Empire State Building w/ 6yo & 3yo

[laniriveira]

Headed to NYC for 3 nights pre-cruise sightseeing. Definitely planning to go to the Empire State Building. Wondering when is the best time to go ( the least possible waiting times ), can we take umbrella strollers, and is it worth going all the way to the 102nd floor?

I do know about the express tickets, don't want to purchase them :P I'm not looking for no wait just a ballpark time frame when they are less crowded.

[laniriveira]

Just realized I posted in the 'Family Thread' ... sorry! I guess someone can help me with the stroller question, are they allowed? Thanks again!

[bus man]

Actually, I don't know about strollers, as I haven't taken my kids there (yet), and in any case they're out of strollers now. It's likely to be less busy on a weekday than a weekend, but there are no guarantees. That said, the line moves reasonably quickly. Don't bother going to the 102nd floor. The view is out of "porthole" style windows. Whereas on the 86th floor, you can go outside onto an open-air deck. The wall is high and there is a metal fence above it, so no worries about falling off. Have fun!

[grandma*knows*best]

How about visiting their website? You should find all the information you need.

 

http://www.esbnyc.com/faq.asp

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Definitely buy express tickets otherwise you will be in tremendously long line. I have been there twice and the second time we even had express tickets and bagged it because even the express line was too long for then 8 year old. I don't think a 6 yr. old or 3 yr. old will really care about doing the Empire State Building. Yes- you can bring strollers.

 

If you are in NYC- Central Park is the best place for kids- there is the Zoo which is excellent, the Boathouse Restaurant, Horse Drawn Carriages, Bike "Rickshaw" rides- which I highly recommend. There is Toys R Us in Times Square, which is a hit with my kids.

 

If you want to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty- you can take the Staten Island Ferry- which has no lines, is cheaper and would be fun for two little ones.

 

For dinner- I highly recommend Rosa Mexicano near Lincoln Center- for excellent Mexican food, nice ambiance and decent prices.

[tinkandpan]

I could be wrong, but i don't think strollers were allowed on the elevators. THe lines are long, no matter when you go- first there is the security line and then the regular line to go up. It moves quickly but it is long nontheless. THe one thing you can do is to make sure you buy your tickets ahead of time online and that eliminates standing on ticket line. I would say if you can get there early, that's the quickest time on line. Otherwise it just is what it is. I think the last time we waited about 1.4 hours total before we got up. In my opinion- no need to go all the way to the top. The outside 86th floor is more than sufficient.

[reallyitsmema]

Headed to NYC for 3 nights pre-cruise sightseeing. Definitely planning to go to the Empire State Building. Wondering when is the best time to go ( the least possible waiting times ), can we take umbrella strollers, and is it worth going all the way to the 102nd floor?

I do know about the express tickets, don't want to purchase them :P I'm not looking for no wait just a ballpark time frame when they are less crowded.

Another option instead of the Empire State Building is the Top of the Rock.

 

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/

 

They definitely allow collapsable strollers and have either open time tickets or a scheduled time ticket.

[fivefirsts]

My advice is to skip the Empire State Building and go to Top of the Rock instead. We did both in April 2012 with a 4 and 6 yr old. Empire State took a LONG time in multiple lines, and when we got to the top (on a Tuesday) it was packed. The high concrete walls meant we had to lift the kids up to see through the wire fencing, or find a few narrow gaps in the wall. (There is plenty of fencing, so I was not worried about safety.) There were people everywhere, and I thought the kids were going to get stepped on more than once. We entered the building waited for 20-30 min to get through security, we had tickets already, that line was probably 30+ minutes, then got in line for the elevators and waited over one hour. It was a Tuesday afternoon- I was shocked at the crowds and long lines. The kids were bored and cranky by the time we got to the top, and then they couldn't see well because of the high walls so we had to lift them up the whole time. The view was great, but the kids were not as excited about it as we had hoped.

Top of the Rock on the other hand was amazing. We went on a weekend, and there was almost no line. It took 15 minutes from the time we arrived, went through security, bought our tickets and were at the top. The entire place is walled in plexiglass, so the kids could see from anywhere. It was not very crowded, and there were 3 levels of viewing. For us it was a much better experience. Granted it is not as tall, but we found the trade off definately worth it. We will not return to the Empire State Building, but would gladly return to Top of the Rock.

[katrina1122]

Haven't done Empire State with kids, but the lines are long.

 

I was in a line outside on the sidewalk for 10 mins when a security gaurd came out offering the express tix and no waiting. So a bunch of us went for that. What he actually meant was no waiting for the express tix. There was still an hour long line inside the building wandering back and forth through 2 floors. It was super humid that day and the air was doing nothing so it was also obnoxiously hot and I got claustrophobic in line. I made it to the 86th which was fun, but it was not worth the hassle of getting there. I'm sure a child would have been in agony.

[nyyhoneybee]

Definitely buy express tickets otherwise you will be in tremendously long line. I have been there twice and the second time we even had express tickets and bagged it because even the express line was too long for then 8 year old. I don't think a 6 yr. old or 3 yr. old will really care about doing the Empire State Building. Yes- you can bring strollers.

 

If you are in NYC- Central Park is the best place for kids- there is the Zoo which is excellent, the Boathouse Restaurant, Horse Drawn Carriages, Bike "Rickshaw" rides- which I highly recommend. There is Toys R Us in Times Square, which is a hit with my kids.

 

If you want to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty- you can take the Staten Island Ferry- which has no lines, is cheaper and would be fun for two little ones.

 

For dinner- I highly recommend Rosa Mexicano near Lincoln Center- for excellent Mexican food, nice ambiance and decent prices.

 

As a New Yorker, only thing from this post I disagree with 100% is skip Rosa Mexicano. If you want food recs, just ask for them but there is better Mexican in the same price range.

 

And I second Top of the Rock over the Empire State Building!