Cheap things to do in NYC with kids

[WaltonOnNaze]

Taking the kids (aged 7, 10, 11) to NYC next Spring. I have been loads but always pre kids and they have never been. Want to keep it relatively cheap so here are my ideas but would love more if you have them please - everything is so expensive even museums.

Walk the highline
Pizza slices in little italy
Pretzels
Hot dogs from street vendor
Staten Island ferry and back
A day in central park
Just soaking up the whole yellow cab, steam from street grates atmosphere of it all including a walk around Grand Central
A pedicure in Greenwich Village with dd
A tall building - probably empire state as ds wants to do this even though I know top of the rock is better. This will cost $$ though so any free tall buildings that you know of please let me know

In terms of interests - ds1 loves sport but I don't think we can afford a basketball or baseball game. DD loves theatre but same goes for Broadway shows. There is a diner where broadway wannabes sing as they wait tables that we will go to though. DS2 will just love being in America and some tacky souvenir shops.

Watching with interest I am going in June with 2 teens , first timers!

A Subway ride
Walking over Brooklyn Bridge was awesome.
Alice in wonderland statue in Central Park and Strawberry Fields
9/11 memorial

The NY public library has the original Winnie the Pooh in a cabinet that’s worth a look! Free too and near grand central station.

walk over Brooklyn bridge

Empire State Building is my favourite 😍

look into a New York pass - you can choose how many places you want to see and buy accordingly. Worked out cheaper for us than paying separately for admission.

911 memorial

There are up and coming shows that are ‘off broadway’ which would be cheaper.

The Roosevelt Island Tramway, cable car only costs a standard subway ticket.

When we went over to Staten Island we saw a fairly small baseball pitch - tickets for that might be cheaper than other places.

Ghost busters house for a photo!

Everything is so wildly expensive there now. I was there earlier this autumn for the first time in a few years and I was so shocked at how much things cost now. So much so that we just cancelled a family trip out there as it has become unaffordable. It sucks, because my extended family is there and my DC haven’t been since they were tiny.

So just the basics of feeding everyone, getting a coffee, etc, will set you back an arm and a leg!

My favourite thing in NYC is always just walking everywhere. Although possibly less appealing to the kids!

There is a diner where broadway wannabes sing as they wait tables that we will go to

Ellen's Stardust Diner - had dinner here on my 40th birthday, loved it!

Any suggestions for how to know which shows/venues are up and coming @Beautifulsunflowers?

When I went in 2017, the national history museum tickets were whatever you can afford with a suggested donation. I think we paid about 5 dollers, stingy but we were rushing and poor.
I didn't like the street vendor hotdogs, but the dollar pizza slices were good.
We stayed in a tall hotel and requested the highest floor, which was amazing. Didn't bother paying for skyscraper visit.
Also did Highline and loved it.
Subway across to Brooklyn gives good glimpse of statue of liberty.
The cable car trip to Roosevelt Island (I think?) was cheap and fun. Also the Staten island ferry.
Good playgrounds along Brooklyn piers. We lived the ones with water in the summer heat.
There are public pools but very strict rules made it difficult to access.

I didn’t know about Roosevelt island. Good tip

If the sporty one likes tennis, get the subway out to Flushing Meadows. We wandered about the complex quite freely! This was a few years back though.

We also watched a lot of planes from public streets near the airports.

How long are you going for? I'm currently pricing up a trip and everything is $$$ especially when you add taxes and tips on plus the dreadful exchange rate

5 nights.

@WaltonOnNaze Sorry it’s taken me ages to respond!
we saw Kimberley Akimbo on broadway - it’s just moved there from off broadway - it was excellent! Very funny but the odd swear word so not sure how you’d feel about that with your children. Nearer the time have a look at off broadway shows and if you decide to queue in Times Square for tickets then get in the queue early!

We also saw a basketball game which was pricey but so worth it - in fact a very entertaining afternoon with cheerleaders, singers, and acts between the quarters and during time outs! I bought the tickets on ticketmaster before we went.

Oh where was basketball @Beautifulsunflowers - Madison square garden?

@WaltonOnNaze yes Maddison square gardens.

I went before covid. My son, at the time, absolutely loved Brooklyn 99. We spent a long time walking round Brooklyn to find the station it was filmed in. He's easily pleased that way, and was happiest wandering round and seeing things from films etc he likes. Same in London when we went there, he wanted to visit all the streets on monopoly. Not sure what your kids are into, but maybe if they're into something related, you could do a treasure hunt type day (with the treasure being a specific place)?

Central park
i HVe been loads. Last thanksgiving I went to Brooklyn which was fantastic. A colleague showed me around. If you have anyone willing to give a couple of hours ask them. Or join an organised walking tour. I recall there is a picket ball park with fantastic views of lower manhattan. For a solemn experience the 911 memorial. Have a great trip

We also did a basketball game but went to the Barclay centre in Brooklyn to see the Brooklyn Nets . Huge success and ds3 has been a basketball fan since.

the other place so would recommend is the Tenement Museum in the lower east side ( I think that’s where it was) excellent interactive tours.

We loved the ariel tram, its what the green goblin tries to destroy in one of the Toby Maguire spiderman movies!

www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/visiting is worth checking to see if they are offering public tours again. We did this and found it fascinating. Its an hour and qe got to see inside the vault where they were counting all the gold bars. I've never seen so much gold before, it was more yellow than what I imagined!

Also look out for pay what you want evenings at the big museums, they are busy, but much cheaper than normal.

We visited New York in October with kids 4 and 9 for 6 nights. We did a lot of what was mentioned above but my daughter would also recommend:

The Summit - a great high building that although isn't cheap would be great for the kids, ours loved it as its more interactive than all of the other view points and has a pretty similar view to Top of The Rock as well as a great view of the Empire State.

Play parks in Central Park - there are lots of these scatted about, with some really good ones for older kids

Bronx Zoo - We had a day out at the Bronx Zoo which is free on a Wednesday if you book tickets in advance. It was nice to get out of the madness of the city and we all thought it was an excellent zoo with lots to do.

@pinklady123456 i saw that online but the website seemed to suggest there were so many payable extras I wasn’t sure that it would work. Did your kids feel they were missing out without that?

Take the ferry from E34th street to Brooklyn and then walk over the Brooklyn Bridge towards Manhattan. I think the ferry is included on the Metrocard but if it isn't, it is very cheap. It is a commuter ferry so very authentic and definitely has the best skyline for photos - Chrysler building, Citicorp Centre and Empire State.
Then go to Chinatown for meal and a wander. Nam Wah Parlour is so authentic and reasonably priced for a great meal and is also in the heart of the 1920s gangster land.
The High Line is free and great fun but make sure you start from Chelsea Market which always has fun things going on inside it.
FAO Schwarz near Rockefeller Centre is great to walk through - a toy shop for young and old. And Eataly near the Flatiron Building is lovely to walk through. Whilst there, go for a meal in the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.
And last bit not least, go and sit on the tiered seating in the middle of Times Square for free where you can sit quite calmly and see the hustle and bustle of the city.
Enjoy your trip!

We did pay for the extras and I would say they were worth it. We saw it as making the zoo visit cheaper though as it was a full day out and we all really enjoyed it, it felt much better value than a trip to Edinburgh zoo which is our local zoo.

You can also just pay for a couple of the extras as you go, the monorail in particular was fun, there were plenty of people just paying for one or two of the additional exhibits and there was lots to see even if you didn’t pay.

Train ride to Coney Island to the boardwalk & funfair. Eat some Nathan’s hotdogs after.

When we went the Natural History Museum was pay what you want at all times they just don't advertise it. You just have to go to a cashier rather than the ticket machine and tell them what you want to pay. We paid a dollar each.

Kids are free on the subway, buy your tickets from a manned booth and they will tell you which of your kids can go free. I'm sure my oldest was technically over the limit but the ticket guy just said both kids could duck under the barriers. Never had a problem and we did it all week.

Go to Ellen's Stardust Dinner for breakfast rather than lunch or dinner the queues are much smaller.

The Roosevelt Tramway (like a cable car) is free with your subway tickets and something different to do.