NYC | Imamother

amother

Navy

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 3:51 pm

Hi,
I’m traveling to NYC (Manhattan) with my teenage kids for a few days. I want to give them a nice time without spending crazy amounts of money. We will probably be mostly in the midtown area. Looking for ideas for shopping, activities and food. Don’t really want to see a Broadway show as I don’t think we can find ONE that everyone will enjoy. (I’d take them when we do this type of trip 1:1.) For food I need slike me Pizza type in dead and maybe a restaurant or two that isn’t crazy expensive but will make them feel like they are being treated to a night out.

ellacoe

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 4:17 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Bravo Pizza on Broadway and W 37th Street has great pizza with huge variety of Italian toppings and good salads.
Deli Kasba on the Upper West side has good food and good prices.

Bravo Pizza moved, it now at 107 West 37th.
Eden Wok 43 East 34th Street (near the Empire State Building and Macys) has Chinese and Poke and Sushi

If the weather is agreeable the High Line is very nice. The Museum Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side is interesting. The Jewish Museum has a Russ and Daughters restaurant which is good and not crazy expensive. For some reason people like walking around Times Square. There is always the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.

livinginflatbus

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 4:22 pm

Never been to it personally but they say gullivers gate is great . There’s also an underwater aquarium in Times Square area. And Ripleys believe it or not but that is pricey . You can get better deals on these on Groupon. There’s free ice skating in byrant Park but u need to bring ur own skates or rent one for a fee.

amother

Navy

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 4:56 pm

ellacoe wrote:

Thanks for the good ideas! What is the high line?

Amelia Bedelia

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 5:09 pm

livinginflatbus wrote:

Gulliver's Gates is very pricey and personally I found it overrated.

Interesting about the ice skating at Bryant Park. Is it really free, and are there always available skates for rentals? Do they carry kids sizes? Would it be appropriate for my 7 & 11 year olds? I may want to take my girls during midwinter vacation.

doctorima

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 6:16 pm

Bryant Park ice skating is free admission, so if you have your own skates, there's no charge. Renting skates used to be around $10-$12, but I believe they recently raised it to about $20. They also have lockers available for free use if you have your own lock; otherwise, they charge a bag check fee to watch your shoes and other belongings.

ellacoe

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 6:22 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks for the good ideas! What is the high line?

The High Line is where they took the old railways next to the West Side Highway downtown on 14th Street and made them into a pedestrian walkway and park. The neighborhood is also fun to walk around. Its in Chelsea and the Meatpacking district. The Whitney Museum is down there. There are certain days or hours where admission is discounted or free.

I don't know if it is something that your kids would like but they have Escape the Room places in the city. Also check out Gilt City and Groupon for discounts and interesting ideas of things to do.

There is also a Hop on Hop off bus tour around Manhattan. The other thing that may be interesting is the Oculus. Down at the Freedom Tower (where the Twin Towers were), there is a memorial as well as two new shopping centers. The Oculus is interesting to see, and while you are there, there is a very large Century 21 store for discount shopping across the street.

singleagain

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 6:26 pm

I like the museum of natural history, bc it's got great variety for different interests. And the admission is only suggested. So unless you want to see a movie or a special exhibit, you can get in for nothing/a nominal dollar

flowerpower

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 6:42 pm

Amelia Bedelia wrote:

Yes. Perfect for them. They have these penguin thingies for beginners to help them navigatate without falling.

doctorima

Sun, Jan 21 2018, 6:54 pm

Another cool activity is an urban scavenger hunt called Stray Boots, that you can do in different neighborhoods. They text clues to your phone, and you have to find the answer and text it back to get the next clue. We've done several and really enjoyed them! Even better, it's quite affordable. A few are indoors, in case the weather's not good. Check out the web page for more info: https://www.strayboots.com/New-York/

chanchy123

Mon, Jan 22 2018, 1:01 am

Another vote for the Tenement Museum, my 12 year old really liked it. A Take them to the Statue of Liberty too. You can do the free Staten Island Ferry trip which doesn't get you on Liberty Island but is free and won't take more than two hours of your time. Also the 9/11 memorial (I know these are all downtown - but they work well with together and then you can do some shopping at Century 21)

Also the Met and Museum of Natural History are great teens and there are tons of kosher restaurants pretty close (we did Mexikosher - which is a fast food Mexican place near the Museum of Natural History and then crossed the park to the Met)

Edit - just to add that if your kids have ever watched a secular movie make sure to take them to Times Square it is just so iconic for anyone who grew up on Hollywood movies. I don't know if your kids are country bumpkins like mine (and we are Israelis to boot), but the flagship stores in Times Square are fun. M&Ms, Hershey's, Disney etc. I think there is a new Toys R Us there too but I don't know if it is nearly as nice as the old one.

Amelia Bedelia

Mon, Jan 22 2018, 6:07 pm

doctorima wrote:

I did a Strayboots scavenger hunt a couple of years ago in Manhattan and really enjoyed it. I think there was a Groupon for $12/2 people, plus there was a 20% Groupon promo. However, I recently looked into it again for my Florida vacation two weeks ago, and apparently they restructured Strayboots (no idea when) because it is no longer affordable. I chatted with them online. They now do custom group hunts and it is quite expensive. (When I did it, it was no longer done via text, but rather via an app. ) However, I came across something similar called Big City Hunt, which seems just as much fun. Didn't get to try it yet.

Last edited by Amelia Bedelia on Mon, Jan 22 2018, 8:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

Amelia Bedelia

Mon, Jan 22 2018, 6:10 pm

flowerpower wrote:

Yes. Perfect for them. They have these penguin thingies for beginners to help them navigatate without falling.

I am not a skater, and would observe along with my baby. Can I allow my seven year old do it without my assistance? She does not know how to Rollerblade.