New York, New York

Links to restaurants, landmarks, reviews and other info from our trip listed at the bottom.

New York City was such a fun trip to plan. We had talked about taking the kids to New York for quite a while but kept questioning if it was the right time since they are still on the younger side. Over Thanksgiving, we decided to look into it and if the details were going to work out, we would go for it. I got on my phone and found six round trip tickets using our AAdvantage miles on perfectly timed flights and hotel space at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. Within about 20 minutes, we had our trip set. That was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out how to get in everything we wanted to do there and not wear our kids into the ground.

We wanted to show them all the sights but also remember they are 4, 7, 9, and 11 and might not appreciate sightseeing as much as we would like them to. For example, we took them to Rockefeller Center and saw the famous points of interest but then took them to the Nintendo Store so they could play some video games. I admit, it hurt my soul just a little bit to be standing in a video game store looking at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree outside.

We would take them to a landmark…and then stop for a treat.

We walked and walked and walked and then when we needed to, we would take an Uber/Lyft or the subway. I thought the kids might be a little nervous taking the subway but they were completely unphased. They have been on the subway in Los Angeles so it wasn’t like it was brand new but I think they were so excited to just be sitting and playing silly games with each other that they didn’t care where we were or what we were doing. We did do a Hop On Hop Off tour bus a couple of times. It was just ok. We had done the same thing in San Francisco and had a great experience but with the traffic and lack of in-person tour guide, it was more transportation than a tour. We also did a carriage ride through Central Park which was a nice way to see the park in the cold. And for you animal lovers, we thoroughly researched the horse and carriage companies before booking.

As they say though, the best laid plans often go awry and this trip was no exception. We felt very confident in our plan before we left. We had almost every day mapped out by neighborhood and then we arrived in the city and realized almost immediately that all that planning just prepared us for changing it all and playing things by ear. The rain changed plans, the jet lag changed plans, and did I mention the crowds? Shockingly, we were not the only people that decided to spend time in Manhattan the week of New Years. Luckily we had researched the most important sights for us to see and activities for us to do so then it was all logistics from there. Despite the crowds and cold, we hit almost every must-see and must-do on our list. We were fortunate enough to have 8 nights to accomplish our goals. It was a wonderful trip which came at the perfect time. See the gallery below for more pictures of this wonderful trip and scroll to the bottom for links to restaurants, landmarks, reviews and other info from our trip.

• Marriott Marquis Times Square – Location, location, location. This hotel could not be in a better location for traveling with kids. It’s a huge hotel and the rooms could use a little updating but for the most part it was great. Over the New Years Eve holiday, there were some issues with crowds, mainly the wait for the elevator but we were very happy we chose to stay here.
• Patzeria Perfect Pizza and Patzeria Family and Friends were both excellent. The Perfect Pizza location is a walk up and order place which mainly does pizza but we had the most delicious pasta from there also. The Family and Friends location is a sit down and popular in the Theatre District. I would highly recommend reservations and the food is great. It’s a small place but with our reservation, we felt perfectly comfortable bringing four kids in.
• Ellen’s Stardust Diner – Warning, be prepared to WAIT in the line. No matter what time of day or night, there is a line around the corner. We decided since we weren’t taking the kids to a Broadway show that it would be worth it to stand in line and see a little dinner entertainment. The food is way overpriced (even the kids menu which is $16/meal) but the servers that sang were excellent and so fun to watch. We were glad we did it but probably wouldn’t need to do it again.
• Tir Na Nog – An Irish pub with good food, good drinks and a great kids menu! We went for lunch and didn’t have to wait at all. We made a reservation (because we needed reservations for every restaurant that week) but didn’t need it at lunch time. It was our favorite lunch spot of the week.
• The Plaza Food Hall – Who knew there were food and shops under the Plaza Hotel? Well, aparently a lot of people did but we didn’t until we stumbled upon it trying to get warn and sneak in the Hotel. We were able to use real bathrooms and introduced the kids to crepes. I even had a glass of champagne because it seemed the thing to do at the Plaza Hotel at lunchtime. And who really needs a good excuse for champagne.
• New York Sightseeing Pass – We did the Flex pass that allowed us to pick the number of attractions we wanted to see instead of the number of consecutive days we wanted to use it. It definitely saved us money and time at each landmark we used it at. We also used it for the Hop On Hop Off bus which, like I said before, was better for transportation and sightseeing than a tour.
• Highlights – Radio City Music Hall Backstage Tour, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, One World Trade Center, New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, American Museum of Natural History, FAO Schwarz, Ice skating in Rockefeller Center, Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park, Bryant Park, Central Park, Trinity Church (We are big Hamilton fans), St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the Today Show.