Going to NYC for my Birthday!!!

Congrats... birthdays in NYC are awesome... I have spent mine there the last few years. While I can't hand you any good advice on airfare and hotel (I train in and always stay in one of the Hilton hotels.) I can point out a good ticket deal: the TKTS booth in Times Square... have cash in hand and you will get seats up to half off for that days showing. Thing is, you can't count on getting tickets to the exact shows you want to go see. But the earlier you get in line, the better your prospects will be. Thanksgiving 2004 I went and saw Wicked... I bought my ticket through a broker because Ticketmaster said it was sold out. I won't say how much I spent, but boy did I feel bad when the lady beside me that night told me about how she got her ticket for half the face value, that day, at the TKTS booth.
Also, another ticket deal (and the best) is getting tickets via lottery like Wicked does. You chance it and put your name into the hopper that day at the theatre it's playing in, 2 1/2 hours before the show... 30 minutes later they do the pulling and it's cash only and if you "win", you can get up to 2 front row tickets for $25 each. You can't beat that...
Hope that helps, some... goodluck on your trip... :)

---

Updated On: 12/10/05 at 05:10 AM

First:
Go to the Times Square Visitor Center and pick up:
City Info Magazine
Where
IN New York.
These three will give you everything you need to know about the City. I like City Info best as I write for it. () but they are all helpful. You might also like to read my favorite magazine Time Out New York and The Village Voice.
Some great things to see:
China Town- Go to Joe's Shanghai or Mandarin for the best dim sum.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Guggenheim
Central Park
Jazz at Lincoln Center
The Museum of Natural History
Little Italy
Enjoy.

International House near Columbia has some good hotel deals - www.i-housenyc.org... it's right off a subway that will take you to Times Square. Same with Hotel Lucerne (on 79th, also just a quick subway ride away from Times Square) if you say you're a CU affiliate (they'll never check) you'll get a very discounted hotel room - (212) 875-1000. In the most touristy areas the hotel rates are higher. Fly into Laguardia over JFK because it's cheaper to get to the city from there (and lots of mass transportation). JFK is pretty far from Manhattan and about $40 by cab. Southwest Air & Jet Blue are pretty affordable - go to one of those websites where you can choose by prices I guess.

I tried for Rent tix via lottery in August and got them - about 2/3 or so of the people there either won or had a friend who won 2 tix (and took them in)... now I heard that there's been a buzz of people going to see it because of the movie, but it may be a little calmer in January. If you can win the $20 lottery it's amazing because you have one of the first 2 rows in the house. But it's also been on TKTS a lot and many websites offer current promotions to RENT (I saw one on Z100.com yesterday). Wicked has a lottery - never tried for that, but I've tried for Spelling Bee next door - about 2 1/2 hrs before the show Wicked's goes on and every time I've been near there the amount of people entering is enormous... then everyone who doesn't win usually goes over to Spelling Bee and tries for that lottery. Both are $25.

Beauty & The Beast and Hairspray should both be at TKTS. I'm sure there's rush tix for these 2 given they've been out a while but I don't know exactly how you get them although it's probably posted online somewhere.

---

Go to TKTS. Try for:
RENT (has a lotto...check out www.siteforrent.com to learn more about the lotto)

The Light in the Piazza

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (also has a lotto...check the show's website for info about the lotto;
www.dirtyrottenscoundrelsthemusical.com )

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (lotto...check out www.spellingbeethemusical.com )

Wicked also has a lotto but is never on TKTS. And the lotto is always packed...more info on www.wickedthemusical.com

Sweet Charity (a fun, entertaining show...no lotto I think but discounts are available on such sites as theatermania.com and broadwaybox.com )

Chicago (dark yet comical production...same info on tickets as Sweet Charity)




Other than that, places to visit include Times Square of course, the Statue of Liberty is always interesting as is the Empire State Building, Little Italy, Rockefeller Center et al.


As previously mentioned, www.broadwaybox.com and www.theatermania.com all have wonderful discounts for shows. Highly reccomended.

Enjoy!!!

if you live anywhere near toronto try going to a show that hasn't done a run there... it seems like they get some really good tours downtown that are comparable to bway

---

thats awesome you getta go for your bday! LUCKY!
but for inexpensive things to do, all i ever do in NYC is just walk around- might sound boring, but (especially in times square), there are so many things to see, and random things to do. i just walk around by all of the theatres, and videotape/take pictures of them (cuz I'm weird like that). so that is one fun, cheap, and (for me) very satisfying thing to do
have fun, and happy early bday!

thanks everyone for all the great feedback i really apreciate it.

You are so lucky for visiting the greatest place on earth for your Birthday ! I am sure you'll have unbelievable fun ! One of the "touristy" things that I really enjoyed is the little boat cruise around Manhattan. It also includes a stop at the Statue of Liberty and I enjoyed it a lot ! Empire State Building is also glorious, but be warned, the lines are huge, day or night ! Central Park is also wonderful for a nice walk and if it has snowed, it is even more dreamy ! Have lots of fun and enjoy your stay !!!

For good airfares and an excellent airline, try jetBlue. Also, my friends and I have gotten good package deals through expedia.com. For the best deals, you may have to fly out of a large airport, thus LAX. Good luck and enjoy your NYC visit.