Empire State Building
Written: Jul 07 '02 (Updated Jul 07 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Awesome view, pretty cheap
Cons: "NY Skyrider", Long Waits
The Bottom Line: Simply put, you cannot leave New York without visiting the Empire State Building.
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| Nintendo64PSX's Full Review: Empire State Building |
When one thinks of New York, a certain number of things pop up in their head, which may include sites, landmarks, buildings, and other such areas of interest. One of these landmrks people know of is the Empire State Building, one of the tallest buildings in New York, and one-time the tallest building in the world.
The Empire State Building is really an afternoon trip, maybe two or three hours. When you think about it, there are really only two specific attractions at the building. One is the New York Skyrider and the other is the Empire State Building Observatory.
The New York Skyrider is basically an aerial tour of New York city through a virtual simulator which has you sitting in rows of seats as the mechanism moves back and forth to go with the screen. The screen is in first person as if you were actually flying through the city. It really isn't worth the time wasted waiting in the line to go on this ride. True, you get a great tour of New York, but most of it is you traveling the streets at ground level with people running around as if the plane is about to crash near them. A guy throws a box of pizzas on the floor and another guy throwing his newspaper on the floor isn't worth the money or more importantly, the wait. The total ride is maybe 5 minutes, of which maybe 2 of those minutes has you watching the beautiful scenary of New York City as a whole. Also, you would think they would edit out the part where you were riding the plane and it seemed you were about to crash near the WTC. Whatever.
It's the Empire State Building Observatory which makes the trip to the building worthwhile. You ride an elevator to the 80th floor at which you have the option to take the stairs or another elevator to the 86th floor, or where the main observatory is located. From this point, you can walk around outside, for a full 360 degree panoramic view of New York City. You get to see the other landmarks and sites which makes New York famous, as the amount of buildings is endless. You can look directly down, find a street, and watch it run down Manhattan miles away. The day I went wasn't foggy at all, so we could view 15 miles out in the distance to see neighboring state New Jersey. The observatory has 4 long viewpoints, which each, has a great view. If you look out from the east point, you will see the United Nations building, and a number of bridges (including Triboro). To the North you can see the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Central Park, and the Hudson River. To the South in the distance, lies the Statue of Liberty and nearby, Ellis Island. In the West will be world-famous stadium, Madison Square Garden, the Intrepid, and way-off in the distance - Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The pricing was pretty cheap. For both the SkyRider and the Observatory, it will cost $17 a person, a combonation which is cheaper than buying the tickets seperately. If you just want to have an awesome view of New York, tickets will be $9 a person.
My only negative with the Building is something that cannot be avoived - the long lines. First, there will be a line to buy the tickets (SkyRider and/or Observatory). Next, you will have to get in line to be admitted into SkyRider. After that, you are sent into a waiting area where you wait for the doors to be opened and to be let in. After you complete the SkyRider, you will be on what seems the longest line yet - for the elevators to take you to the Observatory. I waited about 30-40 minutes just to get on the first elevator which took us to the 80th floor. Another 5-10 minutes were spent in line to take a different elevator to the 86th floor (You are better off taking the stairs). The ride back to the Lobby from the 80th floor is another 5 minute wait (not so bad).
Simply put, you cannot leave New York without visiting the Empire State Building. You only need to spend an afternoon at the Building, of which maybe an hour or two in lines.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
Nintendo64PSX
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Location: NY, USA
Reviews written: 80
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
The monkey stares endlessly, after seeing some of the insanity effects in Nintendo's "Eternal Darkness"
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