--these pages continue from Top Things to Do in New York with Teens--
The Empire State Building is of course one of the most famous landmarks in New York City, and the views of the city from its heights are tops. Not to mention that some wonderful movies have had their culminating moments on its observation deck.
Still, in the past there have been some cautions about visiting. Often, visitors (with tickets) had to stand in line a long while to take the elevators that take visitors up to the 80th floor. This line-up isn't visible from the street, or from the lobby. At the 80th floor, visitors had to wait again for a second elevator ride up to the observation deck. (Little kids were melting down, at this point.) And there was more waiting, to ride the elevators back down.
Reportedly, the Empire State Building has redone its visitor experience. Check a site like TripAdvisor.com for recent comments about current conditions. Hopefully, the visitor experience will be reported as "Great!" TripAdvisor comments will also give tips about best times to visit.
One other caution: when we visited, the observation deck that wraps around all four sides of the building was crowded, and little kids had a hard time getting a peek at the views. When one parent lifted his child so the little boy could see, a staff member said this wasn't allowed. Kids (and disabled visitors) were told to use viewing areas in the corners of the observation deck; but these corners were crowded too.
On the plus side: you can visit the Empire State Building with CityPass.
* photos (c) Teresa Plowright
