NYC Trip Recap

[hermione]

Someone asked for a recap, so here it is. Some notes:

- I took a lot of the advice people here shared. Thank you!!

- We’re fairly lazy. We cabbed (and thus spent more money) than we needed to. No regrets. We still walked 15k steps a day on average.

- We stayed at the Hampton Inn on W 48th in Times Square. It was adequate. Great location but meh on everything else. We waited over 30 minutes for an elevator one morning before walking down 19 flights. The room was hot - always. They said there was nothing they could do.

Friday:

Arrived late afternoon. Took an Uber to the hotel.

- Walked to dinner at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. Line was about an hour but it’s super fun inside and the singers are amazing!

- Had 8:15 tickets for Top of the Rock. Cool experience. We did the beam and it was fun.

Saturday:
- Walked to Central Park in the morning. Just walked around a bit, took a bike cab to get a pic at Strawberry Fields. Fun. Stumbled on Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on the way to Central Park. Stunning.

- Took a cab to the Great Elephant Migration. Found out the installation was removed 6 days prior. Ooops.

- Walked to Pete’s Tavern to meet my cousin. Spent a couple of boozy hours hanging out and walking the market at Union Square.

- Took a cab to South Street Seaport. Walked to Fearless Girl to get an updated pic of the kid. Walked back to Pier 16 and took the express Circle Line to the Statue of Liberty. Boat guy was fun. We all enjoyed it.

- Took boat guy’s advice and ate pizza at a nearby place. It was good but we all prefer Detroit Style Pizza (yes, it’s a thing).

- Decided at the last minute to cab to the Bansky Museum. This was a highlight for my kid. We enjoyed it too.

- Tried to subway back to hotel. There was a man laying in the middle of the car either asleep or hurt. He was unresponsive and other people seemed to be handling it so we got off and took a cab to the hotel.

Sunday:
- Walked to the Empire State Building. We had a lot of fun and just spent a lot of time on the observation deck. My kid loved it.

- walked to Rise NY. A quick fun history of the city with a super cool ride at the end.

- Ate at a Broadway Diner I forget the name of. Good cheesecake.

- went back to the hotel and took naps.

- Saw Six on Broadway. An usher chose the kid to go up to the front for the dance party at the end. Such a fun show!!

Monday:
- Lazy morning and now we’re at the airport.

I feel like I am forgetting things but overall, it was a great family trip
for us.

[gretchenindisguise]

Sounds like a fantastic trip!

[simpsongal]

Loved the recap - I'm going w/8 yr old DD this weekend

[sunshineandpinot]

Sounds awesome! I adore NYC

[janegold]

Oct 28, 2024 12:26:52 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Loved the recap - I'm going w/8 yr old DD this weekend

What do you have planned? I'm taking my almost 8 yo DS (and 4 yo DD) in a few weeks.

[simpsongal]

Oct 28, 2024 12:42:07 GMT -5 janegold said:

Oct 28, 2024 12:26:52 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Loved the recap - I'm going w/8 yr old DD this weekend

What do you have planned? I'm taking my almost 8 yo DS (and 4 yo DD) in a few weeks.

We're just going for a night.  Going to see Wicked (matinee), getting lunch at Bergdorf Goodman's the following day (has a view of Central Park). Not sure about our dinner plan but maybe the Stardust diner.

We'll do more w/the family on our next trip.  FWIW, I've heard from several folks how fun the ice cream museum is. 

[shauni27]

Oct 28, 2024 12:42:07 GMT -5 janegold said:

Oct 28, 2024 12:26:52 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Loved the recap - I'm going w/8 yr old DD this weekend

What do you have planned? I'm taking my almost 8 yo DS (and 4 yo DD) in a few weeks.

ha! I am taking S in 5 weeks! (bff and her kids are coming too)

So far we have all the quintessential shit done because none of them have been to the city!
-broadway show
-times square
-tickets to the top of statue of liberty
-FAO schwartz
-tea at the plaza
-30 rock tree
-Christmas markets

[turbo]

Oct 28, 2024 13:17:53 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Oct 28, 2024 12:42:07 GMT -5 janegold said:

What do you have planned? I'm taking my almost 8 yo DS (and 4 yo DD) in a few weeks.

ha! I am taking S in 5 weeks! (bff and her kids are coming too)

So far we have all the quintessential shit done because none of them have been to the city!
-broadway show
-times square
-tickets to the top of statue of liberty
-FAO schwartz
-tea at the plaza
-30 rock tree
-Christmas markets

If you want to add even more festive things to your trip, Dyker Heights Christmas Lights are great if you don’t mind trekking out to Brooklyn, and the NY Botanical Garden has a super neat holiday train display (and it’s indoors!).

[jlt19]

I’m going with a friend a week from Friday and we have nothing but the flights, hotel and a show planned. I’m mildly panicking because I used to be a type A traveler, but I’m also kind of excited to not have any set plans.

We’ve just added things to a shared app for ideas and we’ll do what we want, when we want.

[maudefindlay]

I asked for the recap, thanks so much for sharing! Definitely taking notes for when we go. So cool to have pix of your DD at the same location!

[shauni27]

Oct 28, 2024 14:43:01 GMT -5 turbo said:

Oct 28, 2024 13:17:53 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

ha! I am taking S in 5 weeks! (bff and her kids are coming too)

So far we have all the quintessential shit done because none of them have been to the city!
-broadway show
-times square
-tickets to the top of statue of liberty
-FAO schwartz
-tea at the plaza
-30 rock tree
-Christmas markets

If you want to add even more festive things to your trip, Dyker Heights Christmas Lights are great if you don’t mind trekking out to Brooklyn, and the NY Botanical Garden has a super neat holiday train display (and it’s indoors!).

we are staying in Brooklyn so Dyker Heights will get added to the list! And Botanical Gardens sounds right up our alley. Thank you!

[mrsslocombe]

Just a heads up that Dyker Heights is kind of a pain to get to, even from Brooklyn. It's a long walk from the subway, there are buses that get you closer. It's also incredibly crowded. But it's an experience.

I like to go to L&B Spumoni Gardens afterwards-it's a bus ride, cab, or 2 mile walk away. It's fun with a group because you can order a giant sundae. If you go, get the square pizza, you can get better thin crust at a million other pizza places.

[keh2oblue]

Sounds like a great trip! We are taking my (soon to be) 16yo for her first Broadway show in January. We plan to hit all things broadway.

[sunshineandpinot]

Oct 30, 2024 16:33:55 GMT -5 keh2oblue said:

Sounds like a great trip! We are taking my (soon to be) 16yo for her first Broadway show in January. We plan to hit all things broadway.

I’m sure it’s on on your list, but the Museum of Broadway was a huge hit with my 16-year-old!!

[livinitup]

Thanks for the recap. Glad you had fun. You did things I haven’t !! Sorry about the subway ride.