For many, the Empire State Building is a must visit when in New York City. I can’t count how many romantic movies and novels I have read that have used the beautiful building as a setting backdrop. I knew I had to visit the Empire State Building during my visit here, because I am forever chasing beautiful viewpoints.
I already had the New York CityPASS, which included admission to the Empire State Building for the same day and night – so twice in a day to see the day and night view! After going on TripAdvisor, the line-hater in me was horrified to hear stories of people waiting 2+ hours to get up.
So, we decided to try our luck and hope that the line up wouldn’t be two hours to experience one of NYC’s greatest attractions.
Empire State Building Line System:
There are a total of FIVE lines before you are able to make it up to the observatory deck:
- The line on the main floor (there wasn’t a line during the day but at night there was)
- The airport style security checkpoint line
- The ticket purchasing line up
- The lineup to the 80th floor elevator
- And finally, the lineup to the observatory deck on the 86th floor
For $65 a person, or a bit more than double the regular price of $32 a person, visitors are given the option to bypass the line with the VIP express ticket. I’m not too sure if this bypasses ALL five lines, but it definitely bypasses the elevator lines.
Skip the line with the NYC CityPASS
With the NYC CityPASS, we were able to skip the ticket purchasing line up, which was the longest line of all. After you show the staff your CityPASS, they show you a shortcut to the elevator lines.
We quickly passed by the ticket purchasing line and we were SO glad that we had the CityPASS! The line up was crazy to purchase tickets, even on a Wednesday late afternoon! I can’t imagine a Friday or Saturday night.
Because most people are stuck in the ticket purchasing line, the elevator lines went by pretty fast and weren’t long at all. The waiting areas are a spiraling maze of rope guards for the busiest nights. I feel so bad for people who come during peak hours (Friday & Saturday nights).
Walk up the Empire State Building?
They don’t really advertise this anywhere, but if you don’t want to wait for the second and final elevator to the 86th floor, you are able to walk up six flights of stairs instead. The staff will announce when they are escorting people to walk up, so be mindful of any announcements as you are in line!
My mom and I did this during the night visit as we didn’t know about it during our first day visit. We were a bit tired after walking up the flight of stairs, and I definitely felt the soreness in my legs the day after, but it was definitely worth not having to wait in line. Can you tell how much I hate waiting in line now?
Now, on to the views!
View of the Upper East Side with Brooklyn across the East River. The buildings look short, but they are actually quite tall if you don’t compare them to the majestic Empire State Building.
View of Upper Manhattan, with Central Park in the background. The buildings look like lego towers to me. Even from 86 floors above, you can still hear the fire truck and police sirens. You just can’t escape from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle!
View of Lower Manhattan, with the One World Trade being the tallest skyscraper in the photo.
Hello! 🙂 I also recommend bringing a GoPro/selfie stick so you can get better views for your photos!
Since we were able to skip a large chunk of waiting with the CityPASS, we had to wait probably 30-40 minutes. The longest line was security, which everyone has to wait in regardless of which type of ticket they have. We spent about a half hour at the top, soaking in the beautiful, unbeatable New York views.
After dinner, we came back as the CityPASS offers both day and night admission for the same date! As predicted, the night line up was longer but we were able to be up there in 45 minutes as we walked up the six flight of stairs and skipped the last elevator line.
View of Upper Manhattan at night.
View of Lower Manhattan at night.
The view at the top is absolutely breathtaking. You are able to see the concrete jungle from above, in all its chaotic, busy, and beautiful glory. I highly recommend adding the Empire State Building to your bucket list, you won’t be disappointed.
Consider purchasing the New York CityPASS to save 40% on six must-see attractions, and by pass the super long Empire State Building line!
Thanks for reading,
Carmen
CityPASS media passes provided for review. Opinions are own.
I love Japanese culture because of how efficient everything is. While we were waiting, one of the workers went around and we all placed our order in line. As you can see, the restaurant is really crowded and small. We shared a four person table with two other customers against the wall, and there was no room for us to really move around.
Chicken paitan, $10: Totto Ramen’s original straight noodles in a rich and creamy chicken broth. This was immensely delicious, and super warm and comforting. It was raining in New York that night, so it was the perfect bowl to have. The pulled pork was also really delicious and really tender.
Miso Paitan, $12: The miso paitan has the same chicken base as mine, but with miso added to it. Again, this bowl was very delicious and flavourful. The pork was very tender and melted in my mouth, I wish we had also ordered pork on the other bowl as well!
Here’s a closeup of the ramen noodles in the chicken paitan. They were cooked perfectly and were slightly chewy. This was my first time trying the thin ramen noodles and I really liked it!
The noodles in the miso paitan were a bit different, and were more like the ramen noodles I was used to eating back in Vancouver. Again, these were cooked perfectly and had a lovely bounce to it.
Complimentary bread: To start, we were given a nice loaf of warm bread to munch on. The bread was fluffy, soft and came out lightly toasted. No complaints here!
Wagyu beef french dip, $23: Originally, my mom and I were going to share this because it sounded amazing! However, after telling my server about my dairy restriction, she told me the wagyu beef is smothered in butter before getting cooked. Sigh.
Prime steak salad, $25: I wanted to try the steak, but I didn’t want to pay $50 for steak at lunch so I went with the prime steak salad. That way, I was still able to try their famous steak! The salad normally comes with blue and Parmesan cheese, and dressing. Obviously I wanted to have the dairy component, but due to my stupid and frustrating restriction, and risk of getting super sick I had to order without it.
Since this is the sunset cruise, this scheduled cruise only runs once per day, obviously. The other cruises, such as the Landmark or Liberty Cruises, run twice a day.
Once the cruise started to move, people moved inside because it was a windy night and also raining a bit. But on a beautiful, warm day, you will definitely want to be on the balcony!
On the cruise, we also got to see some attractions on the other side of Manhattan. We passed a port where soldiers were deported to Europe in World War 1 & 2 in New Jersey. We also saw the old Colgate factory in New Jersey. These things we wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for our informative and engaging tour guide!
Passing by New York City, with the Empire State Building in the background!
We scored great seats since we went a hour early! The only annoying thing about our seats was that it was directly facing the stairs to the deck. Since the boat was going pretty fast and it was chilly that day, the cold wind blasted up to us whenever people would open the doors. It got a bit annoying because other customers held the door open for their friends, which made our entire area really cold!
Going under the three bridges that connect Brooklyn and Queens to Manhattan! The tour guide, who was awesome btw, told us an easy way to remember the order of the bridges was BMW – Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg.
The sun was beginning to set at 8 pm! Pictured above is the famous Brooklyn Bridge, one of the first steel cable and oldest bridges in North America. We learned that when it was first built, citizens and government officials alike were hesitant to cross the bridge because it was the first time they used steel cable there.
I actually didn’t know the Harbour Lights cruise went around the Statue of Liberty, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was announced!
On the way back, our side of the boat faced Manhattan so I was able to take nicer city view photos. This is a photo of Lower Manhattan, featuring the World Trade Center building.