NYC Trip

Here are some ideas that contain links to reviews for things to do in NYC.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/triplog/644

What a great time to visit the city! Since it's the girls' first time visiting, they will probably want to see a lot of the "tourist attractions" - Empire State building, etc. My advice is to buy tickets for the hop-on-hop-off double decker buses. It will take so much pressure off from trying to get around the city. My MIL has visited NYC for years and recently took a group of people who had never been. She decided to use the hop-on buses (this is a lady who usually hires a driver) and said that it was perfect. Everyone had a blast and they got to hit all of the things & areas everyone was interested in. Hope that helps! Have fun!

S.,
You can also buy a coupon book that has tickets to the museum, the Empire State Building and other attractions at a discount. I believe we bought ours at Met. With those, you also get to skip the lines.
My son and I used the subways. Sometimes it was confusing on which one to get on, but everyone is very helpful so we always got to where we needed to be.
Have fun!
Victoria

We just went to NYC in August for a week with our two sons, 15 and 11 and we had a wonderful time. Here are my suggestions: Get a subway pass ($27 a week and includes the Metro buses, not sure about a four day pass), but ride the bus instead of the subway. Of course in November, it wont be so hot, but we were miserable in the subway and found that the buses were very nice, not crowded and easier for us to figure out. Also, you got to see where you were going. Do plan to ride the subway a least once, just for the experience and on the weekends they usually have street entertainers in the subway. Definitely do a Broadway Show if you can! I did not get any good advice about buying tickets, but stumbled on broadwaybox.com and playbill.com. Both offer discount tickets on select shows and the sooner you buy, the better your seats. We had been told to go to the half-price ticket booths in Times Square, but you have to stand in line for hours and don't necessarily get to go to a show you really want to see. We saw Phantom of the Opera and it was fabulous and they have the cheapest discount tickets. Also, check out the lottery for tickets. Two and a half hours before curtain time at some of the shows, you go to the theater and put your name in the drawing. They draw out about 20 names and those people get to buy FRONT ROW tickets for around $30! (You must have cash!) We did this and my 11 year old son won! He and his 15 year old brother got to sit on the front row of Wicked and they loved it! Of course, you may not win, but it is only a 30 minute time investment instead of hours! A fun experience. Don't know if your daughters would like this, but our sons love the show "Whose line is it anyway" which is a comedy improv show. They have a similar type show at the National Comedy Theater in NYC. It was only $15 for a ticket and a very small intimate theater. (They also had discount tickets on broadway box for $12). It was really funny and the audience gets in on the act. My kids loved it and we went both Friday and Saturday night. We bought a New York CityPass for $79 (not the New York Pass) and it was a great deal. We did not have time to see all of the museums, but it did move us up in line and we did some things we would not have done otherwise. We had already bought tickets online to the Statue of Liberty (a must to have reserved tickets) and so we took the 2-hour Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise around Manhattan that was an option instead of the Statue of Liberty. It was very interesting and informative. Since you are only there for four days, you may not want to take the time to go to the Statue of Liberty (it takes several hours, but you get up close to it on the Circle Line Cruise for pictures.) Or, you can take the Statten Island Ferry (for Free) and it also takes you near the Statue of Liberty. We were there for a week, so we had more time. The Empire State Building is VERY crowded and takes several hours or more to get up. We were told it was very frustrating and to go to the top of Rockefeller Center instead - The Top of the Rock. It was wonderful! No lines, not crowded. We went up just before sunset and so we got to see the city in daylight and watch the sunset and lights come on and we could see the Empire State Building. Definitely plan out your day and try to see things that are near each other or you can spend a lot of time just getting from place to place. Times Square is awesome, especially at night. The museums are fantastic, but would take you a day to see each one completely. That is why I like the CityPass, because I didn't feel bad if we only were in the museums for an hour or so, since it was already paid for and came with the package. We enjoyed the Natural History Museum the most, but we have young boys.

I used to live there and whenever company came to visit we would dot the Red Double Decker bus. It goes all over town, lets you get off and get the next one, which comes every 15 minutes. You see so much the the city! If you can, try and see a broadway show too! And Central park is a must. So many things to do! Check out the bus thing for sure.
http://www.newyorksightseeing.com/

My daughter and I went a few yrs ago and loved it. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria and we walked a LOT. However, we are walkers and don't have an issue with that.

We did have a pass for the double decker buses and we used those to get to and from locations such as Battery Park to go to Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, Chinatown, etc. we rode that bus a lot and loved it.

We went to a broadway show (Lion King) which was wonderful. We have since seen Wicked in Dallas and it is a show we would love to see on Broadway if we get back and if it is still around.

Carriage Ride through Central Park is a must see. We ate at little hole in the wall restaurants and loved it.

Enjoy!!

I just got back from a trip in July. My favorite thing to do is the walking food tour in Greenwich Village. Depending on the weather it is a must! Go when you first arrive so that you know what restaurants you want to go back and enjoy during your trip. The website is www.foodsofny.com. The 5 hour bus tour from www.OnBoardNewYorkTours.com was also great. You get on and off at various stops and see alot of the city, like ground zero, wall street, central park. You also get to take a ferry out to see the statue of liberty from the water. Very fun. You can get discount tickets at the TKTS booth in times square the day of the show. It's a great way to save money. Whatever you like NYC has tons to do and you will find your own fun.

What is on Broadway? We missed the Lion King in 2004 because of money. Fao Scharwtz, Macys and Toys R Us (worlds largest). Empire state building and of course Ellis Island and the "Lady".

Comfortable shoes and dress in layers. We went for Christmas a couple of years ago. The subway is a great inexpensive way to get around but you still do a lot of walking.

www.citypass.com/new-york is a great deal. Definitely skip the Empire State Bldg, but don't miss top of the rock. They also sell a day/night pass so you can visit once during the day and once at night - so worth it! The Natural History Museum is great, Van Gogh's Starry Night is at the Museum of Modern Art and the Statue of Liberty is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The NBC store has a tour called the NBC Experience. You get to see behind the scenes of some of their shows. Check the website though because those tours sell out fairly quickly. Subways aren't that hard to figure out. They run down 8th, 7th and 5th ave for the most part so you just need to figure out which one you need. There are iPhone apps with subway maps if you have an iPhone, you can download maps at www.mta.info/maps or you can get one in most subway stations.www.nycgo.com has lots of info on how to get around, too. I've never waited more that 5-10 minutes at the TKTS booth. The broadway tickets are 1/2 price. There is one in Times Square and one at the South Street Seaport. Visiting the museums or Statue of Liberty will take up the better part of a day so plan accordingly. Wear comfortable shoes and have a great time.