touring with large group and night time fun with kids

Great forum, wish I would have found you months ago!

I am the leader of a Girl Scout troop. Our troop has worked hard and saved for 2 years for our week long trip to NYC, and the girls are EXCITED beyond belief that in 8 days we will finally be there.

Any tips for traveling with a large group? There are 20 of us, 13 girls ages 11-13 and 7 adults. We are staying at the Youth Hostel on Amsterdam Ave. and have an all day, see the sights tour booked through them. We figured that the tour would really just touch on the major sights and those places that the girls are really interested in, we would go back and tour more in depth. On the girls wish list of things to do: Broadway show, Rocketts, natural history museum, China Town, Today show, and most of all SHOPPING! They can%26#39;t wait to shop on 5th Ave. I%26#39;ve been reading the posts for days now and have read the faq, and done some research. I know about getting the discount Broadway tickets, althought don%26#39;t really know what shows are appropriate for the kids other than the Disney shows. We know a few places that we will be eating due to reccomendations from friends ( Carmines, Ellens Stardust). Any suggestions for eating out with such a large group?

And finally, what is there to do in the evening with girls of this age group?

We are from a very small, 2 stop light, rural community. Only a couple of these girls has ever been to a city of any size. All of us adults are really looking forward to seeing the looks on there faces when they step out of Grand Central Station!

touring with large group and night time fun with kids

At their ages they will still be interested in seeing the Americal Girl Store, Very large Build a Bear store, and Friends 2BMade(dolls - like build a bear). All are located on or near 5th AVe.

Also I like to recommend the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side...I would call them, they can maybe set a tour up for just your group.

Make sure you carry water bottles...or stop for drinks...it gets very hot!! But you are Girl Scouts!!! You know what to do!! People love Girl Scouts.....tell them who you are and they will be happy to help you!!!!

Have FUN!!!!

touring with large group and night time fun with kids

Regarding Broadway shows-I think Hairspray would be great, Wicked perfect (but probably can%26#39;t get that many tickets), Mary Poppins or Legally Blond. Some may recommend Mamma Mia, not my fave. Perhaps Stomp.

I think the girls would like Mdm Toussauds Wax Museum (may be too pricey unless you can find a discount),I second the Tenement Museum (make reservations), and Sony World of Wonder Lab (free, but make a timed reservation).

You didn%26#39;t mention when you are coming, but there are also street fairs at various times that would be fun. And don%26#39;t forget Central Park!

Have fun you brave soul, I only have 3 kids (2 teen girls) and don%26#39;t know if I have the stamina for a group trip to NYC.

I would try to get tickets in advance. You may qualify for a group discount. Go up to Top of the Rock to see NYC from up high. ( make sure it is a clear day) Be aware that most of Fifth avenue shopping is expensive. Visit Macys. The kids probably know it from the Thanksgiving day parade and even if you have department stores in your corner of the world--this one is really large. Stop by the Mall accross the street from Macys. ( I forget it s name) Again, coming from a small rural community this may be something new for your kids. Take some time to walk around Grand Central and see what is there.

Take a break and walk along the Hudson --almost the whole area has a park. You can see NJ and it is just a nice view. Go down to the South Street Seaport. Ride the Staten Island Ferry ( free)

re: evenings--if you start early, run all day and go out to eat at 7PM or so, by the time you are done, your evenings will be time to sleep. ( but first take a walk through Times Square--people watch,

Mlr425 You hit the nail on the head! We are Girl Scouts, and we are prepared with water bottles. We have a matching set with lanyards and little zip on jackets to keep them cold! We’ve hiked beaches, forests, and mountains and are ready to take on the “jungle” 

Thanks for letting me know about the Tenement museum, sounds very interesting.

Yankeemom They are desperate to see Wicked! We told them that we would not be able to get tickets to that. All the adults want to see Mary Poppins, the girls want to see some thing “grown up”, I think Hairspray would fit the bill. We have a day planned for Central Park. We were hoping to see Shakespeare in the Park, but after doing some research I found that you wait in line for hours for the free tickets. That wouldn’t be bad if we could send a couple of chaperones to get tickets but you can only get 2 per person. We don’t want to waste a whole day of the girls trip standing in line. They were very disappointed about this. And let me tell you, we were all somewhat apprehensive about taking this many kids to NYC. The idea of keeping track of such a large group in this type of environment seems to be an overwhelming task. They are good kids though and we work well as a group.

Rdglady By shopping on 5th Ave. we mean looking and drooling over what we know we could never afford  They just want to oohh and aahh at the window displays and smell the air inside the stores that the rich people breath! A walk along the Hudson sound very nice. I didn’t know there were parks along the way. When I think of rivers in a city I think of dirty industrial yards (that’s my Pittsburgh background showing).

Thanks everyone!

You should immediately decide what Broadway show(s) you want to see and contact the theaters about group tickets. With a group that large, you%26#39;d save a lot of $$$ getting a group price. Otherwise, you won%26#39;t likely find enough seats for everyone to go to the same show (maybe you don%26#39;t care about that?) Legally Blonde, Hairspray and Xandu might be good for your group in addition to the Disney shows.

The Rockettes are not performing now. You should do some sort of tour(s) whether you use the hop on/off bus or Kingofnyc.com

I think you may have misjudged how important it is to preplan for a group this large. While NYC is very big vs. your hometown, most restaurants will not be able to easily accomodate all of you at the same time and feeding a group of 20 at once is an awesome task. If you plan on splitting up into smaller groups, you%26#39;ll have an easier time if you don%26#39;t preplan. Sounds like a terrific trip.

We have only 1 reservation (Carmines). As you suggested, we plan on breaking into smaller groups for meals. We don%26#39;t want to be tied to reservations for the whole trip. While it can be daunting to be spontaneous with a group this large, that is kind of the goal. We have been on many an over planned trip with this group and the girls really just want to fly by the seat of thier pants. We were going on advise from friends and family about getting Broadway tickets. Many people have told us that we should be able to get the number of tickets we need at the TKTS booths. Is this not the case? We really need a nice discount to afford a show. How much of a discount is normal for a group?

';Many people have told us that we should be able to get the number of tickets we need at the TKTS booths. Is this not the case?';

How many of those people tried buying 20 tickets to the same show at the TKTS booth? I suppose it%26#39;s possible, but I wouldn%26#39;t count on it. And I can tell you if you decide to split up and see different shows and you try to make that decision right there in front of the TKTS window, you%26#39;ll have mass pandemonium on your hands.

I think if you buy tix from group sales, the cost will be similar to what you%26#39;d pay at the TKTS booth and you%26#39;ll save time not standing in line. Also remember the TKTS booth only takes CASH or travelers cheques, NO credit cards. That%26#39;s a lot of cash to be carrying.

Hairspray, for example, using broadwaybox.com discount code is $60-75/ticket plus transaction fees if you buy online or by phone (no transaction fees if you take the discount to the box office in person when you arrive.)

At the TKTS booth, probably around $53-63/ticket.

Here%26#39;s a list of various price options for group tix

www.broadway.com/_grp/Groups_Calendar.aspx

I forgot to mention Altar Boyz is an off Broadway show that%26#39;s been very popular with teens (esp. girls) and they do have group sales too. That would be cheaper than a Broadway show. I think there are tix for as little as $25-30 each. There%26#39;s also a show called In the Heights which is currently off Broadway but will be moving to Broadway in the fall. If you can get group tix to either of those it would be a lot less expensive.

groups.telecharge.com/shows/show_page.aspx…

Thank you so much for the information! I%26#39;ve been looking at all the group info on the links you posted. Seems like we%26#39;ll be able to get a good price since our group is so large!

HI GSleader 124,

I%26#39;m a GS leader with a troop of 10 cadets, ages 13 and 14 and we are fundraising to go to NYC as well. I hope you%26#39;ll post again to let us know how the trip went. We are hoping for October 2007, but I think we are going to need more money..............