Going to NYC!
 

Hey everyone! Well it's been a dream of my best friends and mine to go to NYC, and we've pretty much been planning to go since 8 years ago, when we were in high school! Last fall I finally thought hey, we're adults now, we're both finished college and have stable lives, why not make a dream come true??? Two other friends are going as well and we've already booked our flight and hotel for November 25 (best friend's birthday!) to December 2. We're huge Christmas freaks so we thought that time would be perfect!
What I'm looking for is some fun things to do there! We have tickets to the Christmas Spectacular but that's the only thing so far that's really planned. Some things we want to do are:
Sex and the City tour
Holiday lights tour
Christmas tree lit up at Rockefeller Center
Macy's Thanksgiving parade
Carriage ride in Central Park
Broadway show
Eat at Bobby Flay's restaurant (mesa grill)
Rainbow Room (one friend is really into this, but I checked out the prices and WOW it's expensive!)
Try going somewhere on the subway :D
SHOPPING!
Any other suggestions about what to do in NYC? The 4 of us are 24 and pretty much up for anything! We want to go to some clubs or lounges as well, and I'm sure there are some that are good and some to stay away from. Any tips or suggestions? We want to see and do as much as possible in 7 days!

The holidays in NY are magical..busy as heck but magical. Be sure to bring some warm clothes. Ooh with all that you want to do some very comfy shoes are in order.

I guess since your doing the site seeing thing you need to hit the Empire State building, the village, Clubs I am not sure as I don't know what sort of music your into.

My younger sister has been enjoying Webster Hall because they have several floors with all different music.

there is a zoo in central park that is pretty good.

I love NYC. Well I did. I got engaged there and used to go many times a year. Since my ex fiance and I broke up almost 3 years ago I have not been back. That was the best trip we ever had.

You could try to get tix to Saturday night live taping or any other show tapings happening. TLC on MTV is there also. Shopping on 5th avenue is awesome! (EXPENSIVE!!) go over to Ground Zero where the towers fell. I always went there to pay my respects. Try to go to Battery Park to take pics of the Statue of Liberty!

Oh yeah and go to the top of the empire state building!

Just have fun! Experience everything!

Oh lord, where are you coming from that this is your idea of fun?? :p

You could see a show; Wicked and the Lion King are my two favorites. Go for dessert at Junior's. If you like Disney, visit the World of Disney store. Ice skating in Central Park is so much fun. :)

Hairspray the play is supposed to be soooo good.

Oh I forgot to mention, we have sent postcards for tickets to Regis and Kelly and Conan O'Brien but haven't heard anything back from either yet. The girl who was doing that was going to see if there was a number to call today about it.
As for warm clothing, we're all from the Canadian prairies :) A new york winter is going to be like a tropical vacation for us! hehe
I am reading Wicked right now and my best friend has read it and loved it, so we are both really wanting to see that one! We're going to take suggestions from the other two girls too though, and maybe we could even fit in 2 :)
I just looked at the website for Webster Hall and it looks awesome! I will definitely be telling the other girls about it!

omg, how exciting! It sounds like you did your homework! Have great fun...bring $$$$$$ LOL!

Wicked is fantastic on Broadway! I would highly recommend it!! Saint Patrick's Cathedral is another site to see, it is right on 5th Ave, so you could also do shopping...I think the American Girl doll shop is on 5th near the Cathedral!

haha I've been saving up for months already! 5 more months of saving until I get to go and SPEND!

Thanks! I remember wanting to go there when I first started planning the trip! I think we should have definitely booked an extra week lol

Sounds like fun!

I would recommend the Empire State building its pretty cool. We did the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island while we were there, but that may not be as interesting to you since you're from Canada.

5th Avenue is pretty cool. I LOVED FAO Schwartz- I was 13 at the time we went and not really into toys anymore, but it was still really cool to look around in.

I would love to visit NYC during Christmas time!

You can stand in line to see "The View" , Regis and Kelly" or other shows...Go on line to check exactly where they are , get in line by 7am (or earlier) but you do wait outside...You can pay (not much) to get into (can't remember what network) and get a tour of the TV sets (it's on the side of Radio City Music Hall) Check out the Museum of Natural Art near Central Park...Carriage ride? Those poor horses have to walk on NY streets...It should be banned...Make sure you have an itinerary, you don't want to wake up saying " what do you want to do today?'' Have fun !;)

I highly recommend that you see Wicked on Broadway! I've seen it 8 times - it's my absolute favorite!

Have a wonderful time!

all I have to say is .... BRAT:p lol I want to go!!! :) HAVE a BLAST!!!

Congratulations! It sounds like you are going to have a blast in NYC. The only problem I see is the wait. When does the official count-down begin?

Oh yeah I think we're also going to the Statue of Liberty :)
I think that's an NBC studio tour isn't it? I remember reading about that too, and then forgetting about it! Thanks for the reminder!
Our hotel is about a block from Times Square, and I think we should put aside at least one whole day for just walking around and shopping!

To be honest, I was already countinng down the days in December! lol

yes, it is the NBC tour and right next to it is Rockefeller Center...Remember Matt Lauer, Meredith and Al Roker (and others too) come outside the studio between 48th St and 49th St..(near where the skating rink is) to do some interviews etc...Make sure if you go to this , you bring your poster to say hello to Yorkie Talk !!! lol and post is and when you'll be there so all of us yorkie talkers can see you on TV ... How fun would that be ?!!!:rolleyes:

When we lived in Jersey, my husband and I would go every Monday on business, so we knew alot of places....And St. Patrick's Cathedral is right across the street...I'm sure you'll have a map...

Good advice about the interviews! I've never seen the Today Show so I didn't know any of that, but we might have to check it out :)
Oh and we also want to see Grand Central Station!
I hope we have enough time to do and see everything we want. We may have to just cut out sleep!

Well the time is drawing nearer and I'm getting really antsy about not having many plans in place! I'm a very organized person and I just feel weird not having everything planned!
I have a few more questions :) The christmas tree lighting in Rockefeller center is something I really want to see! Last year it happened around Thanksgiving, right? Well since we didn't know (and still don't!) what the date would be this year, we decided to plan the trip around Thanksgiving. We fly in on the 25th and out on December 2nd. I looked up some information this morning and it said it is typically the third week of November... and we'll be there in the FOURTH week :( At least we'll be able to see it be lit for sure, but the whole lighting ceremony was really something I was excited for. I watch it every year on tv!
My other question was about the Macy's parade. Definitely something else I want to see! Where is a good place to see it and how early should we get there?
And finally, Black Friday!!! Our original plan was to go out to a club on Thursday night, but I just asked my friends if they would mind spending a little more to go on the weekend instead... I WANT TO SHOP on Friday, and not be too tired :D Really, how good are the sales? Are they really as insane as I hear about? We don't have anything like that up here.

Welcome to NYC
 

Hi linz06,

I am sure you are looking forward to visiting us New Yorkers i live in a borough outside of Manhattan but i work inthe city.

I was doing some searches for you and here is what i came up with.

1.South Street Seaport
Head to the South Street Seaport where you can marvel at the 50 ft tree. On Fridays and Saturdays you can also listen to the Big Apple Chorus perform. Performances are Fridays at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m now through Dec. 24. On Christmas Eve the chorus will give a special performance at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m

2.Ice Skate in Bryant Park
Ice skate in Bryant Park for FREE! Yep, every Wed. from 6:00 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. the first 100 visitors receive free skate rentals and participants can register to win various prizes.


3.Macys Thanksgiving parade on 11/27 starts at 9am

4. Empire State Building (across the street from my job) Empire State Building: Official Internet Site


Found this website would be good to access information
http://nycvisit.com/calendar/eventIndex.cfm?pagePkey=16

New York Bus Tours - Marvelous Manhattan Tours

If you have any questions feel free to ask away!

Thank you so much for all that info!!! I'm definitely going to look into that tour. My friend found another we were going to go on but we might have to choose between this one or that one now. We kind of want to do just one whole day tour instead of a bunch of little ones... kind of just to see all the big tourist sites at once, because you HAVE to see them, and then if there's any we'd like to go back to and spend more time at, we'll have a whole week to do that :D

awesome i think the whole day tours is a great idea, if you need any info or anything how to ride the subways let me know.

what hotel are you staying at if you dont mind me asking

We are staying at the Milford Plaza. My friend booked it and said it's close to Times Square so I hope she's right :)
I've been reading up on how to ride the subway lol I'm really excited for it.
Oh I had a question about cabs... We'll be taking a cab from the airport to the hotel... are there usually a lot of cabs just waiting there, or will it be hard to get one? And do we need to give exact directions or can we just say the address and that's good enough? I just know that sometimes cabs around here will take a long route just to make more money if you really don't know where you're going.

Yes your hotel is in Times Square that's great you will be in the middle of everything.

Awesome about the subway, if you need any help let me know.

Cabs yes there are alot of cabs at the airport, make sure to take a yellow cab. There are alot of gypsy cabs there as well but it's better to go with yellow cab. All those yellow cabs are very familiar with the city so they will definetly know where you are going. Just tell them to take you to the Milford Plaza hotel on 8th Ave between 44th & 45th street in Manhattan. He will definetly know how to get there.

from JFK here are directions just in case:
JFK International Airport to Milford Plaza
Exit JFK International Airport
Stay straight to go onto JFK Expressway
Merge onto Van Wyck Expressway / I-678 North toward Airport Exit / Return to Terminals / Long Term Parking / Rental Car Returns
Merge onto I-495 West via exit number 12B (Portions toll)
Keep right at the fork in the ramp
Turn left onto East 37th Street
Turn right onto 3rd Avenue
Turn left onto East 42nd Street
Turn right onto Avenue of the Americas / Sixth Avenue
Turn left onto West 45th Street
Turn right onto 8th Avenue
Hotel main entrance is located on 8th Avenue between 44th and 45th streets

From LGA airport:
LaGuardia Airport to Milford Plaza


Exit LaGuardia Airport
Merge onto Grand Central Parkway West toward Manhattan
Take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway exit - exit number 4 - toward Varrazano Narrows Bridge / I-278 West
Merge onto Brooklyn-Queens Expressway East (BQE)
Merge onto Brooklyn-Queens Expressway / I-278 West
Merge onto I-495 West via exit number 35 toward Midtown Tunnel (Portions toll)
Keep right at the fork in the ramp
Turn left onto East 37th Street
Turn right onto 3rd Avenue
Turn left onto East 42nd Street
Turn right onto 8th Avenue
Hotel main entrance is located on 8th Avenue between 44th and 45th streets

You are awesome!!! Thanks so much for the info :D
Do you have any suggestions for some cheapish places to eat near our hotel? We're going to do one big night out and we're trying to get reservations to Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa Grill, but we'd like to not spend so much to eat for the rest of the trip!

That sounds fun...I've always wanted to go to NYC someday. Take lots of pictures!

There are alot of restaurants around there Theemed one's especially. Ive eaten at the ESPN Zone i know it sounds like for guys only. But the food was actually good and not that expensive either that's on 42nd and broadway. There is also the Olive Garden i think that is closer to your hotel hmm trying to think of where else if i come with any other restuarants around there i will let you know.


Not a problem here to help :thumbup:

That sounds great!!! I have never eaten at an Olive Garden, they don't have them around here. There were rumors of one opening here a few years ago but it hasn't happened yet. I've heard it's really good from my friends who have been to the states a lot :) I've never been in any states other than Alaska and North Dakota!
And I will definitely be taking lots of pictures :) I'll have to buy a couple more cards for my camera, because my current one can only 300 pictures :D

Sometimes, it's fun to stop in for just a slice of pizza or something like that. There are quite a few books out (like NYC for Dummies, for example) that are real helpful. They will show lots of restaurants, by price and location. AND, also, the places that are considered special for sandwiches, pizza, the best bagels...you GOTTA have a real NY bagel!!!!!! Not the fake ones they sell everywhere else! A lot of real good information! Now, I want to go!! :(