Westin Times Square – HilaryStyle

Times Square!

If you’ve never been it’s just got to be on your itinerary! Now, I know some might disagree with me, but according to Travel and Leisure, Times Square is the #3 tourist destination in the WORLD with annual visitors of 50,000,000! There’s a reason for that!

Yes, It’s crowded and yes, it’s loud and chaotic, but it’s also fantastic, exciting, and a true spectacle worth witnessing! With the flashing lights and neon on all sides, Broadway shows, the neon, the many costumed characters and I mean “characters”, the neon, and did I mention the NEON, it’s no wonder that it’s such a popular destination! Even the subway stations are lit up! It’s so bright you can see the glow well before you actually arrive!

A lot of the area is pedestrian friendly and there is an outdoor seating area where you can sit and take in the scene or eat a slice from one of the many pizza spots. Over on the 47th Street side is where you’ll find the famous ticket booth, TKTS, where you can purchase same day discounted tickets for Broadway and Off Broadway shows. You’ll find it under a giant red staircase, bleachers if you will, where people can congregate and enjoy the view. If you climb to the top step it’s a great photo opportunity! Keep in mind tickets for matinees are sold in the morning and evening performances are sold in the afternoon. Check the board for available shows.

Times Square is a great place for kids! When asked which sites they were most interested in seeing while in New York, both boys mentioned Times Square. M&Ms World, The Hershey’s Chocolate World Store, Toys R Us and The Disney Store are just some of the big name stores you’ll find! The Toys R Us has its own Ferris wheel, inside!

Elliot was especially interested in visiting M&Ms World which is an experience all in itself! Open from 9 am to Midnight every day of the week its jam packed with people! You’ll also find every color and type of M&M you’ve ever heard of, and many you haven’t. Want to make your own mix of colors and flavors? You can! Want to personalize your M&Ms, you can do that too! Maybe you need an M&M lunch box, backpack, or beach towel? They have them! Also, pjs, toys, t-shirts and pretty much everything else you can think up! After buying about 27 pounds of M&Ms we escaped… to Hershey’s Chocolate World! Can anyone say stomach ache?

Times Square has no shortage of hotels in all price ranges and most of the larger chains are represented. While it’s not my personal favorite part of town to stay, its pretty loud all night long, I recently stayed at the Westin Times Square and you can read my thoughts in my New York! An Overview…post.

If you’re planning a trip to the theater while in New York you’ll end up in Times Square, but I highly recommend a night time visit!

Speaking of the theater… I’ve seen Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway twice and it was well worth it! The first time when visiting last October and again this past visit with my folks and the boys! While tickets are on the expensive side, I would recommend sitting on the main floor and trying to sit in the aisle. The show features some neat surprises and they are best seen from the aisle seats.

This was Elliot’s first musical and I’m glad I waited until he was just about 7. When entering the theater he said, “No need to go, I already know what happens in this story, let’s go do something else.” Uh Oh! He was skeptical, but ended up loving it, both boys did! There are booster seats available and snacks and beverages are allowed in the theater. Adult beverages too! I will say there really aren’t enough bathrooms for the volume of people attending, but if you get there a little early there should be enough time!

There are other kid friendly shows currently playing on Broadway, Aladdin and Mathilda being two of them. We saw Aladdin a few years ago in Seattle and really liked it, but we liked Lion King more. Mathilda is coming to our area soon and we plan on seeing it here, so decided to skip it in New York.

Broadway & W 42nd St.

In the center of it all

M&Ms

Waiting for the show to start

Adult beverage sippy cup

Okay, I’ll give this show a chance

Art in the Lion King Theater

Subway station

New York! New York!

One of the absolute best cities in the world! Every time I start thinking that maybe I’m tired of it or that it’s lost its charm I go back for another visit and fall in love all over again!

I’ve been visiting New York since I was 17 and even lived 30 minutes away for a full year and although I have my favorite go to places it never fails to amaze me how this city can feel so new and like home all at the same time. The sights, sounds, smells I love it all!

This particular trip was a special occasion as we went with our extended family to celebrate my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary! I thought it might be fun if everyone wrote down their top 5 New York “must-sees” and we would go from there. Suddenly five full days, one evening, and a half day didn’t seem like much time at all! How would we fit it all in!? Although we didn’t get to everything on the list we did get quite a lot accomplished!

We went Uptown, Downtown and Midtown. We went to the Lower East Side, the Upper West Side and everywhere in between. We saw the American Museum of Natural History, the Central Park Zoo, The Whitney Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Neue Gallery. We shopped and ate in the Meatpacking District, SoHo, Chelsea and the Lower East Side. We ate pizza and saw a Broadway show in Times Square! We took two boat rides and visited both Liberty Island and Ellis Island! We walked the High Line and wandered Central Park. Some of us walked across the Brooklyn Bridge while others visited the 911 Memorial. It was a whirlwind of a trip and a fabulous time!

Here are some of my thoughts about getting here and around.

Arrival

When traveling to New York there are three different airports to choose from. Newark, JFK and LaGuardia. JFK is about an hour out from Manhattan and the others are about 30 – 40 minutes. There are many ways to get into the city from each airport. I find the easiest way is to just jump in a taxi, but it’s not the least expensive. Their are shuttle busses with round trip fares available and limousines too.

Getting around in Manhattan

Taxi! Uber, Subway, and walking… There are many ways to get around the island of Manhattan and all are good. If you ask my little guy he’ll choose TAXI! every time. He’s the only almost 7 year old I know who has been hailing cabs since he was three years old! He’s constantly putting his hand up and waving them down. Thankfully, they don’t seem to stop for small children, either that or they just don’t see him down there. 😉

Taxi!

Just like in the movies you can look down the street and you will see a literal sea of yellow cabs. The only problem is getting one to stop! You’ll notice there is a light on the top of the cabs. The trick is figuring out what the different light combinations mean. Here are some helpful hints:

When just the center is lit highlighting the medallion number the cab is available.
When the medallion number and the side lamps are lit the cab is off duty.
When the lights are dark it means the cab has a fare already.

It can be especially difficult if you’re trying to hail a taxi in the rain, late at night or when an event has just gotten out.

Uber

During my October visit we used Uber quite a bit and often found it easier and more reliable then standing around trying to hail a taxi. I suppose it depends on where you are and what time of day. You’ll need to download the Uber app before you can use it. Once you’re all set up it’s as simple as “calling” the car. No need to pull out your wallet or figure out the tip.

Subway

This past visit we all purchased 7 day unlimited ride Metro cards for $31 each and that worked great as well. I downloaded the MTA Subway App and it’s fantastic for route planning and finding out about any changes or outages at the different stations. I entered in our destination and current location and my Apple Map would then switch me directly to the MTA Subway app with directions for which stations and detailed instructions. The subways, can be HOT, loud, and crowded. However, they are surprisingly clean in both the stations and the cars themselves.

All of the subway stations are unique and a lot of them have wonderful art on the walls. You’ll often find people singing and playing instruments in the subways as well. Sometimes you’ll find people dancing on the subway cars and we saw quite a few people panhandling while riding. You might find that taking the local train during rush hour is a better choice than the express. Especially if you’re traveling with kids.

Walking

If it’s not too brutally hot or too bitterly cold there is always the option of walking from place to place! There is no street in NYC that doesn’t have something of interest on it and often I’ll find that I’ve walked miles before I even realize it.

Hotels

My past two visits found me staying in Midtown. This wouldn’t be my first choice of neighborhood, but it worked for our group. I’ve also stayed at the SoHo Grand and it was lovely, but the rooms are very small. Most New York hotel rooms are and if you’re traveling with a family you’ll want to make sure that the room offers two beds.

This most recent trip we stayed at the Grand Hyatt on 42nd and Park and overall it was really nice. It’s located within walking distance to both Rockefeller Center and Times Square and is attached to Grand Central Station, so it’s easy to get everywhere! There is a cute little convenience spot called The Market in the lobby where you can pick up snacks, drinks and most importantly coffee!