NYC with children recommendations

In My Humble Opinion
1

I got a fun trip coming up. My wife is going for business in Manhattan (55th & Madison), so I’m going along to “keep her company”, of course. What this means is (besides the free hotel) is while she’s at her seminar from 8-5 for 3 days, I will have all of Manhattan to wander around.

I can go wherever I want, as long as I want, and then get her after her work stuff. I am just drooling about all the pictures I’ll be taking and the areas I’ll explore. No time wasted in Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Century 21, etc (at least until 5pm).

However, I won’t be completely alone; my 22-month-old daughter Anya is chaperoning me.

I pretty much know what areas I want to see, as you folks were very helpful in 2002. But, with the little one along, I do some additional things to consider. Please recommend me some kid-friendly things!

I’ll want to stay on Manhattan, although re-walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is a must. I’ll have a stroller, so it’s not like I’ll tire her out. I’m not really concerned with her being bored, as she’s so curious. Since she’s about 2, it’s not like I plan to make this an educational trip for her, but I would like her to have some fun.

My list so far
[ul]
[li]American Museum of Natural History (possibly with Planetarium)[/li][li]Central Park Zoo[/li][li]She loves playgrounds, which is a good one in Central Park?[/li][li]Circle Island or Staten Island (she loves boat rides; I love skylines)[/li][li]Children’s Museum of Manhattan (has anyone been there?)[/li][li]Rowboat in Central Park (we did this last time and loved it)[/li][li]Toys R Us in Times Square (I heard this has all but passed FAO in fun stuff)[/li][/ul]

I wouldn’t be opposed to events for her, even if it was story time at a library.

Most importantly, I need places to eat. The main reason is her second birthday is on 4/24, and I’d like to take her somewhere fun.

I’m sure I’ll think of more questions.

2

IIRC there’s a playground just north of the central park zoo. Most playgrounds have different size junglegyms for each age group.

There’s also a big carousel in central park. I’ve never been there, though.

The inside places at the zoo were better than the outside ones, IMO. I had to really search for the outside animals. There’s a feeding area where you can buy a handful of food and feed it to various animals. That whole area was good because it had stuff for kids to play on.

The children’s museum is fun, but it’s sort of a zoo. :slight_smile: The playworks area would probably be the best for a 22 month old with the Dora area coming in second.

The natural history museum might be a bit much, but it’s worth a try. The butterfly conservatory is interesting but keep in mind it’s sort of hot and cramped.

If you want to turn your child into a crazed lunatic you can share a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. That might be a good place for the birthday outing.

serendipity3

3

Also, my wife went to The Popover Cafe and liked it.
Popover cafe

4

What will the weather be like in mid-April. Will a sweater be sufficient… or should the little one have a coat?

Do I have to pay for her on a subway? Will I have to fold the stroller and hold her in it?

5

A sweater should be sufficient but bring a coat just in case. New York is on the water, after all and you can’t predict the weather.

If you like the Central Park zoo, check out the Bronx Zoo as well. You can take the subway there and it is the largest zoo in the US! You can easily spend a whole day there.

The Bronx Zoo is also very close to the New York Botanical Gardens. It’s a cool place if your kid likes flowers.

If you do get to the Museum of Natural History, definitely do the planetarium show. It’s rad.

As for the subway, be sure to take the kid out of the stroller. You don’t want to roll that thing around all the steep staircases and escalators. There’s always at least one jackass parent who tries, though. Do not be this person.

6

Check out walrus feeding time at the aquarium on Coney Island – I love it and I’m in my 20s, I can’t imagine how much more fun it would be for a kid. There’s also the rest of Coney Island to see! it’s is easy to get to by train, if you’re willing to take a ride. The train offers a great view of some Brooklyn neighborhoods.

S’mac is a fancy-schmancy macaroni and cheese place in the East Village – maybe that would be fun.

7

Our last time we visited NYC was our 2nd anniversary. We ate at the Four Seasons.

I daresay this would be Anya’s version of the Four Seasons!!

8

Ambulatory children pay full fare on the subway as far as I know. You can buy an unlimited card for $7 per day, which is a good deal as soon as you make 3 one-way trips in a day ($2/ride)

Coney Island is a rather long boring train ride away for a 2 year old (JMHO). If you do go, make sure to take in the sea lion show (not just the feeding). Ditto for the Bronx Zoo. The Central Park Zoo, while much smaller, should more than satisfy a toddler.

9

If you do get an unlimited card, remember that only one person can use it at a time; the turnstile will not allow you to swipe it more than once within 10 minutes or so.

If you want to deal with just one card, get a regular fare-based card, which you can swipe as often as you please. (It will deduct $2.00 each time.)

10

Per the MTA webpage, it looks like she will ride free… unless she grows 10 inches in the next month or so.

"Can children ride for free on MTA subways and buses?

Answer
Children under 44 inches tall ride free of charge on New York City Transit subways and on local buses of both NYC Transit and Long Island Bus. No more than three children per adult may ride free. On NYC Transit express buses, children two and under may ride for free only if they sit on an adult’s lap."

So a Metrocard for me, free for her.

11

Ah, yes. Serendipity. My girlfriend’s brother’s best friend (still with me?) is a manager there, so whenever we’re in the city, we get to skip the line. One night, our dinner consisted solely of a giant brownie sundae and a frozen hot chocolate. We didn’t feel too good after that…

12

Well, in that case, you’re invited to Anya’s birthday party at Serendipity :wink:

13

When we took our young boys (both under 5, IIRC), I took zev steinhart’s advice and took them to the Bronx Zoo. It was great, and they loved it!

If your daughter is into dinosaurs, and if it’s still there, she’ll love the life-size animatronic T-Rex in Toys R Us in Times Square! Last time, they had a damned ferris wheel inside, too… wow.

My kids also loved the park, and they even ate at Tavern on the Green! Fascinating interiors for kids, especially the mirrored hallway.

14

Since it just bothers me to see this (not that people who live here can do much about it), if I were you I wouldn’t take the subway with your daughter if you can at all avoid it. Take cabs. The noise is enough to cause hearing loss in adults…

15

That’s nonsense. The subway is one of the best things about New York, and cheaper than cabs by an order of magnitude. Anybody can sit in the back seat of a car. How many times do you get to ride the trains if you don’t live in NYC?

16

Nonsense is arguing that a point about hearing loss is invalid because you find the contrary more fun… maybe it’s more fun, but your reasoning is worthless and the fact stands, however one might want to balance it all out.

17

I would like to see some reputable evidence that subway use can be correlated with hearing loss. Sure, it can be loud in places; I doubt it is at a dangerous level, though.

18

WHAAAT??!! :slight_smile:

We usually take the bus on our outings unless we have to make a huge hop. There’s always something out the window that amuses the girls. Often we end up cabbing it home because everyone’s running on fumes by the time we decide to pack it in.

19

If she has never been out of Hawaii and you have not been running her up to see sunrise on Haleakala every couple of weeks, she will need long pants and a coat (possibly a sweater and a jacket) in NYC in April. (You may get a freak spot of +70° F weather, but you are equally likely to get 38° F with a chill rain–and skyscrapers guarantee drafty winds.)

I like the suggestions I’ve seen (and can’t offer any restaurants), but I would also suggest a trip to the top of the Empire State Building and a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. (Ellis Island and Liberty Island would be lost on her, at 24 months.) She’ll be too young to get out of it what you will, but some early memories do stick with kids.

20

And specifically, that periodic exposures a few minutes at a time over a 3 day period is likely to cause the hearing loss alleged.