Looking at NY for Summer Vacation... Need Input

NY is a great place for vacation. I'm assuming you mean New York City. There is PLENTY to do. If you write the Convention and Visitors Bureau now, they will send you a jillion coupons and pamphlets for your visit. See www.ILoveNY.com, too. Be sure and take the kids to a Broadway play. I've seen "Lion King" twice and it is magnificent! The Statue of Liberty is awe-inspiring, although smaller than I imagined. You gotta ride the subway and eat a hotdog from a vendor. The Empire State Building is fun, especially if you watch "Sleepless in Seattle" before you go! Be sure and go ice-skating at Rockefeller Center and also get up extra, extra early to be in the "Today" show crowd. Your kids will love ALL of it! The Metropolitan Museum of Art was wonderful, and Brad Pitt was visiting the day I was there. Be sure and take them to the famous toy store FAO Schwartz from the movie "BIG" and others. Don't forget to take a taxi somewhere, and also visit the site of the World Trade Center. It is a sobering experience they will never forget. Good luck and have fun!!!

My daughter and I went a couple of years ago for a mom/daughter weekend and had a blast. We never lacked for anything to do!!

My hubby did put us up at the Waldorf Astoria which was SO nice. We walked a LOT, we also took advantage of the double decker tour buses and used those for transportation all over.

Go to a Broadway show....we saw Lion King (GREAT SHOW), Go eat at Tavern on the Green, see Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, take a horse carriage through Central Park.

So many sites. We hit the ground running when we landed and did not stop at all. LOVED It

Enjoy

There will be no shortage of things to do -- but please note that the summer in NYC can be very hot and MUGGY! I used to live there (many New Yorkers leave for the weekends). I would suggest spending days in different parts of the city. The upper west side Imy favorite area, and old stomping ground) has Central Park, the Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Center, and so much more. Just walking up Columbus Avnue is fun -- you' see lots of "Rolex" watches for sale!

"The Village" (Greenwhich Village - hey, if your gonna be a New Yorker for a few days, it helps to speak the lingo!), has many neat places to go.

If you like TV- there are many studios you could write to, or just wait outside, and see if you could be part of a live audience (this is FREE). Did you know Saturday Night Live actually does two shows on Saturday? The first is the dress reheasal -- shich in my opinion is better than the show, because you see some of the stuff the censors didn't catch, and doesn'rt make it onto the later (real) show (which shoots at 11:30 --- it really is live). That takes place at NBC, in Rockefeller Center.

Just some additional ideas -- have fun - ride the subway - take a ferry - wear sneakers!!!

Enjoy!
S.

New York is awesome but as advised be prepared for the summer heat there, in the summer you will find the best deals in accomodations, however if you have never been to new york city be prepared for sticker shock, even in the summer. There will be many things to do like the others have said, I think the best thing is planning, stay close to most attractions, is my best advice, also be prepared to either take the subway and walk A LOT or spend a lot in cab fare, either way its fabulous! Central park is so awesome in the summer, they have concerts, the zoo and many other events for kids there. I would go to frommers.com and look into the family friendly hotels.

Go to NY, it will be the greatest vacation you will ever go on. I am dying to go back. I would say, stay in a cheap hotel, but as close to time square as you can afford. The closer you are to Time square the better. There is plenty to do. I promise, there will be plenty. Even if you go without planning anything there is plenty to do. Go to all of the landmarks, which sound boring, but they aren't. There is a lot there. The ones I am referring to are the statue of liberty, the empire state building and you will want to walk all along Time Square. If I knew what sex your children were that would help. There is a lot of shopping that you can do if they are girls. If they are boys, you can always go to Yankee Stadium. IF you have one of each, you could split up and dad take the boy there and you take the girl shopping. The big department stores are really cool! You need to go to Chinatown just for the experience. You need to go to a Broadway show even if you don't like Musicals. There is always one that is funny to anyone, even if you are not a fan of Theatre. I would reccommend going to an off-broadway show also. There are a lot of comedies, unfortunately, they are not all appropriate for teenagers, so be careful which you choose. There are so many cool restaurants to eat at! You have to go to the Hard Rock Cafe once and you have to go to Planet Hollywood once! You need to atleast take them to ground zero of the twin towers once too. You can just walk around there a little while. Everyone needs to stand there just to get a feel for what it must have been like. There are some museums that are cool, but probably boring to most 14 and 16 year olds. You need to go to Central Park! Walk around it is so neat no matter who you are. If you are a fun family, you could pack a frisby in a suitcase and take the frisby with you to Central Park and play. I promise you will not run out of stuff to do while you are there. There will be plenty. You need to take a cab atleast once while you are there and you need to ride the subway atleast once while you are there. I would also reccommend a late night movie one night. Something about catching a movie in NYC is just plain cool! Your kids will love it. It will be their favorite vacation ever! There are some cool music stores and such there. You need to eat NY pizza once while you are there. You need to go in one of the little market grocery stores. PM me if you want more suggestions or need any more ideas/advice.