just so many options, but my fave museum as a kid was Natural History. The USS Intrepid was also fun and interesting. Growing up in NJ, I always preferred seeing the Statue of Liberty from the NJ side, but I think it's still worth some time no matter what. We usually went once a year and it never got old for me. As for zoos, I personally have always preferred the Bronx Zoo, but you'll have to see if that works out for you and your travels. I agree with @acishere on the Cloisters- just beautiful and so peaceful!

Not sure what your food preferences are, but I love going to Carnegie Deli...although, if my grandmother were still with us she'd be telling you to go to Katz's. I also like Ess-A-Bagel for- well obviously- bagels and really appreciate their fish options as well. I also usually have to hit up Zabar's at some point for a black and white cookie.

 

[TheJonesys]

Thank you everyone for your replies and advice, we're back and had the best time, we did Top of the Rock, Central Park Zoo, Natural History, Intrepid, boat tour round Liberty and up to Manhattan Bridge, 9/11 memorial and Soho. Everyone was so friendly and the City was clean and felt very safe. Cannot wait to go back