Laguardia to TS for a show- Page 2

[MinervaMoon]

Posted: 8/19/17 at 3:59am

When I saw this thread I also went in wanting to give you encouragement, having made many close-call shows before, but sorry to say I actually laughed out loud when I saw the time frame. I think the 54 Below shows are a good idea, though!

As an aside, last summer I was visiting London and were supposed to arrive 11 AM on a Monday, and see Cursed Child at 2 PM and 8 PM Tuesday (the next day). Due to a storm that made us (and seemingly the entire NE United States) miss our connection, we were delayed more than a day and ended up getting to the theatre 22 minutes before the show started. This was after flight finagling that involved redirecting to Toronto, clearing customs, running to the counter, and begging to be put on a flight that left in less than an hour on Monday night. In summary, thank you to Canada Air.

[Olivia11]

Posted: 8/19/17 at 5:52pm

Phantom4ever said: "To make absolutely sure I can make an 8pm curtain, I want my flight to land no later than 2pm. And with a checked bag?  Add another hour or two. 

 

"

I regularly land at JFK at 3:45 with checked luggage and make 7:00 curtains, after checking into my room. It's tight but doable. I am always prepared that a flight delay or very serious traffic might cause me to miss a show but the risk is worth it to me.  I will be doing it in December and this time shelled out $11 per ticket for insurance because I bought expensive tickets.  To date, I have never missed the show.

I travel on business approx once per month (I literally landed home at midnight last night). Your view on checked luggage is way, way off. I check luggage on flights to almost every state in the country and some international destinations. After deplaning (easily because I'm not dragging luggage), I usually stop at the bathroom and then go straight to baggage claim. The average wait is less than ten minutes. The longest I have waited (during a snowstorm) was 30 minutes but that's once in a hundred flights.  


 

Adding one to two hours for checked luggage...um no.

Updated On: 8/19/17 at 05:52 PM

[ntrackbar]

Posted: 8/19/17 at 6:16pm

I have never seen everyone on this board agree on something! Where is the dissenting opinion? When will someone call me an idiot? 

Seriously though - if you have given up on that night of the theater, in my experience the cheapest and often times fastest way to get out is to take the N60 bus to the N/W train stop at Astoria Blvd. - that will take you to midtown within 15 minutes. You do have the transfers - but you'll save at least $30 and probably time.

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 8/19/17 at 10:42pm

I honestly think the deal breaker is the checked bag. If I decide to just take carry-on I'm going to time myself and see how close I can come to curtain call. I won't buy theatre ticket cuz that would be silly - but I feel challenged now to see if it's doable (if I land at 7).  I'll bump this in November!

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 8/19/17 at 11:14pm

Even without a checked bag I really don't think it's doable. The traffic coming out of LaGuardia is pretty terrible at that time of day, not to mention the traffic in Manhattan once you cross the bridge. Also, even if you take the bus to the N/W you run the risk of having to wait ages for a train, and it does NOT take 15 minutes to get from Astoria Boulevard to Times Square. That's typically the amount of time it takes just to get out of Queens on the train, unless your train magically goes express to Queensboro Plaza which you can't ever predict and usually only happens at inconvenient times. Unless your flight is delayed you'd probably be safe to do a 9:30 show at 54 Below if that tickles your fancy, but really I'd say it's probably better to just chill out that night and find somewhere nice to eat a late dinner or have a drink in Hell's Kitchen. 

[ntrackbar]

Posted: 8/19/17 at 11:48pm

I used to take the train from Broadway to 42nd Street all the time and once on the train it is a 17 minute ride. Sure more door to door, but if you got in a cab at that time in that exact spot, it would take far longer. I figured if the rider got on at Astoria Blvd and took it to the 57th Street stop for 54th, it would be the same (two stops closer on each end). So 17 minutes instead of 15. 

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 8/20/17 at 12:20am

I used to live off the 30th Avenue stop and it would often take a long time to get out of Queens because the train would stop at Queensboro Plaza before going into the tunnel, or sit at stops with the doors open for ages. The MTA, as we all know, has been in increasingly terrible shape and the trains in Queens have been particularly bad since they brought back the W. The point is that I wouldn't bet on it taking exactly 15 minutes (or 17, or whatever) once you get on the train. 

[schubox]

Posted: 8/20/17 at 12:28pm

Agree with everyone on here, but I've landed at 5 numerous times and made 8pm shows with plenty of time to spare. I landed at 12:15 at LGA yesterday, checked in to my hotel, and made it in time to enjoy a pie before Sweeney Todd yesterday

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 8/20/17 at 1:37pm

A Canadian in NYC said: "I honestly think the deal breaker is the checked bag. If I decide to just take carry-on I'm going to time myself and see how close I can come to curtain call. I won't buy theatre ticket cuz that would be silly - but I feel challenged now to see if it's doable (if I land at 7).  I'll bump this in November!

 

You know what? You should do the carry-on, buy the theater ticket and give it a shot. You know you want to. Why waste the evening doing nothing when you can be watching a great show? Don't listen to any of us. Listen to your gut. GO FOR IT! 

 

[chuckydisc]

Posted: 8/20/17 at 2:42pm

schubox said: "Agree with everyone on here, but I've landed at 5 numerous times and made 8pm shows with plenty of time to spare. I landed at 12:15 at LGA yesterday, checked in to my hotel, and made it in time to enjoy a pie before Sweeney Todd yesterday"

What does 12:15 have to do with 7:00?

I landed in April and made my June performance.

 

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/20/17 at 2:45pm

chuckydisc said: "What does 12:15 have to do with 7:00?

I landed in April and made my June performance."

Maybe he saw a matinee?