New York travel advice

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by valo403

I'll be sure to wear extra tight pants that day

Be sure to drape yourself in velvet.

[YourMother]

I'm heading to Philly/NYC next week. Heading to Patriots@Eagles, Pens@Rags, and Packers@Giants.

I have a question though, I'm not sure if anyone can help. But yea, we want to hit up "The Book of Mormon" but it's sold out until January. Is there anyway to get broadway tickets at short notice? I've heard some venues in NYC have a "will call" where you show up early in the morning and wait in line and they sell extra tickets for that days performance. Does anyone know anything about this?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by YourMother

I'm heading to Philly/NYC next week. Heading to Patriots@Eagles, Pens@Rags, and Packers@Giants.

I have a question though, I'm not sure if anyone can help. But yea, we want to hit up "The Book of Mormon" but it's sold out until January. Is there anyway to get broadway tickets at short notice? I've heard some venues in NYC have a "will call" where you show up early in the morning and wait in line and they sell extra tickets for that days performance. Does anyone know anything about this?

I'm by no means an expert in this area, but I can't imagine you'll have much luck getting into book of mormon through anything other than paying an exorbitant price on the secondary market. There may be a will call or returned ticket window, but I'd be surprised if there's much available for that show. Best of luck, if you're able to pull it off please let me know how, I'd love to catch that show.

[VladtheImpaler]

Just wanted to bump to offer a trip report...
First of all, New Yorkers are damn friendly - much friendlier than Canadians.
Now, on to the eats. Grimaldi's is by far the best pizza I've ever had. We went to Chicago after NYC and I had the deep dish at Uno, which was excellent, but Grimaldi's beat it hands down. Had the pasta tasting menu at Babbo (5 courses of pasta, followed by 3 of desserts) and it was unbelievable. What was also unbelievable is that Impaler Jr managed to sit through 2+ hrs (for which we received congratulations and envy from other patrons). The other thing we discovered on this trip is that even NYC is cheap (food-wise) compared to Calgary - Babbo was a bit cheaper than Rush overall (and far superior). We hit a dumpling house in the heart of Chinatown (Panda Dumpling) - delicious and for 6 different dishes (of good size) we paid... $8.50. Joe Shanghai was excellent (better than anything in Calgary) and price-wise similar to Harbour City.
Oh yeah, I also ran in Central Park every morning, went to a bunch of museums, and also noticed that the women... my god, the women...
We went to Chicago after, which was fantastic in its own way, but that`s a different topic...

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

The other thing we discovered on this trip is that even NYC is cheap (food-wise) compared to Calgary.

Pretty much every place is cheaper food wise than Calgary. People probably think I harp on it too much, but there's a reason for it. The price gouging going on is ridiculous.

But anyway, glad you had a good time.

[Table 5]

Yeah that's true. Hopefully more competition will drive it down. At least the food is fairly good in these places, so at least you're getting some quality.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by YourMother

I'm heading to Philly/NYC next week. Heading to Patriots@Eagles, Pens@Rags, and Packers@Giants.

I have a question though, I'm not sure if anyone can help. But yea, we want to hit up "The Book of Mormon" but it's sold out until January. Is there anyway to get broadway tickets at short notice? I've heard some venues in NYC have a "will call" where you show up early in the morning and wait in line and they sell extra tickets for that days performance. Does anyone know anything about this?

Me and my good friend went to NYC on separate trips and both got Book of Mormon tickets for reasonable prices. He got his from a scalper outside just before the show. He went to a weekday matinee, so less competition from the locals. I got mine from StubHub. As long as you are flexible about times, people will jetison their tickets occasionally on short notice.

The thing you have to remember about Broadway shows is that they are happening twice a day everyday. Tickets are quite liquid, and people with tickets do need to cancel their plans.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by blankall

Me and my good friend went to NYC on separate trips and both got Book of Mormon tickets for reasonable prices. He got his from a scalper outside just before the show. He went to a weekday matinee, so less competition from the locals. I got mine from StubHub. As long as you are flexible about times, people will jetison their tickets occasionally on short notice.

The thing you have to remember about Broadway shows is that they are happening twice a day everyday. Tickets are quite liquid, and people with tickets do need to cancel their plans.

No shows on Broadway happen twice a day every day. The typical schedule is to be off Monday (sometimes tuesday or wednesday) with two shows on two days of the week (usually two of wednesday, saturday and sunday).

[blankall]

Originally Posted by valo403

No shows on Broadway happen twice a day every day. The typical schedule is to be off Monday (sometimes tuesday or wednesday) with two shows on two days of the week (usually two of wednesday, saturday and sunday).

Either way, that's a lot of shows. Tickets become available short notice all the time.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by blankall

Either way, that's a lot of shows. Tickets become available short notice all the time.

It depends on the show, your flexibility and how much you're willing to pay. Book of Mormon on Saturday night for anything close to face value is going to pretty much impossible, but Chicago on Monday afternoon probably isn't that tough. It's pretty tough to predict as whatever conference or event is in town that week can always drive up demand. Your best bet is to buy as far out as possible if you want to go at a specific time.

[me_dennis]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Just wanted to bump to offer a trip report...
First of all, New Yorkers are damn friendly - much friendlier than Canadians.
Now, on to the eats. Grimaldi's is by far the best pizza I've ever had. We went to Chicago after NYC and I had the deep dish at Uno, which was excellent, but Grimaldi's beat it hands down. Had the pasta tasting menu at Babbo (5 courses of pasta, followed by 3 of desserts) and it was unbelievable. What was also unbelievable is that Impaler Jr managed to sit through 2+ hrs (for which we received congratulations and envy from other patrons). The other thing we discovered on this trip is that even NYC is cheap (food-wise) compared to Calgary - Babbo was a bit cheaper than Rush overall (and far superior). We hit a dumpling house in the heart of Chinatown (Panda Dumpling) - delicious and for 6 different dishes (of good size) we paid... $8.50. Joe Shanghai was excellent (better than anything in Calgary) and price-wise similar to Harbour City.
Oh yeah, I also ran in Central Park every morning, went to a bunch of museums, and also noticed that the women... my god, the women...
We went to Chicago after, which was fantastic in its own way, but that`s a different topic...

I'm so glad you enjoyed Babbo! I'm heading to NYC again in a couple of weeks, and I'm so looking forward to dining at Babbo again! We didn't try the pasta tasting menu last time because our reservation was really early and we weren't too hungry, but their pork chop was amazing!

[flamesflames444]

A definite +1 for Grimaldis. It's a very short walk from the bridge and well worth it.

[topfiverecords]

WestJet Blue Tag Thursday. $179+fees
YYC to New York via LaGuardia or Newark
Sept 4-Oct31

[Old Yeller]

Bumping this thread again, I'm going with 2 other people to New York in early October for 5 nights and we'd like to stay within Manhattan but having a real bitch of a time finding much below $300 a night.

Any suggestions/ideas?

[enthused]

Have you looked at renting an apartment? Both times I went to New York we rented apartments through vacation rental websites, like VRBO. Prices were lower than hotels, and we all felt like we got a bit more of an "authentic" experience staying in apartment buildings where people actually live and go about their daily lives.

[malcolmk14]

Just so you are aware, it is now illegal to rent an apartment temporarily in New York City in some cases. Make sure you do your due diligence before renting anything.

That being said, I've always wanted to use Airbnb.com but never have. Check it out, and if you end up using it let me know what your experience is like.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Just so you are aware, it is now illegal to rent an apartment temporarily in New York City in some cases. Make sure you do your due diligence before renting anything.

That being said, I've always wanted to use Airbnb.com but never have. Check it out, and if you end up using it let me know what your experience is like.

Yep, it's illegal, but it's also incredibly common. This article gives a good overview.

http://nymag.com/realestate/realesta...ntals-2011-12/

I can't speak for these rentals, but one option to consider in reducing your price is to jump over to Brooklyn. Odds are anything you find in Manhattan below the $280 range is going to be at least a little removed from most sites, so you'll be taking the subway anyways. There are a number of areas of Brooklyn that are only another stop or two away, and the hotel prices might be quite a bit lower. For instance, the Sheraton Downtown Brooklyn is around $250 and is a couple of blocks away from 6 or 7 subway lines that are only 1 or 2 stops out of Manhattan. The neighborhood is fine, some cool bars a few blocks away and a couple of the best restaurants in the city.

[Table 5]

I've used AirBnb several times without a hitch. I'd recommend looking for a place in Williamsburg, which is just across the river on the L Train so it's super easy to get into Manhattan, and you save some money. There are a lot of empty condos there are that are currently being used a little AirBNB hotels till they can sell the units.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Just so you are aware, it is now illegal to rent an apartment temporarily in New York City in some cases. Make sure you do your due diligence before renting anything.

When I went to New York I thought I got a pretty good deal on a Hotel in Manhattan, turns out it wasn't actually a hotel, but an apartment building. They were illegally running it as a hotel. I cancelled the booking and went somewhere else.

[cDnStealth]

So I am thinking about visiting New York in September or October for about a week. I was looking at staying near the LaGuardia airport because there are some pretty cheap hotels in that area. Is it fairly easy to get to Manhattan from that location?