NYC and Yellowstone/Tetons trip help

[WatchingThemGrow]

No doubt I was reading family vacation plans on the BBB when trying to decide where we should go this summer. Last summer we did a combination trip hitting a big city and visiting 2 NPs along with seeing family. Kids said it was the best ever. So, we are doing 4 days in NYC followed by 3 nights of Yellowstone and 1 night at Grand Tetons. First of all, should we make that 2YNP/2GTNP or is it okay doing 3/1??

PART 1- NYC
Day 1- Fri- arrival NYC/LGA 10am- uber/lyft to friend's house where we are staying just north of Central Park, subway to UN tour,
Day 2 - Sat - visit with Brooklyn friends with 2yo -seaglass? CP?
Day 3- Sun-Redeemer Presbyterian Church,
Day 4 - Mon-
Day 5 - Tues- Morning in the city - Fly at 4pm LGA to SLC

PART 2 - Out West
Day 6 - Wed - drive Rental car to Old Faithful Inn (1 night)
Day 7 - Thurs - drive OF area to Canyon Lodge area (2 nights)
Day 8 - Fri -still at Canyon
Day 9 - Sat - drive to Grand Teton for Signal Mountain Lodge
Day 10 - Sun -11am - Drive back to SLC by 6pm (flight at 8:20pm)

We welcome ideas for stuff to do and where to eat on both legs of our trip! DC are 10, 11, 13 and enjoy everything- art, history, sports. We aren't huge sit-down-dinner or TV fans, but I like to try stuff that you can't find everywhere. Cheap eating outside/by the water is a favorite of mine. DH will require at least half a day at the Met, so when's the best time? Also, after seeing a crime in San Fran, our kids are a little scared about being out in the city after dark. Anything where we can be inside later in the day then Uber home would be great.


Help me PRIORITIZE with the goal of seeing stuff you read about in books:
1. regular tourist stops: Statue/Ellis Island/Top of the Rock/Empire State Bldg/One World/9/11 Memorial
2. experiences teacher-mom desires: National Museum of Math, Tenement Museum
3. cool things you can't do anywhere else: Hudson Yard/Highline/nighttime bus tour?, seaglass carousel
4. can you get Hamilton at TKTS booth? Any promotions to get Mets/Yankees game tickets cheap?

I've put DH in charge of the Yellowstone side, but I'm sure it will end up being my responsibility as well. What must-see's would you include for that trip? Is the float trip at Grand Teton a must-do and is evening or morning better?

[mmsmom]

I will respond more later but you will not be able to get Hamilton at TKTS. At this point there are probably only tickets through resellers.

[KrisM]

Of all we did in NYC, my kids liked the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, The Vessel, walking the Brooklyn bridge, and The Museum of Illusions the best. DD also really liked the Met, but I should have skipped it with the boys and done something different. We talked about going up another of the tall buildings, but Percy Jackson books have ESB in it I guess, so that is what they really wanted to do.

Do you have the Yellowstone reservations already? If not, start looking multiple times a day, as they were likely mostly booked up last summer for this summer. It's nuts. It looks like you really just have an afternoon/evening in GTNP, since you leave from Canyon in the morning and then leave the next morning for SLC. I think if you pick things and plan, you can get a decent taste of the park. We did a float trip on the river, which was pretty. I wanted to do some hiking, but it was so late in the vacation, the kids were just done hiking! But, there are a few shorter hikes that you could do. I think I would leave it as 3 nights Yellowstone and 1 GTNP.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We have Yellowstone lodging reservations already. Should we make any reaervatuons for guided experiences or just do the walk up stuff with rangers?


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[KrisM]

We only did a couple horseback rides for guided tours. I kind of wish we did one other, just so DH wasn't always driving. But there are a ton of stops, so that was okay to just walk up and do it yourself. One thing we did was alternate who was in the front passenger seat. You can see so much more from there and the kids loved the better view.

We also signed up to lower the flags on top of Old Faithful Inn. That was a really neat experience! You have to call the bell hop desk to sign up. Really cool.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Fun flag tip!! Totally let me know more secret stuff like that! Is that just the day of type of thing or can it be requested in advance?

Also, we are getting a sedan, so someone will be in the back/middle. Is the cost of a third row justified for better views?


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[WatchingThemGrow]

I will respond more later but you will not be able to get Hamilton at TKTS. At this point there are probably only tickets through resellers.

Can you tell me some other shows that would be good for the 10-13 set?


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[StantonHyde]

I will respond more this evening-lots if Yellowstone experience

[KrisM]

Fun flag tip!! Totally let me know more secret stuff like that! Is that just the day of type of thing or can it be requested in advance?

Also, we are getting a sedan, so someone will be in the back/middle. Is the cost of a third row justified for better views?


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https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...k_Wyoming.html

Info and the phone number is in there. I want to say I called in early May for our mid-July trip. It was pretty cool, as they will time it for Old Faithful erupting, so you can watch from the roof. And you get to go into the Crow's Nest in the Inn, which is otherwise closed to visitors.

Probably not worth the cost - just rotate who gets to sit where so the middle person isn't just stuck.

[mmsmom]

Can you tell me some other shows that would be good for the 10-13 set?


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I am not up on the shows currently so I really don’t know what to suggest. I do have some overall advice for the process... my personal opinion if you really want to see a particular show is to get tickets in advance. TKTS is great if you have a lot of flexibility and time. I used to live in NYC and would walk up at 7:30 to see what was available and if there was nothing I liked then it was easy to go home or do something else. But when you have specific things to fit in a schedule then it just makes sense to plan it ahead of time. You can see what is available at TKTS on their website now which is helpful though it may not be available by time you get there. If you do decide to go that route then I would go to the Seaport location which is less crowded and close to Statue of Liberty ferry so you could combine with that.

I did see some single Hamilton tickets available at $450 each (not at TKTS- at show site).

There are some fun food tours and bike tours on Trip Advisor if that is of interest. Great free tours of Central Park through Central Park Conservancy. Museum Hack has great family tours at the Met and Museum of Natural History.