Wow, **so **far off the mark. It’s a popular restaurant because those soup dumplings are the Food of the Gods (admittedly, most of the entrees are only about as good as you’d expect to find at the other restaurants in Chinatown (which still makes it damn good Chinese food overall)). The main drawback is the long wait times during peak hours.
Anyway, NinetyWt, I’d advise against the statue of liberty. It sucks up half a day and just isn’t very interesting. The Museum of Natural History can be skipped (seems like a better idea than it really is), but the Met *cannot *be skipped (though be warned: you could spend two days in there and not see everything).
Thank you everyone for all these helpful replies!
I’m beginning to think we need to all have lunch at Junior’s on the 26th. 
Do y’all think it will be too cold to do the Circle Line cruise?
Where in the south do you live?
Jackson, MS.
It’s funny you ask. When I mentioned to my transplanted sister (she’s lived in NYC, oh, 20+ years) that it would probably be too cold to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, she replied “not for me”.
I think the cruise sounds like a wonderful way to “see” part of the city - in a panoramic kinda way - and I would be OK with a steady cold temperature. It’s the wind I was thinking of. I’m not going to be real comfortable if it’s a 30-degree, windy day. A calm, 40-ish day I think I could handle. I may have to decide after we get there.
Broadway:
If kids are involved, you might try to get tickets for Shrek or Billy Elliot. I’ve heard only good things about Shrek. Billy Elliot, at least from what people have told me, is a mixed bag. Tickets for both are going to be very expensive. There’s also the Lion King. In the Heights might work too.
Skip the Little Mermaid. The actors are in heelies 'nuf said.
For adults only (kids will be bored out of their minds), South Pacific is still running. The leads have changed but it’s a wonderful production. Patti Lupone is spectacular in Gypsy. And Jersey Boys is excellent.
For the younger people in your group (teenagers and above). They might like:
Rockefeller Center
Just be warned that the ice skating ring is tiny. Still tons of people and window watching here. If you’re on 5th, don’t forget to look at the department
store windows (Lord and Taylor, Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s etc.).
Statue of Liberty (Staten Island Ferry?)
Just do the free ride on the ferry. You get a great view of the Statue of Liberty.
Museums
You could also do the Guggenheim, Whitney, the International Center of Photography and the Cloisters.
Also, if you go to the Met, there’s no set admissions fee. The suggested price is $20 per person, you don’t have to pay that. You can walk up to the ticket booth and give them a penny and ask for however many tokens you need.
They might give you a dirty look but they won’t stop you.
You can get a museum pass that gets you into about 20 museums (including the Intrepid) for one consolidated price.
http://www.newyorkpass.com/nyc-museums.asp
Zoos
Bronx Zoo is very cool. If you go there, you’ll also be right by the New York Botanical Garden. Since it’s winter, there won’t be much outside to see but their Holiday Train show is running now. It’s a fun exhibit that will go over really well with kids (adults will like it too).
Take a look here:
Also, Brooklyn and Queens have very nice botanical gardens.
Central Park
The zoo there is great particularly the penguin exhibit. The carousel will be closed which is unfortunate but Wollman rink will be open. If you want to do the ice skating thing, it’s a better rink than Rockefeller because it’s much larger.
And Bryant Park:
And for some wonderful architecture: St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. John the Divine (world’s largest gothic cathedral).
And I realize what I might say might be unpopular but skip the overpriced tourist trap restaurants. This means Tavern on the Green and Juniors.
Tavern on the Green is a tacky nightmare that will happily feed you inedible food at ridiculous prices.
I’ve never eaten at Juniors I have never heard a good thing from people who have. Also, the place just looks dingy and depressing. Every time I walk by there, I wonder when was the last time it was ever cleaned (and from what an acquaintance who used to cook there once told me, the answer was never).
If you’re looking for restaurants that are good for groups w/ kids, you could try:
http://www.ottopizzeria.com (Mario Batali restaurant. Italian dishes and pizza, excellent food.)
http://www.virgilsbbq.com (Both are BBQ places. Blue Smoke is better but Virgil’s is great too.)
http://www.rosamexicano.info (Very good Mexican food, paticularly the pomegranite margaritas. The best location for large groups is on Union Square.)
http://www.serafinarestaurant.com (Decent Italian and pizza.)
http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/restaurants/ruby_foos_times_square/index.php (Good Japanese food. There’s also a location uptown).
http://www.carminesnyc.com/ (I don’t really care for the food here but I think I’m the only one. Very popular Italian restaurants).
Other kid friendly places are:
http://www.serendipity3.com/main.htm (Bloomingdales and Dylan’s Candy Bar are also right by here).
http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/
For food on the go:
In Chinatown:
Look for places that serve bubble tea or buy Pocky at a grocery store. You can also get the world’s most awesome sandwich down here: Banh Mi.
It’s actually Vietnamese. And there are various places to get it but my favorite is found at the Saigon Bakery. It’s a deli inside a jewelry store,
located at 138 Mott St. Be warned, this is strictly take out only and the sandwiches are cilantro heavy.
You can also go over to what remains of Little Italy for overpriced, stale pastry. Or walk over to Spring Street and get excellent pizza here:
Though I think the best pizza in the city these days is found at Artichoke Basille, located at 328 E. 14th St.
If you go to Rockefeller Center, look for a Japanese pastry place called Minamoto Kitchoan and try a red bean pancake.
http://www.kitchoan.com/E/NY/index_b.html
There’s also the Shake Shack if you’re in the Flatiron district:
http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/
And if you decide to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, head to Jacques Torres for hot chocolate
Junior’s as in the Junior’s in Times Square? You’ve really never heard anyone say anything good about them? :dubious:
Yes. I have no idea what’s so suprising about that.
It’s a popular restaurant so there are bound to be widespread opinions on it both positive and negative.
Which is what the OP was looking for.
Btw: if you want a great cheesecake, you might try here:
http://www.chikalicious.com/
I’ll dispute this. The last part you wrote can be said also for the Museum of Natural History. As to the Met, not usually my cup of tea and again, I’m not interested in all that it has.
The thing with both, is to go early and get out when the crowd gets too much. When I went to the AMNH on Black Friday, the first hour/hour and a half it was passable. There was people, but nothing unbearable, no huge crowds. By the time I was almost done… well, I was done mostly because it became unbearable, too many people, no space to walk around them in exhibits you didn’t want to see, etc.
Met was similarly crowded, but since we skipped most of the crowded stuff (I was not interested in it), it was much more empty and bearable. The Met is also bigger and slightly better at handling large crowds which can go their different merry ways than AMNH.
But I like AMNH… just go there early.
Lots of good advice here. I’ll just add - it’s not that bad in the City at Christmastime, and I speak as an upstater who has ventured down a time or two. It’s crowded, but not really horrible. It does get cold, and the wind bites, so dress warm and make sure you have something to cover your ears.
My cousin also recommended the NY Pass. Does anyone know if these are transferrable? For example, if my daughter used one day of a 3-day pass could her brother use the other two days?
KG: let’s say I went to AMNH at 10 am on a Saturday. How many hours do you estimate would pass before it got too crowded, as you say? I’m thinking that would be a good plan - AMNH first, then to one of the larger museums after it gets crowded.
Mika - thanks. I think we will be issued scarves. Here’s what my sis says: I have extra scarves, gloves, etc., for those of you visiting from the sunny Southland. 
If indeed the Empire State Bldg deck is closed, go to the “Top of the Rock” observation deck instead. It’s at 30 Rockefeller Plaza with equally spectacular views.
I went at around noon on Black Friday and it was still decent. Crowded, but you could still walk around people. I left around 2pm, with my patience to crowds level (admittedly not too high to begin with) gone. Very hard to get into some halls or walk through them or go against traffic (whatever it went).
I have to say this, though… although there was a line to enter at noon, it was not as long as I thought it was after reading a recent thread here about visiting on Black Friday… and the line moved very quick too.
I have, I guess, but they were tourists. I’ve eaten there twice, and both times it was okay and way expensive.
[hijack] Why do people like to go to the top of buildings in strange cities and look down over the landscape? To me, looking down over an unfamiliar city isn’t particularly interesting. Going to the Empire State Building (which I only did after about 25 years of living in the New York area) was fun for me in that I could identify all the various landmarks around me, see the various places I’d lived from above, etc. Climbing tall buildings in Tokyo or Boston, where I don’t know the territory, means looking at an anonymous carpet of buildings, which I don’t find inherently interesting.
Well, I’ve never eaten a meal there but their desserts are awesome! Granted it is like $6 for a slice of cheesecake but it is a slice big enough for 3 people. That is the most important thing to know about Junior’s, actually, is that the portion sizes are enormous. Illuminatiprimus, Wraine, and I went there and had 2 slices of cheesecake between the three of us and ended up taking most of it home.
If you come from a place with no city approaching even half the size of NYC, Tokyo, etc. it would be astounding. Look at all the city! As far as you can see! etc. etc.
Also, if you are interested in art, building, architecture, urban development, etc. it’s fascinating to see all the different structures/layouts/art elements. You don’t have to be able to identify landmarks to make it a significant experience. 