This is one of two ice skating rinks I've visited so far in NYC and it's my favorite (for now!)…read more I've been twice - once on Christmas Day (was EXTREMELY crowded) and again on January 4th. The most recent visit was much more pleasant as it wasn't crazy crowded with tourists. First, if you are an NYC resident, GET YOURSELF A LIBRARY CARD! Either the New York Library, Brooklyn or Queens - doesn't matter as long as you have a physical copy of one of these. If so, you can buy same-day tickets at the ticket booth for $16!!! This includes your skate rentals and you also get a cup of hot chocolate with this price. Such an incredible perk for those of us who live here! **If you have your own skates, you're allowed to bring them in! Not sure how that affects the library card price, but I do know that it does decrease the regular price cost as you can skip the $12 rental fee. As for the rink itself... This is the biggest one I've been to so far! Which I find to be important as it's easier to dodge the people who don't know how to ice skate when there's more space to move around. There are lockers for rent where you can put your stuff which are $8, however they're a bit small. I was able to stuff our backpack, two pairs of women's shoes, a metal water bottle, one of my husband's Timberland boots and one of our friend's sneakers, but it was a TIGHT squeeze. All of this barely fit. **We put one of each of the guy's shoes in the locker because who would steal one Timberland boot without the other one? These lockers are first come, first serve and it is an absolute NIGHTMARE to find an empty one on crowded days... However you are not allowed to have a purse or backpack on the rink, so keep this in mind if you're planning to come on a peak day! The staff was always very helpful, which we appreciated. Also, I want to make note that one of the staff members told me that they don't sharpen the blades of the skates, which makes them VERY slippery if you get on the ice as soon as the Zamboni finishes up. Besides hot chocolate, they have hot apple cider, coffee beverages and an assortment of snack food you can order if you need to refuel after being out on the ice. They even have some vegan options, which was great to see (as a vegetarian, we love a good vegan option)! When planning your visit, I recommend checking their website to see when they will be resurfacing the ice rink. The first time we went, we did not take this into consideration so we only got about 30-ish minutes of skating before we had to hop off the ice for them to resurface it. However, the second time we went with local friends who suggested we show up right as they were finishing resurfacing the ice. This was absolutely perfect! We got about an hour and 15 minutes or so of rink time before hopping off for them to bring out the Zamboni again. I know that we will definitely be back in the years to come! I love ice skating and this outdoor experience was the best one I've had so far.

3.5 Stars: experience 4.5 Stars: facilities…read more 2 Stars: additional (expensive) fees 1 Star: entrance signage, ticketing, directions from staff (vocal/crowd control) Took advantage of winter in NYC & finally went to Wollman Rink! It's surprisingly very close to the subway R/N 5th Avenue stop, about a 8-10 minute walk. Used my NYC/Queens/Brooklyn Library Card & got free admission (up to 2) on the Arts & Culture sight. You have to choose a date & screenshot the ticket, but the entrance time is open all day (mine showed only available dates for the following week - so plan accordingly). This is a great program and hopefully New Yorkers take advantage of these Library cultural partnerships - HOWEVER things are not entirely low-cost & you still need to pay even before getting to the ice. It's $12 for skate rental (exact change, cash preferred at the ticket office) & $8 for locker rental (you need a phone, good wifi & credit card/apple pay at the lockers). I was scared for a teen tourist who left her new Doc Martin boots over in the corner, refusing to pay. First - finding the entrance to the rink is confusing. You come across the exit, but there's no A-frame or signage & the poor guard is constantly stopping people. You have to walk further down around the path, or through the viewing area to the entrance. At the entrance, there two ticket kiosks, a ticket booth with staff & one attendant. That one attendant at the "entrance" isn't there to scan your ticket, he's there to point at a QR code to scan & electronically sign a waiver. You also need good Wi-Fi because after filling out the form on that website, it'll email you the link, you have to go into your email & tap that link. The entrance attendant barely makes announcements, there's a group of people standing loosely around him & at first you're not sure if people are in line, undecided, waiting for their group... He lets me go in to the 2nd scanning point however my culture ticket with a barcode actually needs to be exchanged up at the ticket booth. So I head back up. After watching tourist families debate the pricing & a child needs to have one adult with them (free), but the other parent needs to pay. They can pay for their skate rental there, but they need to pay for their skate training walker thing inside. Finally, I'm in past the empty corralling lines. It's be great if there was 1 giant sign at the front entrance with numbered directions about the whole entry process and costs. AND multiple A-frames with the QR code for the waiver. I came on a Tuesday, open 10 AM - 2:30 PM; and it was busy enough for the space & facilities there, short lines outside. I can't imagine how it is on the weekends. The facilities are very up-to-date & clean, bathrooms also (& routine cleaning). There's actually good signage for skate rental, café, exits, a little gift shop, skate school meeting counter. FYI, if you are a half size shoe size, you need to go up - bring thick socks! My skates were very old, the hard shell tongues had a slight crack, but there was black felt lining all in the inside - which was well worn & spilling off up the edges of the shoe. The shoelaces were long & old, but overall the skates did their job. There's slim "carpet covered?" benches (bed bug central??) for you to change out of your shoes. 2 attendants/guards are posted in the area, but lots of sign's saying "the rink is not responsible for lost or stolen items." The small lockers are a good size - pretty deep, can fit probably 4-5 pairs of shoes. The music outside at the rink is just loud enough that it's annoying if you're sitting there watching, but on the ice it's OK, or maybe you're concentrating so hard that you tune it out. I got there around 12:30 PM. Don't know about the different qualities of skating ice. It was fairly rough by that time of day. A small center area's blocked off by cones for experienced skaters, with very shiny smooth ice. The ice at the entrances of the rink & around the edges at the walls weren't very level & were extra slippery/wet. The ice rink staff were very attentive & moving around the rink, quickly went over to a boy that fell & was holding his knee. Glad for this unique experience & offering from NYC Parks/Central Park. Expect to add on an additional half an hour or more for the whole ticketing/check-in process.