Top of the Rock at night. It was just magical. I loved how the city just lit up…read more It gets cold up there, so bring a jacket. I loved the cute cafe where you can sit, relax, and drink. Great spot to check off from your bucket list if you want to see New York from a bird's eye view.

I was extremely disappointed with the FIFA Watch Party at Top of the Rock…read more I had been looking forward to this match for months and expected an unforgettable experience. Instead, it turned into one of the most poorly organized events I've ever attended. The venue was severely overcrowded, and there were far too few TVs for the number of people admitted. Most guests, including us, couldn't even watch the game because there simply wasn't enough viewing space. We spent the event walking around trying to find a place where we could see a screen, but it was impossible. This event was clearly oversold without proper planning or consideration for the guest experience. We paid specifically to watch the FIFA final, but ended up missing most of the match. We left feeling frustrated, disappointed, and honestly scammed. This was not the experience that was advertised or promised. I hope Top of the Rock takes responsibility for what happened and provides refunds to the affected guests, while making sure events like this are organized much better in the future.

The Edge and City Climb combo was such a good experience. The Edge itself has amazing views, but…read moreadding the City Climb made it feel way more memorable. Climbing up the side of the building was a little nerve wracking at first, but the staff made me feel safe and talked me through everything. Once I got to the top, the view was unbelievable and worth every bit of it. You can check out my full review and everything I did on Instagram and TikTok: @travelnistaonthemove

I was very disappointed with Edge. Originally, I had wanted to do the City Climb experience, but…read morethey were doing renovations to it, and it wasn't available. In hindsight, it was for the best. As it was, I paid extra for priority access, which allows you to skip the lines. But there was no line to get in, and no line for the elevator up. There was a line for the elevator down that I got to skip, but it was only about 10 people, so I basically saved 5 minutes. The whole experience took me about 15-20 minutes. With Top of Rock, you've got the beam, the lift, and the short fun little movie at the beginning, with Empire, you have the historical aspect of it, and with Summit 1, you have the ballroom. There's nothing special or drawing to Edge. The views are ok, but the deck is on the smaller side of the ones I've been to. Security was a little rude and off-putting. The first security guard said I set the alarm off and sends me over to the side. That guy waves me through, then the original guy starts freaking out for me to stop. I go back to the 2nd, and I'm like you waived me through, and he just keeps saying it's ok. And pawing at my stuff, mind I had a clear bag so you see everything in case I set an alarm off. Anyway, It better be ok, I went to stop, and YOU waived me through. Overall, of the observation decks I've done, Edge has been the worst. 1. Top of the Rock 2. Summit 1 3. One Times Square 4. Empire State 5. Edge

An Unforgettable, Interactive NYC Skyline Experience…read more What a truly fantastic experience! We booked our tickets well in advance and *tried* to time our slot for the sunset. Even with the heavy crowds and a long, congested line inside that definitely could have used some better ventilation, the entire experience was absolutely worth the money. A Massive Hit with the Kids: We took our young boys, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Even though they had already visited the Empire State Building on our trip, the interactive installations here kept them completely engaged. They especially loved the room with the floating silver balloons, in addition to the stunning mirror installation. Perfect Photo Ops: There are fun opportunities throughout the exhibit to capture family photos with the city skyline as a backdrop. Convenient Location: We ended our memorable visit with an easy, stress-free family dinner right next door at the Grand Central Station food court, which was incredibly convenient. Pro Tip: Be sure to bring sunglasses to combat the sunlight + mirrors.

There is no shortage of high places in New York City where you can pay a substantial amount of…read moremoney to stare at Manhattan from above. SUMMIT One Vanderbilt decided that an extraordinary view was not quite enough, so they wrapped the experience in Kenzo Digital's massive mirror installations, added floating silver balloons, built glass-bottomed skyboxes, and tossed in an exterior elevator for good measure. I brought the family this past weekend, and everyone had a great time. The perspective from three levels spanning the 91st through 93rd floors is genuinely spectacular. The floor-to-ceiling glass offers crisp, dramatic angles on the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Central Park, and the surrounding Midtown skyline. The individual rooms are surreal, disorienting, and almost aggressively engineered for social media. The main mirrored space, known as Transcendence, multiplies the skyline and every person in the room into an endless pattern of optical confusion. Over in Affinity, walking through dozens of lightweight silver spheres feels like stepping into a giant pinball machine. For those who enjoy a quick hit of vertigo, Levitation features transparent glass ledges extending out over the building, letting you look straight down a 1,063-foot drop onto Madison Avenue. My fear of heights encouraged me to pass on this particular opportunity. One practical warning: bring sunglasses. When the sun broke through the clouds during our visit, the mirrored floors and walls bounced intense sunlight from every conceivable angle. On a completely clear summer afternoon, the experience must come pretty close to standing inside a solar panel. We skipped Ascent, the exterior glass elevator that rides up the outside of the building. Watching it from the outdoor terrace was enough for me. It looks interesting, but the view from the main observation decks is already so high that paying extra for a glass elevator ride feels unnecessary. We also passed on drinks and bites at Apres, the lounge on the top level, though the menu prices looked about where you would expect for a cocktail served 93 stories above the sidewalk. I would like to return at night. After dark, I imagine seeing the illuminated city grid reflected across all those mirrors must be an entirely different experience. It gets four stars instead of five primarily because it is a steep investment for a family, and much of what you are paying for is a classic skyline view wrapped inside an elaborate optical funhouse. But if you want a top-tier observation deck combined with genuinely creative immersive spaces, SUMMIT delivers a lot of fun. Everyone in the family left happy, which is never a guarantee.

One World Trade Center was just WOAH!…read more From the second you step up to it, the building itself is absolutely stunning. The high speed elevator ride to the top floor was amazing, you get up there so fast that my ears popped a few times on the way up! The short intro show they play is super nice and very well done. But the best part is when the screen rises up and reveals the skyline, seeing everything for the first time was just perfect. Once you walk around, you literally get a full 360 degree view of the entire city. On top of the views, they display facts about the building and they have a gift shop, restaurant and a café up there so you can take your time and really enjoy the space. It was an incredible experience from start to finish and definitely worth every penny!

Not our first time here but definitely a place worth checking out. We were visiting the Sunday,…read morethe weekend of the World Cup tournament. Crowds were low at One World Observatory (which was perfect) Besides the sad tragic history of this place- the views of the city you get is absolutely amazing! You get 360 views of the city- from The Statue of Liberty to the Brooklyn bridge to jersey city etc. Amazing! If you're ever visiting the city add this place to your list and I promise you wont be disappointed!

Visiting the Empire State Building was an absolute highlight of my trip to New York City…read more From the moment you walk into the iconic Art Deco lobby, you can feel the history of the building. The museum exhibits on the lower floors were a welcome surprise, learning about its construction and pop culture moments made the wait for the elevator fly by.  Once you step out onto the 86th floor open air observatory, the 360 degree views of Manhattan are beyond simply breathtaking. Standing high above the city grid is an unforgettable feeling and kinda scary!

This is a review of purchasing your tickets online ahead of time. DO NOT get scammed by the Empire…read moreState Building. Let me explain. DO NOT book in advance unless you know all the conditions of NYC, the Empire State building and whatever else the DAY OF your visit while you are standing in NYC. Better to wait in line because you know that you are able to go to observation deck. Or call them if they are opened before making the trek to get into a line. I have wanted to go here and see the building. It has a wonderful history. I had my day in NYC. Check. I had my flight to NYC. Check. I saw the weather the day of good. Check. I got my ticket to Empire State Building. Check. My problem, I do not live in NYC. The day before getting to NYC, there were severe flooding and possible tornado. My flight got canceled, I was stuck in DC. I called the Empire State Building to ask about a refund and the employee on the phone said they had to cancel tickets for all the people that day due to bad views and storms! She said contact the sales and maybe they will give me a refund. I emailed and immediate reply.. no refunds per our website. I explained that my flight was cancelled and that it was not myself that was causing the issue. No response. I even asked for a voucher for a future visit since I go to NYC for work in a few months. No response. Yes, the website warns you "Tickets are non-refundable. No refunds due to weather conditions, length of lines, or wait times at the building. The Empire State Building reserves the right to close the Observatory early on very busy." So not only myself but potentially hundreds of people were denied entry to Empire State Building because of the storms and lost $57 (cheapest ticket). Do yourself a favor and don't book in advance and wait till the day of so you can assess the situation, call them to confirm if they are letting people up to the observation deck and then go purchase a ticket. No desire to go on a tour in the future. Off my list. There are many other cool things to see/do in NYC.

This place is awesome and always being improved. Aside from being an artist's dream air bnb, you…read morecan hold an event here. The owner, Micha, is hospitable and helpful with a great attitude and positive outlook. The bathrooms are always spotless no matter what size gathering. There are comfy couches and piles of floor pillows and a beautiful outdoor covered (rain) and uncovered (star-gazing)seating areas.

I came here on two separate occasions. One was for a private event hosted by Google and the other…read morewas for a ticket Afrohouse event. Both times I noticed that the venue was well ventilated and the bathrooms were stocked well with toilet paper. The sound quality was pretty good as well and the venue was spacious as well. I've seen other reviews regarding overcrowding but the organizers of these particular events did a great job with crowd control.

I usually avoid Terminal 5 as I don't like the layout and find the location too far off the path…read more However, Circle Jerks were paying here with Murphy's Law, No Idols & Vaxine - a killer, unmissable show! I was pleasantly surprised with the Rooftop Stage, which is on the 3rd Floor - had no idea this existed and it was actually pretty great! Walls on all 4 sides but completely open air and very "outside" feeling. Great sound system, small space - which I love & overall pretty much great! I would definitely go to other shows on the Rooftop!

Lush hilly terrain. The Arboretum is fenced in so deer can't bother the native plants. It turned…read moreinto a lovely day, so the birds are out. I can sit here for hours just watching the leaves sway. There are walking trails, plenty of benches, and a Stone house that has exhibits and information. Park is open all year round, but apparently the Stone house is only open on certain days. It is not open now.

Very quiet, so peaceful here. Another great place to do some bird watching. There are lots of…read moredifferent types of wildflowers and trees. Hilly walking trails. We love this place. Street parking is easy to find.

Historically speaking I had never been to the Queens Theatre before the other night when I caught…read morethe NYC appearance by the band Rolling Quartz. The band had embarked on their North American tour from their native South Korea. Since I had never seen the band before as well, the adventure to a new space for me made the whole thing more interesting to me. Now I travel via the MTA, and from Bay Ridge this event space is a bit of a hike. It's the R train to the N to the 7 to a fairly decent walk. Those who are driving or taking an Uber might have a little better trek experience than I did but that being said once I made it past the famed Unisphere and over to New York State Pavilion, it was time to go into the Queens Theatre. When I arrived there were already about 100 attendees lined up because the band was doing all sorts of VIP things with them. A cool part of the agenda for sure. Inside the theatre is a spacious lobby area with seating all around near the windows. There are concessions there but I only saw drinks being sold when I looked. There was a small merchandise table for the band set up and I imagine that when other shows happen here this will be their space as well. Right off the bat I connected to a complimentary WiFi signal which was good but seemed to go on and off during the course of the performance. Once I was in the actual performance space I was quite impressed. The stage is sizable which was great because this was a five member band with a full backline and the seats were oh so comfortable. Yes this was a Rock Show and people would likely be standing throughout the performance but when it was time to sit you could do so in comfort. I positioned myself in the eighth or so row on the aisle since I needed to shoot photographs and I was happy to report that there were no bad sightlines in the theater. The sound was also clear and impressive which was partially a testimony to the bands team on the tour. While I didn't get to explore the venue all that much outside of the show, I did see one of the spacious side rooms which I guess they do talks in or smaller events. The band has set up their meet and greets there so it was in and out in terms of time to examine. There was a complimentary WiFi that I did find to be spotty at times but I feel this was based on the amount of people choosing to live stream the show. There were obviously restrooms and while I can only speak for the men's facility it was quite clean which is always a pleasant find. Overall this was a great experience for me but I cannot fathom when and if I might make a return based on the logistics and scarcity of what most interests me happening here. I will be keeping tabs on their calendar for good measure just in case and maybe some other localized Hard Rock bands can look into it or even local promoters who wish to do something that is no too crazy.

This was my first visit to the Queens Theater. I secured tickets through the library cultural pass…read more We went to watch "Sugar Skull - A Dia de Muertos Musical Adventure." We had a hard time finding parking as the show was about to start and the park is always busy. There were two small lots nearby that were full. Upon entering check in was easy. They had a small concession stand. The seating was great with no obstructed views. The play itself was kid friendly and told the meaning and traditions of the special day. It was very informative and entertaining. I enjoyed the different styles of dances performed, the colorful outfits, the creative scenery (which was simple but effective). I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and look forward to visiting again.