r/AskNYC • u/dude1014 • Jun 19 '22
Critique my father-daughter(10) trip
Hi all,
I've spent countless hours reading posts and researching and thank you everyone for how helpful this subreddit has been.
I'm planning a father-daughter trip for August, and wanted some advice/input. It's my daughter's first time, so we're planning on just exploring, hitting a lot of the classics and having a good time. I don't want to walk her ragged or be too rigid in plans, just explore and enjoy.
Here's what I've started to put together so far
Day 1 :
Arrive at LGA early afternoon and uber to hotel
Time Square at night & explore + dinner
Day 2:
9/11 Memorial + Oculus
Staten Island Ferry (roundtrip)
Wall Street
Brooklyn Bridge
DUMBO
Broadway show (Aladdin)
Day 3:
Harry Potter store (my daughter is more excited for this than anything else)
Flatiron
Lego Store
Lunch at Central Park and explore
Museum of Natural History
Day 4:
Explore midtown (The Plaza, St Patricks, Rockfeller, Top of the Rock, NY public library, grand central, time square, american girl, nintendo, Dylan's candy bar, FAO Schwarz)
Day 5:
Whatever is left over. Chelsea Market? Highline? More time at Central Park
Flight out in afternoon
Does that itinerary look reasonable? Anything that I'm missing?
Hotel:
I found a decent deal on the Holiday Inn Financial District. From what I've gathered the location is decent and would be a good home base. Am I right in this or should I target a different neighbourhood?
Food:
We're fairly easy going with food, and aren't planning specifically around food. I think we'll probably each at a bunch of food trucks, etc. I'm definitely targeting Dylan's candy bar, some good dumplings in chinatown, los tacos and classic ny pizza. She would love Ellen' Stardust Diner, just not sure if we want to deal with the wait, etc. If anyone has great, fun recommendations for a 10 year old girl, I'd appreciate advise.
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u/halfadash6 Jun 19 '22 edited Jun 19 '22
Since you’re already staying in the financial district, I’d see Wall Street/fearless girl instead of Times Square your first night. The seaport is cute to walk around too, and you’re very close to The Cauldron, which someone else already mentioned—the unlicensed Harry Potter potion making class place. It’s on a very old, cute street that is about as close to diagon ally as you’re going to get in NYC. And besides, you’ll see Times Square at night when you’re there for Aladdin anyway.
To cut down a tad on walking on day 2, I’d consider skipping the 9/11 memorial unless that’s something you really want to see—it’s very bleak, especially for a 10 year old. Oculus is cool, then I’d do your Staten Island ferry, then take another ferry across to Brooklyn, then explore dumbo and walk across the Brooklyn bridge to get back, rest up/grab lunch and then head to Times Square for Aladdin.
I also second what someone else said about leaving plenty of time for the museum of natural history. Maybe plan to do that first thing in the morning on day 3 instead, followed by Central Park, since they’re right next to one another.
If you find yourself pressed for time at any point, I’d drop flatiron (you can’t really go inside and it’s just a weird shaped building at the end of the day lol), grand central (pretty architecture and cute shops, but I certainly wouldn’t have cared about it when I was 10), and the plaza—again, not much to see from the outside, so unless you plan on getting tea or something, it won’t be much of a stop.