First of all, this forum has tons of information that I%26#39;ve found extremely helpful. I%26#39;ve spent the last few nights browsing all the different pages and feel a lot more confident about the decisions and changes I%26#39;ve been making for this trip. I%26#39;ve been planning this for several months and it will be the first trip I%26#39;ve ever managed from the beginning.
Three friends and I (age 18, two boys, two girls, as friends) are going to go to NYC August 2-6 before we head off to college. I made reservations at the New Yorker hotel on 34th street (although some of you seem to dislike it), because the location and price was right and also because they allow 18-year-olds to check in. At $219, our roundtrip flight tickets from Indianapolis seem like a pretty good deal. We are flying into LGA.
None of my friends have flown before (I am the only one), so it will be their first experience. Two of us have been to NYC before with our high school band, but the trip was short and we wanted to experience the city on our own. We will be doing Hard Rock Cafe, even though I think they have terrible food. Two of my friends have never been and want to go. (One friend has three t-shirts given from relatives and hasn%26#39;t been, so he%26#39;s pretty determined.) Any suggestions for restaurants on a budget around 34th street? We would like to have one meal that won%26#39;t run over $25 per person and other meals closer to $10 and lower, if possible.
While planning this trip, I was excited when I found out that one of my favorite bands, Muse, would be playing in NYC the same time I had scheduled this trip for. They will be playing at the Hammerstein Ballroom, which is the building conveniently adjacent to our hotel. I was lucky enough to get our tickets during the presale online, as tickets sold out the day they went on sale for the general public.
We didn%26#39;t get the chance to visit Ellis Island on our band trip, so we are doing that. We are skipping SoL, as it seemed pretty boring. I might also be meeting up with some friends I have met online while playing the video game, Final Fantasy XI. I feel safe doing this since I have gotten to know them for over two years.
We would also like to see a TV show taping and a broadway. Would Monty Python%26#39;s Spamalot be a good choice for our age group and are tickets often available at TKTS for this show?
Since my friend really likes basketball (well, you have to like it if you live in Indiana), we are going to visit Rucker Park and maybe tour Madison Square Garden. I suspect he will also like visiting the ESPN zone.
I don%26#39;t really know how much time I should set aside for traveling to and from places. Below is my working itinerary. Do the times seem feasible? Anything we might consider squeezing in or moving around? I still have leftover time for the night before we leave, so I%26#39;m not sure what we should do.
Wednesday, August 2nd
6:00AM Leave home towards Indy
8:00AM Arrive at Indianapolis Airport
8:30AM Check-in bags / Eat Breakfast
10:45AM Flight leaves
1:00PM~ Flight arrives, take taxi to the New Yorker hotel
2:00PM Check in at New Yorker hotel
3:00PM Browse around / Macy%26#39;s
6:00PM Hard Rock Cafe (I don%26#39;t want to, but my friends do)
9:00PM Empire State Building (Night view)
Thursday, August 3rd
8:00AM Taxi to Battery Park / Ferry to Ellis Island (Pass SoL)
12:00PM Ground Zero / Financial Times District
1:00PM Possibly meet up with FFXI game friends
**Alt: Tour Madison Square Garden
5:00PM Nice Dinner nearby
6:30PM Doors open for Muse Concert
8:00PM Muse Concert Begins
Friday, August 4th
8:00AM Get TV Show Taping Tickets / Times Square NBC /
ESPN etc / TKTS Booth
12:00PM Grand Central Terminal / Late Lunch
**Alternate: Tour Madison Square Garden
3:00-7:00 PM TV Show Live Taping
**Alternate: Grand Central Terminal
8:00PM Times Square at Night / Broadway show (Spamalot?)
Saturday, August 5th - Subway Day
9:00AM Rucker Park
11:00PM Chinatown
3:00PM SoHo / Greenwich Village
7:00PM __________ Suggestions?
Sunday, August 6th
9:00AM Central Park
12:00PM Check out of hotel / Take Taxi to Airport
2:00PM Arrive at airport / Check in baggage
4:00PM Flight leaves to Indy
Thanks for reading this and for any suggestions you might have for me.
Four 18-year-olds trip to NYC in AugustCan%26#39;t really help with any suggestions but just wanted to say - ';Have a great trip';. I%26#39;m sure that there will be plenty of fun had by all before you venture off to college.
Four 18-year-olds trip to NYC in AugustOkay, some comments:
Your meal pricing ($10 for DINNER??) suggests either lots of fast food/pizza, or buying groceries and eating in your room.
Spamalot will probably not be available at TKTS.
I have lived in NYC my whole life, and never heard of Rucker Park until now (I googled it to find out what you were talking about.) Frankly, it seems a huge waste of time going all the way up to the northern reaches of Harlem just to see people playing basketball in a playground. If you insist on wasting your time watching playground basketball, go watch at the corner of West 3rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Greewich Village -- the game will probably be just as good, and at least there will be an interesting neighborhood to walk around in, which you will NOT find at 155th St..
Wednesday -- you might consider strolling jp Fifth Avenue from 34th Street. Public Library is at 42nd Street, Rockefeller Center begins at 47th, St. Pat%26#39;s is at 50th -- and the NBA store is at 52nd Street.
Thursday -- don%26#39;t begin to think of taking a taxi downtown at 8 AM; that%26#39;s crazy-people-talk. Take the subway -- it will be a little cheaper,and more to the point, you will get there quickly, and not three hours later.
Friday. The Times Square TKTS booth opens at 3 pm. What will you do there at 8 AM?
Saturday -- I already advised against Rucker Park, which is eight miles from Chinatown anyway, and besides, no one would be playing basketball at 9 AM, for heaven%26#39;s sake!!!!. Instead, start your day by taking the subway to Brooklyn Heights. Visit the Promenade, and get a bite to eat along Montague Street. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge back. At the end of the bridge, turn right onto Centre Street to Worth Street. Turn right on Worth to Chatham Square and Mott Street. Turn left onto Mott -- this is the heart of old Chinatown. You can eat cheaply here, too , and also get some inexpensive souvenirs. Walk up Mott to Canal and turn left. Turn right on Broadway (or Wooster, or Mercer) and explore Soho. Turn left on Bleecker to Sixth Avenue, and right on Sixth. Watch basketball games at Sixth and West Third Street, and then explore the Village.
I agree, skip Rucker Park since it is very out of the way. The cage on W3rd and 6th is very famous. It%26#39;s tiny but you%26#39;ll see some serious ballers there at all times of the day. Even pro%26#39;s get in those games sometimes because no one really is star struck there. I%26#39;ve seen Ron Artest play there.
I just have to say it was such a pleasure to read such an articulate and well-written post from someone your age. If you are in charge of this trip I have the utmost confidence you will all have a marvelous time, no matter what you decide to do. Where are all of you headed for college? My bet is that it%26#39;s someplace good :)
I agree about seeing the Village basketball, it%26#39;s quite famous and you won%26#39;t be disappointed. Plus, the Village is great to hang out in. You%26#39;ll especially like the East Village, which is younger and hipper. New York University (NYU) is in the East Village, with schools and dorms seemingly all over. So the area is full of students, and stores and restaurants that cater to your age group.
As for the hotel, while it doesn%26#39;t get good reviews, if they let you check in at 18, don%26#39;t worry about it, just enjoy.
A couple of comments about your schedule. First, you really need to spend time in Central Park. It%26#39;s the heart and soul of New York. You can rent bicycles and explore, or enjoy the Lake from a rowboat, or just toss a frisbee around.
www.centralparknyc.org
Also, when you visit the World Trade Center site, please take a few minutes to stop in St. Paul%26#39;s Chapel, it%26#39;s just a block away. This historic church was used as a refuge by recovery workers, and they maintain an exhibit.
www.saintpaulschapel.org
Enjoy your trip!
Yes, Luthyr%26#39;s post is well written and articulate. But a little scary insofar as it presupposes that almost every second of the trip (save the trip to the Hard Rock Cafe which he is making more or less under protest) will be planned by him. Learn to be flexible Luthyr, to sit back and relax and imbibe the sweet atmosphere that is New York City. And if one of your friends wants to do something on a whim, let him/her to his/her own devices without mapping out every second of his/her life. It is not imperative that all four of you should be together for every second of the trip. Nor is it imperative that you should have to visit the Hard Rock Cafe. Perhaps you will prefer to grab a sandwich instead, explore the streets and meet up with your friends at a later stage.
I will reaffirm that you should check out the basketball at 6th Ave and 3rd Street (instead of going up to Harlem). You will probably recognize the place from TV when you get there. There is always a large crowd watching and the basketball seems pretty good (God I hate that sport). It will also position you well to see the Village.
Grey%26#39;s Papaya is only a few blocks away (8th Street and 6th Ave) and could be a good place for cheap food.
Alternatively, I recommend Dojo (locations at 4th Street between Brodway and Mercer Street and 8th Street/St. Mark%26#39;s between 3rd and 2nd Avenues). The St. Mark%26#39;s location has outdoor seating. I also recommend this location because it%26#39;ll get you into the East Village, an area you should enjoy. The food is very inexpensive by New York standards and is pretty eclectic. It is a mix of Japanese/American. Cash only.
Does anyone know if the Astor Place cube is still spinnable (I%26#39;d heard they%26#39;d stopped that)?
If so, I recommend you spin it. For some odd reason I found great pleasure in doing that when I was 18.
For Broadway, there are lots of shows that will be wonderful. Spamalot probably won%26#39;t have tickets at the TKTS booth, but other possibilities would be Rent, Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Wedding Singer, Avenue Q, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, or Wicked. You might want to check www.broadwaybox.com--they will occasionally have discounts on tickets in advance, which would be helpful for you if you want to get something specific.
Ellis Island is a great idea. Another amazing museum that you might be interested in is the Tenement Museum. It tells the story of the immigrants who lived and worked on the Lower East Side. That area is full of historic buildings that are now very gentrified. If you did the Tenement Museum on Saturday afternoon (get tickets in advance), you could stay in that area to get dinner somewhere on the Lower East Side (Katz%26#39;s is a famous New York deli with pastrami, and there are TONS of cute little restaurants to choose from if pastrami isn%26#39;t your thing. You can then get dessert at Sugar Sweet Sunshine (delicious layer cakes and cupcakes) on Rivington Street, crepes at one of the many creperies, or gelato at Il Laboratori di Gelato. There are tons of young people in the area and lots of bars; even if you can%26#39;t drink, you can still hang out and enjoy the people watching.
Enjoy!
Oh, I also realized that you don%26#39;t have any art museums in your itinerary. You might be interested in the Museum of Modern Art, which is wonderful. And of course, there%26#39;s always the Met. You can stay for as long or as short of a time as you wish, but both of those are really amazing, not-to-be-missed experiences.
For TV tapings, try the Daily Show website or look up details for getting tickets to see the Dave Letterman or Conan O%26#39;Brien shows. You have to do it in advance, so check the websites now. You could also go see the Today show in the morning and stand outside on a plaza.
Have fun!
Your organization is really impressive!
Spamalot is still in too big demand to be on the TKTS line. Another source for discounted tickets is playbill.com.
I%26#39;d be flexible with the Saturday dinner. When you%26#39;re in the Village or Soho you%26#39;ll probably run into something that looks appealing.
If you have reserved seating for the Muse concert, you probably dont need to get there as soon as the doors open. If its General Admission, you probably want to get there earlier to get on line.
Check out summerstage.org for free concerts in Central Park. There%26#39;s no need to pay to go inside the fence - you can set up outside the venue and hear everything. In fact, you can hear everything from the Sheep Meadow, which is a nice place to hang out and watch the world champion freestyle Frisbee players in action.
I know its a first trip, and you%26#39;re very enthusiastic, but I really doubt you need to get to the Indianapolis airport 2 hours 45 minutes before a domestic flight. 1.5 hours is probably more than enough if you want to be safe. You can actually go online, print out your boarding passes 24 hours in advance and go straight to the gate unless you%26#39;re checking bags. Yes, I know they%26#39;ve been saying 2 hours since 9/11, but I fly all the time out of busier airports (LaGuardia and O%26#39;Hare) and only leave an hour and am always early.
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