Haleakala, wrong island 
Looks like it might be in mid-May, so that give NYC another month to warm up. Still sweater weather?
And I’ll have no problems with her in the subway. She likes choo-choos.
I was under the impression that they had repealed the laws preventing movement between the islands and a Haleakala sunrise is a darned site colder than anything I experienced on Oahu. 
NYC temperature trends.April 61 / 44 ; May 71 / 53 (F)
From National Normal Daily Temperature
NEW YORK CENTRAL PARK, NY 52.5 62.7
NEW YORK (JFK AP), NY 50.5 60.0
NEW YORK (LAGUARDIA AP), NY 51.5 61.8
This NYC Tourist Page says April typically ranges from 43 to 61 and May typically ranges from 53 to 71 and each month gets around 11 days of rain.
(And I suspect that you are right that you will not have a problem on the subway, but if you have never been on one, I will note that the noise and flashing lights as cars pass into and out of tunnels at 40+ miles an hour is significantly different than being on typical train that works its way up to speed in the daylight (of course, being on a train is also a lot different from watching Thomas and his pals cruise across the island of Sodor).)
Mid-May is beautiful in the city. At her age, yeah I’d pass on anything longer on the open water than The Circle Line and agree that the Statue of Liberty will be completely lost on her. A cool damp boat ride and not much more.
2 year olds nap. The Libraby is beautiful, the museums are great and warm, quiet places. If you hit a very warm day and you think she’d tolerate it ( and you are a sports fan ) buy cheap seats to a Mets or Yankees game, just make sure you’re sitting on the sunny side of an afternoon game. Might be exciting for her. Till she falls asleep, of course.
My babies rode the NYC subways. I took my 6-month old son into Manhattan from Astoria the DAY after he arrived from South Korea. They rode for a year or two till we moved out of the city. Their hearing is fine. The thing about the subways is that they are startlingly LOUD and sometimes there are screetching sounds that might scare her. If you are worried, and can make a game of it, buy two sets of ear muffs from Home Depot. They’re about $ 13.00 each. They will be amusingly oversized on her little head, but will cover her ears well enough and she can laugh and see you wearing yours. Or… you can let her hear the train sounds.
Grand Central Terminal is quite lovely and has huge open spaces to let her walk around in. There are playgrounds on the Lower East Side below Houston Street that are neato. Also great ones in Central Park. Here is a listof all the playgrounds in Manhattan.
I would also seriously recommend The Chelsea Piers. It is a huge sports complex that is on the Hudson River. Google it, take a peek around. There might well be an activity you can take her to where she doesn’t have to be an enrolled attendee. From babies to oldsters, there are things there for folks to do who like to run and play.
Travel times by bus or subway are largely irrelevant to a child that age. As I said, I TOOK a 2 year old all around the city. Long ride out to Coney Island Zoo, or a ball game, or wherever? She’ll fall asleep with the gentle rocking of the subway cars. Yeah, they sometimes slam around but mostly it’s good enough that you will see plenty of other babies in strollers asleep.
Oh- the stroller thing. Different NY Dopers will have different things to say about this. Here’s my take. I’m a pretty big fellow, and had no trouble lifting a front and back double stroller up the stairs. I almost ALWAYS had people offer to lend a hand, and it is considered good form as a subway rider to offer to help carry even a single child stroller up along with the parent.
On the infrequent trips into the city now, if I see a stroller user approaching the stairs, I stop and ask. You will likely have offers like this everywhere you go, both in Manhattan and in the outer boroughs.
I’m not a native, I grew up in Philly but have lived in NYC and the surrounding areas since 1981. I can tell you honestly that the bad rap NY’ers have is almost completely without basis in reality. People lend a hand, give good accurate directions and smile more than you would think.
The Children’s Museum of Manhattan is great, and on the Upper West Side.
Similarly, The Children’s Museum of The Arts in lower Manhattan is just a blast for toddlers. It has famous art- and thousands of pieces of children’s art BY children. Quite something.
When you hit town, go into one of those dreadful touristy stores and buy the thick laminated map of the NYC Subway System. It’ll come in very handy during your stay.
And have a blast !!!
Cartooniverse
This cite indicates that “exposure to noise levels in subways have the potential to exceed recommended guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)”, but it’s not quite the same thing as saying that the noise causes hearing loss in adults. I mean, how many deaf New Yorkers do you know? Not deaf on purpose, of course… 
But I still call nonsense. I, my husband and my kids have ridden the subway for years with zero ill effects (unless you are taking the smells into consideration 
).
Thanks all, especially Cartooniverse, for the rather thorough look into NYC. I plan on getting a new, lighter stroller, maybe a Combi or something (Thank goodness for Craigslist). I don’t see us making too many trips, especially once we get to the area we visit, and I also don’t plan on trying during rush hours.
Not sure about a Yankees/Mets game, since she would not sit still. She’s been to a Univ of Hawaii football game, but there were special circumstances. I don’t think I’ll get the same treatment at Yankee or Shea.
Found a useful alternative to Circle Line, a water shuttle from Wall Street to Jersey City. I can get the skyline views I want with a 15-minute boat ride. I assume it will be pretty easy to get from Exchange Place to the Newport Center Mall (shuttle/taxi)? Not that I care about a cookie-cutter mall, but I do notice there is a Target nearby (which Hawaii does not have).
At Exchange Place you can take the PATH train to the Pavonia/Newport station. The Hudson Bergen Light Rail has a stop at Newport as well.
Does Tavern on the Green have a dress code: tie and jacket?
Wouldn’t putting a necktie on a two year old girl constitute child abuse?
I jest.
I just called the Tavern. No dress code. 
Not for lunch- we just wandered in after a morning of strolling through the park, so not exactly looking our best! I was concerned about taking the boys in (2 & 4, IIRC) but the host said they have no problem at all with kids.
On behalf of planetarium presenters worldwide… please don’t! Two year olds just don’t get it, and the wiggles and noises that the show often provokes may distract other patrons and/or the presenter!
Plenty of time for astronomical mind-blowing when she’s of an age to appreciate it.
Excellent point.
I note each show is about 30 minutes. If we were really motivated to see this, we would do it seperately, each of us seeing the show seperately, while the other (with Anya) explores the museum.
The website didn’t say, but is it possible to just pay admission to the Rose Center without paying for the Museum? I want to see dinos, etc, the wife only wants the planetarium.
Do yourself a favor and skip Tavern on the Green. It’s a truly awful restaurant.
If you want to have lunch in Central Park, you might try the Boathouse restaurant.
http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.com/sections/home.htm
Since your daughter is so young, I have no idea whether you’re comfortable with her being around the water but right by the above restaurant, you can rent rowboats and paddle around the park. It’s a nice way to spend some time.
Also, if your daughter likes PB & J, you might try this restaurant:
Wow- did you have a bad experience? I never have. YMMV, of course…
We are going there for Christmas Eve dinner this year (hopefully), when we will be in the city.
I took my son when he was about that age.
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He loved Central Park and we spent MUCH of our time exploring it. We visited the playgrounds, fountains, carousel, and zoo. He didn’t have a favorite playground. He enjoyed whichever one we were in. Most of them had sandboxes, so plastic shovels and pails were nice to have.
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He loved Children’s Museum of Manhattan. They had an exhibit in which you went through a mock digestive system and it ended with “poo” in a drawer. He thought that was fabulous.
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I loved taking him to the Museum of Natural History, but he lost interest much more quickly than I expected him to. The nice thing was, flash photography was allowed and we got some great photos. I didn’t even attempt the planeterium.
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I tried the Met, that was a joke. The only thing he liked was the people in front of it that were dressed as statues. We also had a really good charcoal drawing of him done right next to the Met.
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He liked the Empire State Building much more than I expected. That was another place we got really cool photos.
As far as eating, we tried to eat primarily at restaurants that had outdoor dining. He loved watching all of the hustle and bustle and it made dining much less stressful.
I regret not taking the subway, but I had never ridden and was terrified we would get hopelessly lost. I also had a vision of somebody pushing us onto the tracks. (I can be quite the country bumpkin!)
When I took Mom and Lilbro to NYC in 2004, we walked around for a while and then got tickets on these double-decker tourist buses, I don’t remember what was the company called. They had a stop right across from the Sheraton. We got tickets that were good for three trips; we did Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn together, then I skipped to catch up on sleep while they took Manhattan by Night.
The tickets were valid for a couple of days, you could get off and back on so long as there were buses running. I know similar ones in other towns and find them a nice way to get around. Mom doesn’t understand a word of English; Lilbro felt real proud of himself for being able to translate most of the guide’s explanations.
For tourists, that is a consideration. The bus may be slow, but you can see a little bit more of the city than you would otherwise.
Mmmmmmmm…fumes…
Huh? Sorry.
Any bus or boat or subway ride will delight a kid that age. Movement, things to see, people to see, sounds. It’s all good. Few naps are better than naps on a moving train !
A little appropriate to this thread (I’m sure the OP will agree), but look at these NYC Aerial Photos. :eek:
While I may live in paradise, I would consider trading it for New York.
More questions, if I may:
Is Hecksher (sp?) playground in Central Park still closed for renovations?
Since she likes trains and planes so much, we’re going to try that Roosevelt Island Tram, as seen in Spidey.
We’re going up to the Top of the Rock rather than ESB for the views. I like the glass with camera-lens-sized gaps and it appears to be less crowded than ESB. Is that garden on the roof accessible (again, seen in Spidey when he drops MJ off)?
What’s a good place to buy tacky souvenirs. I mean things like “I (heart) NY” shirts, Statue of Liberty headbands, pewter Empire State Buildings. I assume Times Square is overpriced.
I live in Hawaii, and I can tell you the Wal-Mart by Ala Moana has the best prices, as does the Aloha Stadium flea market. Waikiki, of course, is overpriced.
Hooray, the day approaches (can you tell I’ve been stuck on this rock in the Pacific too long?) I am so looking forward to this trip… hopefully as May approaches, it gets closer to the 70s.
You might want to consider getting a back carrier instead of a stroller. They’ve got great lightweight ones now with plenty of storage space for stuff.* They’re a lot easier on both of you - she gets to be up where she can actually see more than the asses of the people walking in front of her, and you don’t have to deal with wheels on crowded sidewalks or people tripping over the stroller. The only drawback is not being able to see her face light up when she sees something cool. I have a super-duper high tech hand mirror tied to the frame of mine so we can see each other and make faces and wave.
I know it’s silly, but I also like to give her a disposable camera. Costs $5, you won’t be upset if she drops it or loses it, and once in a while you get a really interesting baby’s eye view of what’s neat to look at. We got a whole roll back once of nothing but feet, but it’s still fun to see what *she *thought was neat and important that day.
*Things to bring when you start out in the morning: 4 diapers, a travel pack of wipes, a sippy cup or tiny scissors to trim long straws, toddler sized silverware and a bib. Also a blanket for sitting on or wrapping around her shoulders if she gets chilly. There’s plenty of food and drink everywhere you turn around in the city, don’t lug snacks you don’t have to.