Visiting New York: The Empire State Building

We visited New York City in July 2017. We went there with friends and stayed in a house we rented near Central Park. This is the first time the kids were ever in New York, and so our schedule included the most popular attractions:

1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2. The Statue of Liberty

3. The American Museum of Natural History

4. The Guggenheim Museum

5. Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum

6. The Empire State Building

7. Broadway: School of Rock

I had never been to the Empire State Building. I had been to NYC before this trip, but I remember the long line that formed outside the Empire State Building and thinking it wouldn’t be a good idea to go in. This time, it was part of our City Pass and there was no way around it. 

There wasn’t a line outside like I remembered. On the contrary, it was pretty empty. We entered the building, were directed to electric stairs and then proceeded to ticketing; well, actually, this is one of the few times when the City Pass ticket was our actual ticket. It was pretty amazing to bypass the ticket line for once. There were actually people who asked where we had gotten the City Pass because they envied how we hadn’t stopped in the first line to purchase a ticket. Neat.

We made a line of about 10 minutes before getting on the elevator. The ride was cool because they now have the ceiling show an animation that lets you feel like you’re climbing the building as they are building it. After your ears pop you get of on the 80th floor, were you can see the city from windows. This is actually pretty neat, because you are in the safety of the glass and the kids don’t worry you. Gulp. In this area, there’re also several boards with information about the building from the time it was build and how it has been modernized. This was my favorite floor. The gift shop is also on this floor.

From the 80th floor you go to the 86th floor, which where you actually go outside the building to the main deck. Not cool. I mean, there’s protection, but I still got so nervous about the kids climbing on top of things and feeling like they were about to plummet to their death. Granted, they are old enough to know better, but as the mom, I just never got comfortable… so, after a very short view of the city we went back down to the 80th floor and then home. 

Don’t get me wrong, the view is incredible, and you can spend the time trying to find special locations around the city… but that’s really all there is to it.

cheers!