Planning a BWAY (NYC) trip ??? DON'T do these things!- Page 2

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 12:19am

"If you do not wish to jaywalk, be considerate of New Yorkers by not blocking them from crossing at an intersection while you are waiting for your signal."

I just LOVE the official WIKI NY ettiquette rules!

OR, (the consequences???????)

Yeah, I totally jaywalk about 30 times a day.
If I see no cars, I walk.
If I see cars, I don't walk.
Simple.

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 12:23am

lol magic2, we weren't quite THAT coordinated, we were just in a giant group

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 12:27am

Adding to the "stupid things NOT to say" list... Upon my mother's first trip, we were loading her bags into my car at LGA. She noticed a man walking by with payot and a yarmulke. She said, "Amber, look... a Jewish person!" I said, "If that excites you, it's going to be one hell of a trip." I swear, I don't think she had ever met a Jewish person until that point. Just a fact.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 12:29am

Now if only they would follow that wiki rule and get out of the way! lol

I cross the streets but I never even attempt to cross the avenues.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 12:30am

1. DON't walk in packs of 100, linking arms, clogging up every crosswalk from 40th to 50th st.

To amend to that...if you're standing outside John's on 44th, MOVE TO THE SIDE!!!! I swear to God, walking half a block to the train station is excrutiating, because some group, every single day, has to take over the ENTIRE width of the sidewalk to wait on line. 95% of the time, I have to walk in the street to get by you. Group leaders, stop scratching your ass and do some crowd control on your group, it's what you're there for.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 12:33am

And if you are a teacher or chaperone for a large group, please don't pick the DUMBEST place to have all your students meet up. Pick a side street and have them line up against the buildings or something! GAH.

And just because they SELL noisy candy in the theatre doesn't mean it's cool to eat it. You can last 2 hours! (WHY do they only sell stuff that has cellophane wrappers?!)

Updated On: 7/1/08 at 12:33 AM

[Amber2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 12:56am

If going to New York, kindly don't decide to walk quickly, suddenly stop and demand that your whole family pose for a picture in the middle of a crowded street. Also, you don't need to spend fifteen minutes staring up at the skyscrapers. Thank you. The sky is not that interesting.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:11am

"The sky is not that interesting."

This used to boggle my mind as well. But then a former boss of mine told me about the foreign exchange student from Germany her sister was hosting. They took him to NYC and he was enthralled with the skyscrapers. Why? Because they don't have them. He had never seen one before in his life. We take these buildings for granted because we see them every day. But just imagine if you had never seen one before. What it must feel like. I cut them a little slack now. Not a lot of slack, mind you, but some.

[Amber2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:19am

That must be amazing, to see a skyscraper for the first time. I'm not from NY, but my city has a bajillion skyscrapers anyway, I've never NOT seen one.

I'll definitely rethink being immediately annoyed with people who stare at the sky from now on.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:20am

hahha... when i went to new york a couple years ago my friend and i really wanted Olive Garden... i know we shouldn't have gone... but we did! haha... but damn those prices are expensive!

oh and i have a tip too (even though i'm not from new york i'd still like to give it)... when going to the theater... there's probably more than one line to get into the theater... for some reason everyone seems to go into the longest line... when i was new york, i just walked right up and walked in!

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:21am

Who can resist those breadsticks at Olive Garden? lol

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:25am

"That must be amazing, to see a skyscraper for the first time. I'm not from NY, but my city has a bajillion skyscrapers anyway, I've never NOT seen one.

I'll definitely rethink being immediately annoyed with people who stare at the sky from now on."

I often liken it to one of us standing in front of the Eiffel Tower for the first time. The locals are used to it and many don't like it. But for us it's new and majestic.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:27am

Updated On: 5/3/09 at 01:27 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:34am

But if you're going to stare at a skyscraper, at least don't DO IT IN THE MIDDLE OF A SIDEWALK. It's just logical.

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:43am

It's just logical.

That's the problem, Lizzie. Apparently when some people visit New York, all logic is shot to hell. This woman was eating a bag of chips next to me during Curtains Saturday night.

[xerotheory7803]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 2:15am

I know it should be common courtesy to not talk during a show, but you have no idea how many times I've been seated around a large tourist group and I'll hear "OOOO Look, its [random famous actor/actress]! They were in [random famous movie/tv show]!"

And heres a GREAT tip:

Ignore the people who ask if you like hip hop or live comedy. They dont care about you or your love for the arts, only your money, and how gullible you are.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 2:32am

These are all very good rules.

My one annoyance before "In the Heights" on Thursday was from a group of girls sitting behind me. If you need to talk to each other, do so quietly. The rest of us do not need to hear your conversation. It was obnoxious because they were talking about other shows, which none of them had seen, except for a couple I think. Then they were discussing the movie "Rent." That part got interesting though. They were originally just talking about Karen Olivo playing Mimi at one point in the show's run, but not the movie. And then they pretty much annouced loudly that the actress who originally played her on Broadway couldn't do the movie because she got knocked up. I'm sure that wasn't entirely true, and for the average person to hear, it sounded pretty ignorant.

[TIGGOSAURUS]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 3:54am

I'd add a recommendation to avoid Charley O's as well as the Olive Garden. The O apparently stands for Overpriced (and the food and atmosphere were equally as bad as each other). Lesson learned on one of my first trips.

As for the Walk/Don't Walk thing: I like the flashing countdown to Don't Walk. On the avenues it means 'don't walk - run' as there's probably a cabbie with his horn blaring who has you in his sights.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 6:16am

Me too, E.Taboo. I live and work 2 blocks from John's.
I think one day, I will buy a BULL HORN and start announcing to the tourists that they "must get in a single file line against the wall"...or else! NO PATTI FOR YOU!!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 6:47am

13. (or later but since no one's numbered any others and 12 is the last number I saw...) This is NOT Disney World. People (at least most of them ~ the non-tourist variety) will NOT stop for you to block the entire sidewalk for 5 minutes while you set up your "perfect" Times Square shot. There are PEOPLE in Times Square. Deal with them being in your picture. If you want a "perfect" shot, get your butt out of bed at like 4am and go do it.

Updated On: 7/1/08 at 06:47 AM

[Weez]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 6:59am

See, I'm quite happy to visit the Olive Garden, but we don't have it over here and I like to sample US culture, even things like the Olive Garden and Appleby's. XD We do have TGIs and McDonalds, so I wouldn't visit those in New York. I also tried Twinkies when I was in America once, and that was an error. How do people eat that stuff? :/

And people walking several-abreast, regardless of the fact they're blocking the entire pavement? SO not a New York exclusive. Although in the more regional UK towns, these groups seem to be more likely to be made up of elderly people, so at least it's only a couple of seconds sprinting into the road to get past them at their snail-pace. ^_^

Updated On: 7/1/08 at 06:59 AM

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:07pm

Updated On: 5/3/09 at 01:07 PM

[sleepyguy1717]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:32pm

Don't sing your favorite showtunes outside of your favorite theater in hopes that you'll get noticed, or someone is going to tell you your good. Chances are you're not. Or someone can come along and do it better than you.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:38pm

"Don't sing your favorite showtunes outside of your favorite theater in hopes that you'll get noticed, or someone is going to tell you your good. Chances are you're not. Or someone can come along and do it better than you."

Or don't sing along inside the show while the show is going on. They're not going to stop the show and decide you're so much better than the professionals on stage and put you in the part.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 1:55pm

"5. DO NOT buy any food from a "deli" or salad bar containing MAYO. You WILL be sorry, throwing up in the balcony of the St. James Theater. "

And here i was thinking that watching Patti in Gypsy is what was making me puke up there.