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]

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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[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.

[lizzywednesday]

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

* Waitress (some thematic elements are a bit mature, but I think they may fly over your youngest's head; my 9-year-old listens to the OBCR with me all the time)
* Wicked
* Come From Away (with caveat that it's an excellent show, but I have a lot of trouble with the cast recording because I'm immediately back in my office on 11 September 2001 during certain songs)
* Oklahoma! (won the Tonys for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical and Best Revival of a Musical, so tickets might be hard; I hear the chili & cornbread are to die for, though!)
* Beautiful (borderline as far as interest - it's a biographical story, so might be a bit slow for your youngest, but the music is amazing)
* Phantom of the Opera (caveat: there are some spooky themes & effects, but nothing inappropriate)

There are also the Disney shows (Aladdin, The Lion King, and Frozen, but IDK if those would feel babyish for your eldest - for reference, I took my sister to Beauty and the Beast in 2004 and we both absolutely LOVED it, and I'm usually skeptical of Big Disney, so YMMV)

I am on the fence about recommending Beetlejuice, mostly because I loved the film and I kind of hate Alex Brightman (he plays the Ghost With the Most, but every time I saw him in local interviews for his last show, he came off as arrogant and obnoxious, which rubbed me the absolute wrong way), but I'm not sure how much worse than the film it could be - most of the innuendoes flew WAY over my head the first 15 times I saw it. (I was actually in college before I realized how many there were!)

I want to mention Dear Evan Hansen, but because its premised on a death by suicide and there are mentions of drug use, I think you should read a synopsis before deciding if it's something you'd take your kids to - the 13-year-old might be fine, but I would want to be really sure my

[WatchingThemGrow]

* Waitress (some thematic elements are a bit mature, but I think they may fly over your youngest's head; my 9-year-old listens to the OBCR with me all the time)
* Wicked
* Come From Away (with caveat that it's an excellent show, but I have a lot of trouble with the cast recording because I'm immediately back in my office on 11 September 2001 during certain songs)
* Oklahoma! (won the Tonys for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical and Best Revival of a Musical, so tickets might be hard; I hear the chili & cornbread are to die for, though!)
* Beautiful (borderline as far as interest - it's a biographical story, so might be a bit slow for your youngest, but the music is amazing)
* Phantom of the Opera (caveat: there are some spooky themes & effects, but nothing inappropriate)

There are also the Disney shows (Aladdin, The Lion King, and Frozen, but IDK if those would feel babyish for your eldest - for reference, I took my sister to Beauty and the Beast in 2004 and we both absolutely LOVED it, and I'm usually skeptical of Big Disney, so YMMV)

I am on the fence about recommending Beetlejuice, mostly because I loved the film and I kind of hate Alex Brightman (he plays the Ghost With the Most, but every time I saw him in local interviews for his last show, he came off as arrogant and obnoxious, which rubbed me the absolute wrong way), but I'm not sure how much worse than the film it could be - most of the innuendoes flew WAY over my head the first 15 times I saw it. (I was actually in college before I realized how many there were!)

I want to mention Dear Evan Hansen, but because its premised on a death by suicide and there are mentions of drug use, I think you should read a synopsis before deciding if it's something you'd take your kids to - the 13-year-old might be fine, but I would want to be really sure my

AWESOME!! Ok, just thinking this through...I'm wondering if we should maybe split up and DD and I go to a show while DH and DS (10 and 11) go to a Met's game. Looks like we will be able to decide both of those the day of, right? Will all the cheap Mets tickets sell out by August?

[3isEnough]

I don't know if this will be of any benefit, but one of DH's best friends is a longtime tour guide at Yellowstone. A few years ago when we were there he wasn't able to be our tour guide, so instead he sent us a 2-day itinerary that we should follow. It was fantastic and I'd highly recommend following it or at least getting some tips from it. He sent it in 2 installments so I'll post them separately since they're long.

Here's the two day tentative plan I'd suggest which is to split the days into Geothermal / Grand Canyon

Geothermal day:

Do the "lower loop" route clockwise which will make sense when you view the map. You'll see interesting things on the way but I suggest you make your first stop West Thumb Geyser Basin. Walk the boardwalk around and read the interpretive signs. You'll get your first dose there. Remember there are 4 types of geothermal features, Geysers, Hot Springs, Mud Pots, and Fumeroles. You'll be seeing them all day in one form or another. You should have cel service at West Thumb, Old Faithful, Canyon and Lake Hotel but typically not in between. If you plan to use cel phones for photos you should put them in airplane mode to conserve battery as they will be dead before the end of the day searching for service otherwise. When you're done at West Thumb call the geyser hotline if you like which will tell you the expected eruption time of Old Faithful for planning 307 344 2751.

After West Thumb, head to Old Faithful. Exit the parking lot at West Thumb and turn left then turn right back onto the main road heading towards Old Faithful NOT Fishing Bridge / Canyon which is an easy mistake to make if you just turn right out of the parking lot at West Thumb (otherwise you'll be doing the lower loop counter clockwise by mistake).

Old Faithful, when you get off the main road by turning right up the off ramp look for the sign that says Old Faithful Inn on the left side and turn left there instead of going all the way in to the regular parking lots. Park in the parking lot in front of the Old Faithful Inn. Old Faithful is the steaming vent you will see just to the left of the Old Faithful Inn with 10,000 people standing around it on the boardwalk. If there still standing there then it hasn't gone off yet, lol. If you're early I'd go inside the Old Faithful Inn and look around. You can buy sandwiches in the deli there but you're better off getting them at the Jackson Lake Lodge and saving the time if they have them available there. Make sure you look up when you walk in the Old Faithful Inn lobby. It's amazing. Take the tour there if you time it right as a side excursion. The history of the Old Faithful Inn is interesting.

Walk around the Upper Geyser basin where Old Faithful is. Don't go past the boardwalk that bisects it at Canyon Geyser though otherwise you'll get a lot less bang for your buck. After you're done at Old Faithful head back to the main loop road and head North towards Madison. Right after you get on that road you will see a sign for Biscuit Basin. Pull in there and walk the boardwalk loop there as it's an extension of the Upper Geyser Basin and still pretty cool. After that continue towards Madison to Grand Prismatic hot spring. Parking can be a super pain in the ass so you can skip that if it is and head to Fountain Paint Pots. On the way to Fountain Paint Pots look for the sign for Firehole Drive on the right. Take that little drive and check out the features along it. After that continue back out onto the main road and turn right (north again) towards Fountain Paint Pots. Walk that geyser basin. It's my favorite basin in the Park.

After all that you will have had a really good dose of the geothermal features. Continue along the lower loop to the Madison intersection and turn right towards Norris. When you hit Norris turn right again towards Canyon. When you hit Canyon turn right again towards Fishing Bridge. Once you hit Canyon you're going to start seeing Bison. As you drive down to Fishing Bridge and Lake you will drive through Hayden Valley which is full of wildlife, including Bison. There's another geyser basin called Mud Volcano / Dragon's Breath on the way to Lake Hotel which is awesome. Be sure to stop there and walk it on the way towards Yellowstone Lake. After that the next stop should be Lake Hotel. Drive past the front of the hotel until you see the general store to the right of the hotel along the lake front. Pull in there to have some Wilcoxson's Ice Cream since they don't serve it in the hotel anymore for some reason. Check out the view across the lake while you eat your ice cream, lol.

After that get back on the main road going south along the lake. that's a fantastic drive. You'll eventually wind up back at West Thumb where you'll hit the intersection to turn left and back south out of the South Entrance. If you still have time you can stop at Lewis Falls to get a longer look on the way back out. That's the end of your Geothermal day.

[3isEnough]

I'd spend a full day doing the Grand Canyon. I'd start by driving the lower loop counter clockwise past West Thumb and north along the lake. When you reach the Canyon area take the right across the Yellowstone River towards Uncle Tom's Trail and park in the first parking lot which is the first left once you cross the Yellowstone River. You will be on the South rim of the canyon at this point. Check out the view of the Upper Falls from the overlook there then walk the trail east along the canyon rim to the sign for Uncle Tom's trail. There's a little overlook to the left you can check out before descending the stair into the canyon which is Uncle Tom's officially. It's hard work getting back up again due to the elevation so take your time but it's absolutely amazing. After that you can either get in your car and drive down to Artist Point or if you feel like doing a real hike you can walk there along the canyon rim, check out the view of the Lower Falls from there and continue along the Canyon rim until you hit the Clear Lake intersection, turn right there and then walk to Clear Lake through another geothermal basin and eventually back to the Upper Falls parking lot where you originally parked. I've done that hike half a dozen times and it's fantastic. It will take you the first half of the day to do all that stuff.

After that get back in the car and continue North. Pull into the parking lot for the brink of the Upper Falls. Find parking and walk down to the brink of the Upper Falls. That's a fairly short hike and is pretty amazing since you're literally standing right on the edge of the falls as they go over.

After you get back on the road north to Canyon from the South Rim turn Right onto the North Rim drive. The first parking area you will hit is for the brink of the Lower Falls. Find parking there and walk down to the brink. It'll take you at least 45 minutes to get down and back since it's a fairly steep walk but totally worth it. Looking off the lower falls at the brink is almost as amazing as the view of it from Uncle Tom's trail.

After that you will continue down the canyon along the drive and there will be a number of other overlooks you can stop at if you still have energy, lol. Basically you're done at that point. If you do the hike along the South Rim to Clear Lake and back you will have had a full day at that point.

That's a LOT of walking which I think you guys can probably handle but make sure you bring lots and lots of water. One bottle each will not be enough (unless it's a liter, maybe) if you do the Clear Lake loop. Bring more in a backpack as there is none available outside of the store in Canyon Village. It can get really hot around the canyon if it's sunny so plan for that too.

That's it! I've done both those routes with multiple friends before and that's a fantastic two day excursion into the park. You can get Wilcoxson's ice cream at the general store in Canyon Villiage as well if you like and can stop there after or in between the South and North Rim hiking/walking for a break if you like.

[kdeunc]

We saw Aladdin over spring break and all of my kids enjoyed it (16,14 and 10). I was looking ahead of time and couldn't find tickets for Wicked. I don't know what kind of "spur of the moment" success you might have for specific shows. For us it was hard to find something that was appropriate for everyone but Aladdin fit the bill.