Is the View Worth the Hassle? Empire State Building
Written: Jun 27 '07 (Updated Jul 02 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The View at Sunset!!!
Cons: Employees, Security?
The Bottom Line: A stunning view that should be seen at least once.
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| cmaw63's Full Review: Empire State Building |
On our tour of New York City, the Empire State Building was high on my sister's list of "must see" attractions. While it wasn't one of my top 10 to visit, it didn't seem right to miss out on one of the most well known buildings in the world.
Visitor Information
The Empire State Building is open 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It's location is Fifth Avenue at 34th Street and has a well tended entry way that shows a visitor the right entrance to use.
The admission price for the 86th floor observatory is:
Adults (18-61) $18.00
Youth (12-17) $16.00
Child (6-11) $12.00
Seniors (62+) $16.00
Military w/ID $16.00
Military In Uniform Free
Toddlers (5 or younger) Free
An additional $15 will allow you to proceed to the 102nd floor Observatory. These tickets are purchased once you get to the 86th floor.
My Experience
After entering the Empire State Building we were directed to the second floor to buy tickets for the observatory. We showed the person our New York Passes, purchased from VISITicket.com, that were supposed to let us fast track past the ticket line. The man insisted we were to go to the second floor ticket line. We went. After riding the escalator to the 2nd floor we asked another ESB employee about fast tracking. She stated we should have stayed on the first floor and went to the gift shop to receive our tickets. Her comment after that was along the lines of...too bad the down escalator is under construction and the elevator doesn't work, so you're stuck. What the heck should all these people to do then if something...oh, I don't know...like maybe, a fire happened? Gee, sorry you're stuck. Anyway...
We entered the long line and came across another ESB employee, not being one to give up, I spoke with him. He stated we should take the elevator down to the first floor. After informing him that we had been told the elevator wasn't working, he looked incredulous. He stated he just watched someone exit it while we were talking. He walked us to the elevator and as we arrived there the doors opened and another group came off of it. The woman, upon seeing us, stated...oh, it must be working again. Yeah, right...was it ever not working?
The male employee walked with us to the gift shop, apologizing the entire way. Ok, not a big problem...we have our tickets and we're on our way...or so we thought. Somehow we ended up with a double ticket that allowed us to view the New York Skyride attraction. We didn't want to see the skyride...we wanted to go to the observatory while there was still daylight. After two Empire State Building employees insisted we needed to go to the skyride first...and us insisting that we did not have to go, we were finally directed to the elevators for the observatory.
Our wait time at the elevators was a mere 15 minutes. We had been prepared for a much longer wait. Finally, a positive experience. So we thought. After leaving the elevator, with our ears popping, we hit another line. What was this line? It appeared that a mandatory photograph had to be taken of your group so it could be purchased, if you wished, before leaving. For those that didn't want their picture taken, too bad. Every third group had to pose or they weren't let through, until someone else stepped up for their photo to be taken. You guessed it...my sister and I were that third group. Now they see we both have cameras with us, yet, they insisted we had to have our picture taken. No one behind us appeared to be interested in taking our spot. You do not want to guess the picture I finally posed for...although, it did garner quite a few chuckles from the waiting line.
The observatory...I see the observatory! We made it! There was little sunlight left, but what we did see was a beautiful sunset. Blues, giving away to pinks, oranges, and back to darker blues of the clouds moving in. Combined with the twinkling multitude of lights from the city below it was an absolutely stunning view. The hundreds of other people on the outside observatory appeared to think so, too. I was starting to get worried the entire building was going to start leaning to the west as everyone moved to that side to get pictures of the sunset. After elbowing our way out of the mass of people, we did snap off some more pictures of the city before we left.
Leaving the 86th floor took about 30 minutes of standing in line for the elevator. One female employee kept letting those in the line know that if they wanted to walk 6 floors down they could catch an elevator and it would be much quicker. We chose to wait and ended up on the ground floor at the same time as a group we had noticed take the stairs to the lower floor. Other than the man that set us on the right path, the friendliest employees we met were the ones that said goodbye to us as we left.
Another Thought
In our travels through the Empire State Building we never once encountered security. We were never asked to open our purses, show I.D., or anything else, as we had been at other NYC attractions. We didn't take the traditional ticket line entry, so it might be more secure through that avenue, but our back hallway entry left us room to ramble if we had chosen to. Makes you wonder doesn't it.
Finally...
I'm glad we went to the Empire State Building. It wouldn't seem right to visit New York City and not do so. The sunset, from the 86th floor, was one of the most amazing I've ever seen. Yet, the experiences with the staff of the Empire State Building means I have no desire to repeat the experience as I do other attractions I visited while in New York. It's one of those places I can say I've been there, done that, no need to ever do it again. No, I don't have the picture to prove it.
Where To Stay
Radio City Apartments
NYC Experiences
Bronx Zoo
St. Paul's Chapel
Times Square
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The Beast Speed Boat
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cmaw63
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 in Pets, Home and Garden, Books |
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Member: Julie
Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 71 members
About Me:
Looking forward to my first grandbaby. She's due November 24!
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