Early spring is a great time to take your family to Manhattan. Especially right now, with pandemic restrictions loosened, but tourism not bounced back yet, you can get great deals on hotels, and may be able to breeze into popular attractions (I’m looking at you, Harry Potter store) without a lot of difficulty.
I brought my family—my husband and two teens —to NYC during February break 2022. It was almost two years to the day since our last trip to the city, in February 2020, when when we promised the girls we would be back in a few months to see Wicked. We made it, just not on the schedule we had planned.
Early spring finds attractions like the Harry Potter New York less crowded than in summer.
Day One: We took Amtrak down from Boston. The train was comfortable and on time, and the views along the coast are hard to beat. The Northeast Corridor line drops you off at the Moynihan terminal, which was an easy walk to our hotel, the NH Collection New York Madison Avenue at 22 East 38th Street between Madison and Park Avenues. The first NH Hotel Group property to open in North America, it’s one of the few hotels I’ve ever stayed at that offers twin-bedded rooms. Saved a piece of my sanity, because my kids hate to share a bed. My husband and I enjoyed a junior suite across the hall. If you have younger kids, or prefer to stay in one room, the junior suite has a pull-out couch. All the rooms have a mini-fridge and a Nespresso machine (my favorite), and it’s within walking distance of the landmarks that make New York one of the top ten destinations in the world, including Times Square, the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, and Bryant Park.
Sanity-saving twin beds are a great amenity at NH Madison Ave.
Our room was ready, so we dropped our bags and headed over to the Stranger Things pop-up store in Times Square, for selfies on Joyce Byer’s couch, a few games of Pac Man in the Palace Arcade and a spin on the dance floor at the Snow Ball. Unfortunately, the store has since closed – perhaps because the merch was shockingly expensive ($30 for a Scoops Ahoy hat? Really?).
On the way back to NH, we stopped at the main branch of the New York Public Library (Fifth Ave. at 42nd Street), which is a delightful —and free— spot to explore. Through Aug. 13, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (that’s the historic one with the lions next to the imposing steps) is hosting INterSECTS — excerpts from artist Peter Kuper’s forthcoming graphic novel. It’s inspired
The New York Public Library main branch's INterSECTS exhibit is cool for all ages.
by his experience conducting research on the history of insects during the early days of the pandemic, when he was allowed access to the vast Beaux-Arts rooms and hallways of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building when it was closed to the general public. The teens gave it two thumbs up. We didn’t reserve a timed ticket to visit the Polansky Exhibition of the library’s world-renowned research collections, so we missed the display of everything from Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence to the original Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends, but we will be back.
From there, it was just a couple of blocks back to the hotel, where we checked in with Guest Relations Manager Dimitra Doupi for a dinner recommendation. She pointed us to Wokuni (327 Lexington Ave.)– a lovely Japanese restaurant with a happy hour (hello, $7 Suntory Toki Highball), slick décor, and reasonable prices. Sushi platters, Agedashi Tofu and a hearty seafood noodle dish were all perfectly delicious.
Get a peek into the art that made the Harry Potter movies so special at the Harry Potter New York ... [+] store.
Day two, we were up bright and early for an easy walk to the Harry Potter Store (22nd St. between 5th Ave and Broadway). If you want to go, check out their social media first to see if the virtual queue is in effect. It was not when we were there, but when things are busy, the store uses it to manage capacity, for both Covid and non-Covid purposes. For fans, it is worth it – the store has everything you always wanted, from Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans to Prisoner of Azkaban t-shirts, not to mention wands and some really cool artifacts from the filming of the movies, like the London phone box from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I bought some Luna Lovegood glasses. Book early for the Virtual Reality experiences ($34 per person). I’d be in trouble with Dobby if I revealed any details, but suffice to say they are magical, and feel very, very real. We especially liked the “Wizards Take Flight.”
The unicorn ice cream at Taiyaki
We continued downtown for lunch in Chinatown, followed by another recommendation from Doupi – fish-shaped cones at Taiyaki NYC , filled with matcha-black sesame swirl ice cream. From there, it was a break at our hotel before the main event – tickets to see Wicked on Broadway. For dinner before the show, Doupi pointed us to Totto Ramen (464 W. 51st, between 9th and 10th) ... maybe you can tell our family likes Japanese food. Service was efficient, the chicken-based ramen was delicious and filling – and they had really cool t-shirts.
Well-fortified, we were prepared for our short, windy walk to the Gershwin Theater (222 W. 51st between 8th and Broadway), where Oz awaited. Luck was with us – it was the second week of performances featuring Brittney Johnson as Glinda the Good Witch. The joy over the first woman of color appearing in that role was absolutely electric in the theater. We wound up walking back to the hotel through Times Square, to soak up the ambiance and work off the strong desire to sing “Defying Gravity” at the tops of our lungs.
The interactive Becoming Liberty exhibit on Liberty Island is fun and moving.
Day three, we were off to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island—an early arrival means fewer people at the attractions. Buy tickets in advance to avoid the first queue, but be prepared for the airport-style security to board the ferry (although you do get to keep your shoes on). You should allow an extra 15 to 20 minutes before your scheduled departure time for that. Once aboard, the ferry alone is a delight, even in the cool and drizzly weather we encountered, which also meant fewer people gaping at the statue. Plan ahead and reserve special tickets if you are hoping to enter the base (we did not, so that was off the table) and make time to enjoy the interactive museum before heading over to Ellis Island. Staff at the Ellis Island information desk offered helpful advice for making the most of our time there –another place we will return to again.
Upon our return, a short walk from the Battery Park ferry terminal (and on the way to the subway) is one of my favorite secret New York spots – the Seaglass Carousel ($5). Climb inside one of these magical, iridescent fish and just enjoy the wonder of it. ‘Nuff said.
Flattering pinks about at the Museum of Ice Cream.
From there, we headed up to the Museum of Ice Cream ($36 plus taxes and fees)– literally the only thing the younger kid wanted to experience in Manhattan, aside from Wicked. Rather than a “museum of ice cream,” I would call this a “museum of Instagram” with an ice cream theme. Throughout the experience, decorated in flattering pinks, there are various stops where you can get as much ice cream as you’d like. I’d suggest going early in the day, because the highlight was definitely the swimming pool full of giant plastic sprinkles – a bottleneck where lots of folks spend a long time. So earlier in the day will be less crowded. I was pleased to find an “adults-only” sprinkle pool, giving me a chance to roll around away from the kids. The teens said they would rather come here than get to order $50 worth of ice cream, so it was a hit. We grabbed dinner at the Bryant Park Winter Village to watch the ice skaters. The rink is closed for the season, but now the park has ping pong and juggling, as well as food kiosks.
On our last morning, before heading home, we decided to take in the city from above. There are many new observation decks, but kicking it old school made sense. The Empire State Building offers a particularly unique way to observe Manhattan through its sunrise visit – something best experienced with teens in the winter months, before the sun is rising at an unacceptably early hour for dragging them out of bed. We told them they could nap on the train.
The Metropolitan Lounge was an ideal place to wait for our train home.
Waiting for our train was a relaxing experience, above the main floor of the Moynihan Train Hall in Amtrak’s premium Metropolitan Lounge. The kids enjoyed pastries and Lucky Charms, while I had a delicious –and warm— fig and smoked provolone sandwich. The lounge now has a bar serving up local beer, as well as wine and cocktails. It was a great place to wait for the train — though I will advise that if you are heading to Amtrak, tell ride share or taxi drivers to drop you at 8th and 34th street. Otherwise you may end up on 7th Avenue with an unpleasant schlep to Moynihan Train Hall. I speak from experience.
We packed a lot into a few days, but it didn’t feel too busy. Maybe next time we’ll convince the teens to go to an actual museum.