Everything & Anything New York City

M4RKM

malkie76 wrote: »

I've been to the US hundreds of times, and lived there for a considerable period of time too. I'm fully aware of the variability of US immigration. I was however asking if anyone has had any recent experience in arriving in T7 at 7pm, and were first off the plane. Thanks for your help though - I appreciate your response!

According to the US Customs and Border Protection Airport Wait Time website (http://apps.cbp.gov/awt/) arriving at British Airways Terminal, between 7pm and 8pm in October, you get the following information.

Minimum Wait Time 0
Average Wait Time 47
Maximum Wait Time 100
Passenger Arriving 311
Average Booths Open 13

So, your answer is anything between 0 and 100 minutes. You can't get fairer than facts really!

M

malkie76

That's really useful - I imagine getting off the plan first should have us far below the average wait time! Brilliant website!

Marcia17

Thanks for all your advice so far.

I have a few more questions...

I am trying to plan my trip from JFK to our hotel, I'd like to go by metro but need an idiot proof guide on how as i live on the Isle of Wight and our exposure to public transport is limited, apart from the extortionate ferries

Can anyone advise or recommend on somewhere near the hotel for breakfast.

Has anyone been to any of the Christmas markets if so which would you recommend?

Is there a good place to buy converse boots my daughter loves them?

I have booked to see the Nutcracker as a surprise for my Mum on the on the Sunday night :T and would like to see a show on Saturday 24th November or Monday 26th what would you recommend and is it better to book before we go?

Thanks again

M4RKM

Marcia17 wrote: »

Thanks for all your advice so far.
...

I am trying to plan my trip from JFK to our hotel, I'd like to go by metro but need an idiot proof guide on how as i live on the Isle of Wight and our exposure to public transport is limited, apart from the extortionate ferries

Can anyone advise or recommend on somewhere near the hotel for breakfast.

...

Is there a good place to buy converse boots my daughter loves them?

...

1) On the first page of this long thread, there is a guide to getting into and around Manhattan. One of the big parts on it is how to get from JFK to Midtown.

Now, First things first. Different transportation is called by unique names in NYC. Calling something the Metro, will inevitably get directions to Metro North, which is a commuter railroad heading upstate. Obviously, I understand that you're using Metro to mean the Subway, but some people wouldn't. Paris has a Metro, London has the Tube, NYC has a Subway.

So, Doubletree Hilton Metropolitan Hotel is somewhere in NYC. It's a big place, so ideally, when asking for directions, it's best to give an address, such as Lexington and 51st Street.

Now we know where it is, it is SIMPLE. Get off the plane, through immigration, pick up luggage, through customs, to the AirTrain towards Jamaica. When at Jamaica (last stop, you can't go wrong), pay the $5 each to exit. Enter the Subway and Buy 7 Day Metrocards ($29, cheap and the best transportation around NYC), and board the E Train towards Manhattan.

Once you traverse Queens, and get into Manhattan, you want to get off at Lexington Ave / 53rd Street, which is the FIRST stop in Manhattan.

You're then a short 2 block walk from your hotel.


2) Breakfast - You could walk over to 3rd Ave / 50th Street and try ess-a-bagel, some of the best bagels in NYC, but I'm not a huge fan of overplanning breakfast. Just grab a coffee, and a bagel/roll from any corner deli. They're always great quality, and filling, and more importantly, cheap!

3) Modells is the NYC Sports stores, so try there, or Macy's or even Century 21. Finally you could try the Converse Store on Broadway / Prince in Soho.

I snipped out the other questions as I can't answer them well, but hope that has given you enough info on the ones I could answer.

M

curlygirl1971

Marcia17 wrote: »

I have booked to see the Nutcracker as a surprise for my Mum on the on the Sunday night :T and would like to see a show on Saturday 24th November or Monday 26th what would you recommend and is it better to book before we go?

Thanks again

I think it depends what you'd like to see. Some productions you'd need to book in advance (Book of Mormon) but tickets for other shows appear regularly at the TKTS booth. Take a look at their website - it gives details of shows and locations and opening times of booths.

We happened to be near the one in Brooklyn a couple of weeks ago, and there was no queue at 3pm; we got tickets for Mary Poppins, 8 rows from front, 50% off ticket price. On our regular budget we've never afforded great seats like these. However I believe you can queue for maybe an hour in Times Square (maybe someone else here can give more accurate info). If your time is short in NYC then perhaps you don't want to spend any of that time making sure you're in a particular location at a particular time and then queue up........but the savings are attractive........

We've seen The Jersey Boys (high energy, great recognisable music) Wicked (great story, fantastic production) Mary Poppins (Practically perfect in everyway!) and a new play called Grace which we also thought was good.

Have a wonderful trip

enigma1

Hi,

Going to NY for long weekend at the end of Feb, I know I know Brrr!!!

Please can someone have a look at my list of things to do & put them in a sensible order. We arrive Thursday afternoon (about 2) and leave late Sun night. List is as follows: [FONT=&quot]Empire state (I'm thinking Thursday night for that). Top od the Rock. Friends Building. Grand central Station. Brooklyn bridge. Night bus tour. SOL Commuter Ferry. woodbury Common Outlet. 5th ave. Central park. Little Italy. 9/11 memorial. Times sq. Broadway. We'll be staying at The Wellington Hotel (think its on 7th Ave somewhere!)

Thanks for any advice
[/FONT]

curlygirl1971

enigma1 wrote: »

Hi,

Going to NY for long weekend at the end of Feb, I know I know Brrr!!!

Please can someone have a look at my list of things to do & put them in a sensible order. We arrive Thursday afternoon (about 2) and leave late Sun night. List is as follows: [FONT=&quot]Empire state (I'm thinking Thursday night for that). Top od the Rock. Friends Building. Grand central Station. Brooklyn bridge. Night bus tour. SOL Commuter Ferry. woodbury Common Outlet. 5th ave. Central park. Little Italy. 9/11 memorial. Times sq. Broadway. We'll be staying at The Wellington Hotel (think its on 7th Ave somewhere!)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for any advice[/FONT]

I stayed at the Wellington a few years ago. If you're lucky and the receptionist likes you - you may just get a room with a view.......:)

WTC memorial - you'll need to book tickets in advance, unless by that point it's less 'popular' and they're accepting walk-ins. Check availability a couple of weeks before and see if there are last minute slots available.

If you land at about 2 then by the time you've got to your hotel etc it's going to be around 5. So doing something like ESB / TotR is ideal for your first day. Have a wander around Times Square and see the lights as well this evening. Maybe go over to Grand Central Station on 42nd in the evening - great view of the Chrysler from there and looks wonderful at night.

ESB / TotR - I know what its like when you got to NYC for the first time - you want to do ESB because that's what everyone has done since time began...... It's exactly what I did! But seriously - you don't need to. It cold up there - esp in Feb and it can also be quite cramped. TotR is spacious, there's a comfy indoor area and the view of ESB lit up at night is wonderful. You only need to spend your money and time on one.

I've also done the Night Bus Tour and it goes over the Brooklyn Bridge - no stopping though. We really enjoyed it.

As for the rest of your plan - to be honest any 'plan' I've ever put together for NYC has had to be seriously revised so I'll leave that for someone else.

M4RKM

enigma1 wrote: »

Hi,

Going to NY for long weekend at the end of Feb, I know I know Brrr!!!

Please can someone have a look at my list of things to do & put them in a sensible order. We arrive Thursday afternoon (about 2) and leave late Sun night. List is as follows: Empire state (I'm thinking Thursday night for that). Top od the Rock. Friends Building. Grand central Station. Brooklyn bridge. Night bus tour. SOL Commuter Ferry. woodbury Common Outlet. 5th ave. Central park. Little Italy. 9/11 memorial. Times sq. Broadway. We'll be staying at The Wellington Hotel (think its on 7th Ave somewhere!)

Thanks for any advice

I'm also going at the End of Feb. No Brrrr really needed, as the temperatures could be approaching nice spring weather.

I arrive Wednesday afternoon, and the great thing for yourself is that you arrive during New York Craft Beer Week so you'll have plenty of beery events to do in the evening.

If your plane arrives at 2pm, you'll get out of the airport by 3:30pm, and to your hotel by 4:30pm-5pm, so you really don't have a lot of time that day. Even with a flight late back to the UK on Sunday, you'll have to check out at midday at your hotel, and then you've got 1 hour to get to the airport, and minimum 3 hours before to check in etc. Even if it is a 9pm flight, you're leaving Manhattan at 5pm, so I would leave Sunday more flexible.

I wouldn't bother on such a short trip to waste a whole day going to a outlet mall, where they've got lower quality products to sell at lower prices. And it is expensive to get there. And you probably don't have time. (Actually, you don't have time!)

Did you know that Grand Central Station is actually a Post Office, and you probably want to see Grand Central Terminal (true fact!)

5th Ave is nearly 11 miles long, you may need to visit a certain part of it, same about Broadway, that's actually even longer, so I'll deduce that you want to do shopping on the bit of 5th Ave, and you want to visit the Theater District of Broadway.

Have you booked your hotel yet? There are some amazing bargains around right now, and the Wellington isn't that great... ?

Anyway, enough at the pedantry and let me help and plan your holiday for you.

• Thursday PM.
  
• Empire State Building (1-2 hours depending on queue)
• Times Square & Broadway (1 hour)

• Friday
  
• Staten Island Ferry (1 hour)
• 9/11 Memorial (45 mins)
• Brooklyn Bridge (1 hour)
• Chinatown* (1 hour)
• Head to Greenwich Village
• Friends Building (1 hour)
• High Line (1 hour)

• Saturday
  
• Central Park (2 hours)
• Top Of The Rock (1 hour)
• 5th Ave Shopping (2 hours)
• Grand Central Terminal (1 hour)

Slot in your Night Bus Tour if you must somewhere, unfortunately Little Italy* is no more, so hence the addition of China Town, as that is there instead. I've added times on, so you can gauge how long it will take to do that attraction (from my experience), but that doesn't take into account how to get there etc etc. You really do have packed days.

Hope that is of some assistance..

M

enigma1

Hi curlygirl1971 & M4RKM

Thank you so much for the helpful tips. must sort out my stations from my terminals:rotfl:

I know its going to be a whistle stop tour. TBH I can live with out Woodbury Common if I must ....sob

As for the Wellington well its booked now & i was hoping they'd have somewhere we could store our bags on the last day while we cram a bit more in!

curlygirl1971

enigma1 wrote: »

As for the Wellington well its booked now & i was hoping they'd have somewhere we could store our bags on the last day while we cram a bit more in!

Yes, I didn't want to say anything as I presumed you'd booked. It's not great, but don't worry, it's far from terrible either. It's probably like many of the huge hotels in NYC operating in old buildings - could be cleaner and could be better kept. Anyway we had no problems and the staff were helpful. We were lucky enough to get a room with a view down 7th avenue towards TSq AND Central Park (it was a corner room with a balcony). I seem to remember breakfast in the immediate vicinity was very expensive, so check menu before you go in and make sure you're happy. I think we just found a bagel shop thereafter.

Yes the concierge will keep your bags for you - remember to save a little tip money