Empire State Building...is it worth it?

tywy

Okay I'm heading to New York on my way home on July 31st. So I have 2 and 1/2 days there. Should I bother with the Empire State Building. Some people say yes some people say don't bother....what do you think. I can book my ticket online and save queuing (sp) for the tickets but then is the queue for the elevator long? What's the best time of day to go if you don't want to spend too much time in the queue?

Spitfire666

not sure but dont waste your money as some people do y trying to drop a coin off the roof, no matter how far you think youve thrown it, it'll never hit the ground.

jcoote

i went at like 1 o clock in the day and it was fine..its well worth it u can see the video history and there is a simulator ride thing and the top of the building itself...i thought it was money well spent anyway

bluto63

I went at nighttime. The view is amazing, so I would recommend it. Also i agree, don't bother trying to throw a coin off it, it'll never get there :mad:

tywy

so I should go! Grand that's that decided. THANKS! I'll probably go during the day though...my parents went at night and said it was just lights, you couldn't really see anything.

spurious

The queues 'can' be up to 2 hours. Have a back up place to go in case you happen to hit a bad time. I quite like the Empire State Building - the 30s detailing inside is fabulous.

Don't bother with the 'Empire experience' thing (or whatever it's called) - you'll see it when you get there.

If they give you the opportunity to walk the last six flights of stairs, do it, they're only short and the Yanks nearly pass out when someone suggests the stairs if there is the elevator.

mikedragon32

Try to ge there for sunset... That way you'll get to see it in daylight and see all the lights come on. Spectacular views that time of the evening. I got some great shots in January.

You can miss some of the queues by booking your tickets online.

boy_wonder

Yes definetely do it but dont book your tickets online. Only do it if the weather is nice and visibility(they have this displayed on the ground floor) is good so just go early and you'll be fine.
We went up with about 5miles visibilty and was still worth the money but couldn't see very far. We couldnt even see the other end of manhattan i.e twin towers(no smart answers please as this was pre 9/11...:D )

tywy

pre booked tickets aren't for a specific day or time I don't think. I'm just looking at the site now, it says you can only go up to the 86th floor not the 102nd floor....gah decisions!

NADA

I did it just to say that I did it. It's just a view really. I liked the simulator thing. Do it. We did not have good view but it is good.The que was long enough but it fairly moves.

dajoy

You can get a ticket book in any museum for about $25. This gets you into most of the sites without queues, incl. empire state, round island boat trip, national history museum(must see), guggenhiem museum, intrepid aircraft carrier. Also try the chrysler building. Nearly as high. zero queues!

Random

The queue is a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's worth it. The view is pretty dam good, but beware that after 15 mins you'll want to just go get a pizza.

Worth the time and cost though.

aoifeme

Don't book in advance cause you never know what the weather was like. I went when it was a little cloudy, but I thought it'd be fine, but couldn't see a thing!!

insight driver

Being American and having lived across the Hudson river in New Jersey most of my life I don't remember ever visiting the Empire State Building. I did eat lunch at one of the deli's at the World Trade Center before 9-11-01. Shame it is, when living near such icons of the US I never played tourist. Having worked in New York City I have had the opportunity to stand on the roof of a few skyscrapers and got to see the view. It's worth it to see the city from such a height. New York City is an amazing place.

metrovelvet

Im New Yorker and Ive been to the top and I thought it was amazing. I went on a windy autumn evening. It was so windy you could lean back against it and it would hold you up, and of course the view of the lights is spectacular and romantic. The whole scape looks jewelled.

But definitely go for pizza. Best pizza in NYC is on 11th and 6th ave.

You should see Ellis Island too.

Johnny Storm

Its great. If you are the kind of person who likes looking out the window on planes then you will love this. Buy online (you get an open ticket and can go anytime) and go very early to avoid the queues. That wont be a problem if your body clock is used to Irish time.
I can't remember what time of day I went in June but there was no queue ( 8 am ish?). When I was leaving the queue was around the block.
86th floor is totally cool. I think the 102nd floor is only open at certain times. 102nd floor is very small and gives the real King Kong experience!

IMHO going to the Empire State Building after dark (or as the sun goes down) is great too and is virtually a completely different experience from going in day time. Night time is better for those of us who are afraid of heights.

Top of the Rock in the Rockerfeller Center is also well worth a visit. If you are scared of heights like me, head up to the very highest of the outside levels immediately (feels safer cause you are well in from the edge)

the whole year inn

thought it was pretty deadly def well worth it ,if the que is long and your looking for something else to do go to then go to the un and do that tour thought it was pretty good ,think its only 10 bucks you get to see some intresting things.

irlirishkev

mikedragon32 wrote:

Try to ge there for sunset... That way you'll get to see it in daylight and see all the lights come on. Spectacular views that time of the evening. I got some great shots in January.

You can miss some of the queues by booking your tickets online.

Ditto this.. I've only ever seen a few real sunsets in my time, but by God this was spectacular!
I avoided some of the queues aswell, but getting my ticket with the open top tour bus. When I got there I saw what a good idea it had been, the queues were very long. This was June though, so September might not be as bad.

What was also cool was looking down on numerous rooftop bbq's/parties on top of some smaller 'skyscrapers'..

Defo worth doing at least once.

K.

AdMMM

Why will your coin never hit the ground?