NYC: 1st Stop - Times Square
NYC: 1st Stop - Times Square and Broadway
George M Cohan Statue - Times Square
Overwhelming and underwhelming all at the same time.
The name Times “Square” is a bit misleading. It’s less square and more long skinny triangle. It was the first place I went after dropping off my luggage. Not because I was so eager to see it, but to get tickets for a show. Walking into Times Square you need sunglasses even on a cloudy day. There are bright flashing ads, tons of tourists and lots of people selling things. This is why, for me, Times Square was overwhelming and underwhelming all at the same time. All of the bright lights, crowds and noises were sensory overload. And there wasn’t a lot to see because most of the stores and restaurants are chains you can find back home.
My favorite thing in Times Square was a statue of George M. Cohan, composer in the early 20th century. The movie about him, Yankee Doodle Dandy, with an Oscar winning performance by James Cagney, is worth a watch. You can see the New Year’s Eve ball, as it’s up all year (its a lot smaller in person).
You’ve probably heard this before, but as a reminder, don’t take pictures with the characters in Times Square, unless you are willing to pay for it.
Lion King at the Minskoff Theater
Travel Tip - If you want to see more than 1 Broadway show, buy tickets “day of” for less.
A lot of Broadway theaters are near Times Square, so its a central place for the TKTS booth. They sell discounted “day of” tickets. This is a great way to stretch your budget to see multiple shows. Tickets through TKTS are only sold in person, but there is any app that tells you what shows are available. I downloaded the app a few weeks before to see what shows were regularly on there. We wanted to make sure to see the Lion King and the app said that they rarely ever had discount tickets. So we bought them beforehand. If there is a specific show you want to see, buy the tickets beforehand. It might cost you a bit more, but that way you aren’t disappointed.
One of the reasons we decided to see a show the first night is time. You have to stand in line for the tickets and you don’t know how long that will take. We didn’t plan a lot our first day just in case planes were delayed. Since my plane got in first I went to stand in line. It took about an hour to get to the front. We had a few shows on the possibility list so if one wasn’t available, we didn’t have to look up others while standing at the TKTS window and hold up the line. Make sure the morning you plan to get “day of” tickets is flexible.
The Broadway shows I saw while in New York City were Lion King and Aladdin. As a kid that grew up in the ‘90s it was my childhood all over again. Both were amazing! My favorite part about Aladdin was the magic carpet ride. The mechanics and craftmanship that went into are spectacular! For the Lion King, it was the costumes and puppetry, specifically the giraffes. The movements really convey each animal.
Travel Tip - If seeing the Lion King, or a show right in Times Square, get cheesecake after the show.
Junior’s Cheesecake
After seeing the Lion King, we weren’t quite ready to go back to the hotel, still wide awake thinking and talking about the show. In NYC you shouldn’t leave without having a piece of New York cheesecake. One of the best places is Junior’s, literally next store to the Minskoff Theater, where Lion King is performed. The sit down restaurant is there, as is a takeout cheesecake option. If you don’t want to wait for a table (we didn’t) get in line at the takeout place. There are a few tables outside to sit at. I got in line and my roommate saved a table. If there aren’t any tables available, you could take your cheesecake and find a spot to sit in Times Square or go back to your hotel to eat. The cheesecake travels well and we both found it to be delicious!
Going to New York City Not Just the State
Going to New York City, not just the State - my first visit to the Big Apple
View from One World Observatory
“New York, New York, a wonderful town. The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down. The people ride in a whole in the ground. New York, New York, it's a wonderful town!”
I have been fortunate to travel to quite a few places in this country and the world. I’ve been to New York state more times than I can count, courtesy of visiting grandparents. But as many times as I’ve been to Buffalo, never have I made it to New York City. Over the years this fact has boggled the minds of more than a few friends. However, when you’ve already driven 500 miles to get to Buffalo from Indianapolis, the 400 it takes to get from Buffalo to New York City is not appealing. This was the year, for the first time I would be in the State of New York and in New York City.
New York City here I come…
Flying Delta
One of the most interesting stories about the trip to NYC comes from before I even got on the plane. I went on this trip with my roommate and when we first started looking into flights, realized that we both had enough miles for an award trip…. on different airlines, landing at different airports. Most importantly, this saved money, but in close second was the delight telling people gave us. The confusion and “really?” we got from most people was amazing.
Travel Tip - NYC is a great place for a meet up with friends. Most people can find a reasonable direct flight.
One of the easiest things about NYC is flying to it. Many US airlines have hubs there and so a lot of people can get a direct flight. With multiple public transportation options, whichever of the three NYC airports you fly into, it will be easy to get into the city and to your hotel. Most of the airports have several options and depending on where in NYC you are staying, one might be better over another.
Newark Airport
Bus - Newark Express, stops at Port Authority, Bryant Park, and Grand Central, easy subway connections from those
AirTran - AirTran to NYC Penn Station, then subway if necessary
JFK Airport
Subway - AirTran to either Jamaica or Howard Beach Stations, depending on where in the city you are going
LIRR - AirTran to Jamaica Station to take the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station
LaGuardia Airport
LIRR - Q70 bus to LIRR Woodside, which takes you to Penn Station
Subway - Q70 bus to Jackson Heights- Roosevelt Ave station, lots of line options
Bus - M60 bus for Upper Manhattan
If you are not comfortable yet with public transportation I would choose flying into Newark or JFK over LaGuardia, if that’s a option. Their options cost a bit more, but are more direct and have less changes between types of public transportation. Using Google to get public transportation directions will help you find the best way to get to your hotel. And if you want to experience different airports, you can do what I did and fly into one and out of another one. Or, like me, because the flight times worked better that way.
View of the Empire State Building from our small hotel window.
Travel Tip - Don't stay at hotels near the airport.
Yes, hotels near airports are often cheaper. However, airports in big cities are usually farther outside of town. The money you save will be spent on transportation getting to what you want to do. And Your Time is Worth Something! The time you spend getting to and from your hotel near the airport could be better spent people watching in Central Park or a little more sleep before going to that special breakfast place. And often when you look for them, there are hotels in the city that are priced similarly to the hotels near the airport.
Everyone has their own idea and preferences of what is most important on a vacation. For me, the hotel is not high on the list. I want a place that is safe, comfortable, as centrally located as possible to public transportation or things I want to do. It is a place I sleep and get ready, but don't spend a lot of time in. Because of this amenities aren't high on my list. Other people want to spend time at their hotel and take advantage of what it has to offer. We all have different ways to travel and what is important to us.
When I looked for hotels in NYC I started with guidebooks, both from the library and their online versions. Ones like Fodor’s and Lonely Planet. Then I looked at blogs and started saving things to Pintrest.
I landed on Pod39. There are several Pod Hotels in New York City and this one is a few blocks from Grand Central, which was great for getting to where we wanted to go. You might think by the name that this hotel has big rooms with individual pods. It does not. The rooms are small, but they are their own rooms with their own bathrooms. The unique part about the room we stayed in is it had bunkbeds! It was a good location and fit our needs of a comfortable, central place, and wasn't in a noisy area.
We also thought about staying at Yotel Times Square. Which I think would also be a good place to stay. Pod39 just had a better location for what we wanted to do.
There are so many options in New York City it can be overwhelming. Start with guides that have already narrowed options down. Don't worry about missing out. When you have 2-3 good options stop looking and decide from there.