Coast 2 Coast Mom

Hilton Times Square Family Holiday Getaway

Without a doubt, there’s more energy and action in and around Times Square than any other part of New York City, so when we had the opportunity to stay at the Hilton Times Square in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, we immediately planned a fun family weekend in NYC.

We’ve stayed at the Hilton Times Square before, so we already knew it was a great location, within walking distance of a lot of great things to do, places to shop, and restaurants to eat. It was a particularly perfect place to stay around the holidays, as we’ve developed an annual family tradition to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade - both of which are short 5-10 minute walks from the hotel.  Even the famed windows on 5th Avenue aren’t much of a hike if you’re up for a brisk walk in December.

But outside of holiday activities, we recently saw the Lion King on Broadway and checked out the Harry Potter Exhibit at Discovery Times Square. The Discovery Times Square museum is one of our favorite places as there’s always great exhibits to see, like the Spy Exhibit also currently showing (which we also highly recommend).

The rooms at the Hilton Times Square are clean and accommodating, and competitively priced for a hotel in the heart of New York City.  Depending on which direction your room faces, there's generally some great views. The last time we stayed here, we had a prime view for people-watching down on 42nd Street. This time, we were on the 42nd floor on the Executive Level.



Which gave us some amazing views....

The view from our room - The Empire State Building, Hudson River and Freedom Tower

While still relatively new having only been built in 2000, starting in January 2013 the Hilton Times Square began a “guestroom only revitalization project” which should make the hotel even more appealing. 



We loved the amenities in the bathroom....


And what's a hotel stay without chocolate on the nightstand...



The hotel lobby and all public areas are open and up to date, and include a bar area on the second floor along with a restaurant area that offers sit down meals as well as a breakfast buffet.


The second floor lobby area and Front Desk


The restaurant and bar area off the main lobby of the Hilton Times Square

The result of our efforts from the Hilton Times Square breakfast buffet

Posted in the main lobby was a woman representing Hilton who was offering guests the opportunity to receive a significantly discounted future stay if we booked right then while staying at the hotel. Knowing how much we enjoy getaways and staycations in the city, and given what prices could run you in New York we took advantage of it, and will plan to spend another holiday in a hotel later on this year.

Thank you to the Hilton Honors card from American Express for allowing us to stay in NYC at the Hilton Times Square to #hotelfortheholidays and establish some memorable family holiday traditions.

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Harry Potter: The Exhibition at Discovery Times Square

Harry Potter: The Exhibition at Discovery Times Square

The world of Harry Potter continues to live on, and whether you’re a diehard fan looking to relive the adventure or you’re an average muggle searching for some enchanting fun, you can satisfy your need for both at the Harry Potter: The Exhibition at Discovery Times Square here in New York.

After travelling internationally for most of 2012, the Harry Potter exhibit is back at Discovery Time Square in NYC. While we missed it the first go around when it was here in 2011, we were glad to have another opportunity to check it out -- particularly since the kiddo is older and could better appreciate the exhibit having since visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Orlando.    

There was a lot we loved about the exhibit, and here are some of our favorite kid-friendly highlights and suggestions from our recent visit:

The Sorting Hat
After a brief video montage, the experience begins as you're escorted into a room with the Sorting Hat (as seen in the first Harry Potter film), during our visit three kids were picked to be "sorted" into their appropriate house at Hogwarts. If you have kids with you, make sure they’re standing in front of the group so they can be more easily noticed. The Sorting Hat even talks, and it’s a fabulous way to set the mood and experience for the rest of the exhibit.

Herbology
Here is one of a couple of interactive sections of the exhibit which features a growing garden of Mandrake which you can lift up out of their potted home and hear them scream. This is amusing to watch as an adult, but clearly younger kids are even more entertained.

Quiddich
As you work your way through Hagrid’s Hut, you’ll come to a whole section dedicated to the Game of Quidditch, including the actual clothes, equipment and instructions on how to play the game. Here you can have your own fun by throwing a Quaffle through three different hoops to score a goal. The Kiddo had fun (successfully) throwing the Quaffle through each of the hoops.

Dark Forces
By far the scariest section of the exhibit, there’s a full range of the evilest of creatures from movie, set looming in the dark room on both the ground and above. If you have kids on the younger side, it’s easy to bypass this section if you fear that your child will wake up in a cold sweat thinking a Dementor is chasing after them. The Kiddo's in first grade and weathered it unphased.

The Great Hall
While this is the last section of the exhibit, there's still quite a bit to see, including many more of the costumes and knickknacks from the movie including all of the candy made famous from that that first train ride that Harry and Ron took to Hogwarts. Dobie is hiding in the back and you’ll see him if you look carefully as you’re seamlessly dropped off into an artfully constructed gift shop, a mini version of the retail store at Universal Studios.

Here you can buy everything from wands to Gryffindor merchandise to photos of yourself set against a number of backgrounds (your pic is snapped against a green screen before you even enter the exhibit). You’ll be so consumed with the magical world of Hogwarts that I dare you to resist leaving without having bought at least one Chocolate Frog. ;-)



The breadth of clothes, wands, spell books and knick knacks from the seven movies is impressive, and if you have the time, you can spend a good part of your day reading all of the descriptions of the items on display.

Tickets are $27 for adults, and $19.50 for kids 4-12 years old. If you’re a true Potter-phile, there’s an audio tour for an additional $7 that goes into even further in depth behind the history and significance of each item. If you’re an American Express holder, you can get the audio tour for free.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition will be at Discovery Times Square through April 7, 2013.

 

 

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Momofuku Milk Bar Treats - Icing on Cake

While basking in the after glow of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, we walked up Fifth Ave to check out the holiday lights and decorations. Even though it was starting to rain, it was a beautiful night and end to our holiday dinner, annual Rockettes show and stay in NYC. The icing on the cake - literally - was walking into Momofuku Milk Bar for some late night sweet treats. :-)

We stopped into the Milk Bar at the Chambers Hotel on 56th and picked up some treats to enjoy back at the Hilton Times Square.

We tasted the candy bar pie . . .

We tried the cinnamon bun pie . . .

 . . .and loved the birthday cake truffles!

I'm taking the Kiddo to a cookie-making experience with Christina Tosi from Momofuku later this week, and we can't wait! You can now order from the Milk Bar online at http://www.shopmilkbar.com/shipping/

Thanks to American Express and the Hilton Honors card for inviting us to #hotelfortheholidays and start new family traditions exploring NYC over the holidays.

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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Viewing Party

This year we were fortunate to be invited to a private viewing party along the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route in NYC. We had primo seats for the parade balloons and a fabulous view on 6th Ave, across the street from Radio City Music Hall.

Our jaws dropped when we arrived at the location at the Time Life Building - it was truly perfect for parade viewing. Here's the pre-parade view looking up 6th Ave toward Central Park . . .

And the view looking down 6th Ave before the parade began . . .

Amazing, right??

We had brunch and the Kiddo and his friend colored, decorated cookies, and drank hot chocolate while waiting for the parade to get to us, which took about 25 minutes.

The beginning of the parade!

First balloons in sight . . .

Our view watching marching bands pass by . . .

Charlie Brown balloon and kung Fu Panda Po in the background

The Peanuts float . . .

 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid balloon!

 

Jimmy Fallon with The Roots . . .

Spider-Man balloon making its way down 6th Ave . . .

Pikachu . . .

Papa Smurf . . .

Near the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade . . .

The Elf on the Shelf passing by the Hilton New York . . .

Santa's coming!

Santa . . .

The end of the parade . . .

Look at those crowds!

Thank you to Time, Inc. for hosting us, and to the Hilton Honors card from American Express for allowing us to stay in NYC at the Hilton Times Square to #hotelfortheholidays and establish some memorable family holiday traditions.

 

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ANNIE the Musical on Broadway in NYC

ANNIE the Musical premiered on Broadway in NYC recently, and I was invited to preview the show a couple of weeks ago. I was stoked to attend ANNIE on Broadway as I'd only seen the movie before and wanted to see how they compared - and I was excited to introduce the Kiddo to the songs and story that led to his Aunt Annie being named Aunt Annie.

ANNIE the musical delivered pure enjoyment. The characters I remembered from my childhood embodied the lyrics and era. I remain in awe of the ability of the kid and teen actors to nail their performances and lines both on their own and as the ensemble of orphans. They rocked their comedic timing, physical humor and vocals. 

And Sandy! The rescue dogs performed so well, and created aisle-to-aisle smiles throughout the audience when they appeared on stage.

The post-war Depression era setting provided a lot of teaching opportunities throughout the musical. People living in cardboard shanties? Why? Who's Herbert Hoover? Why does Daddy Warbucks live in a mansion? Why do these kids not live at home with their parents?

Of course, the highlight for me was the music. It made me smile while driving home across the GW bridge as my son was singing "It's a Hard Knock Life" from the backseat. He had never heard the song before, and picked up the catchy chorus enough to sing it on the way home unassisted. It was incredibly sweet, and speaks volumes to just how delightful the musical was - even for those not familiar with the characters and story.

There were songs in the musical that I was hearing for the first time: "Thank you Herbert Hoover," and another sung solo by Daddy Warbucks. I was slightly bummed to not hear "We Got Annie" - one of my favorite songs from the movie.

We got Annie

So, back to the Kiddo's Aunt Annie. Annie was the first movie I saw in the movie theater as a kid, and I received the soundtrack soon thereafter. My other sister, Holly, and I played that record over and over on our Fisher-Price record player in the toy room. I'm sure even my dad could recite a few lines from the songs himself he overheard us singing and performing along to the ANNIE movie soundtrack enough, eventhough it was 25 years ago.

So when my parents told Holly and I we were going to get a sister, they let us help pick her name. The list was short, and we ALL agreed on Annie. I can't remember how many times after she was born that we teasingly (and admittedly - straight out earnestly. Hey! We were kids!) danced around singing "We Got Annie!"

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to see Annie the musical on Broadway, and am grateful that I had the chance to take the Kiddo to experience it too, thanks to MamaDrama. I recommend every family visiting NYC for some family holiday fun see Annie on Broadway this season. #AnnieonBroadway #AnnieonBway #MamaDrama

And yes, there are souvenirs and gift ideas to remember the experience at home. . .

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Hilton Honors AmEx Card Helps Families “Hotel for the Holidays”

As Generation  X and Millennial families leave their hometowns to settle down in distant cities, more and more families find themselves traveling over the holidays. When all of the siblings head home, there may not be enough “room at the inn” for everyone to comfortably stay under your parents’ roof, (hello air mattress, pull-out bed, sleeping bag!) so you head to a hotel. Or, sometimes the road trip home to visit family may seem too long for a weekend trip, or too expensive to fly home for every holiday, but you still want to make memories and establish traditions for your own new family and plan a hotel stay closer to home.

That’s exactly what we did over Thanksgiving. Courtesy of Hilton HHonors Card from American Express, we’re able to stay three nights at the Hilton Times Square over Thanksgiving and create our own holiday memories in NYC.

The Hilton Honors program is working with American Express for the holiday season to make it easier to find a hotel by using HHonors points - with no blackout dates! - which could land you a hotel room and save you money in the process (perhaps to spend on gifts or to donate to charities).

If you don’t already have a Hilton HHonors Card, through the end of November new Cardmembers can get up to 65,000 bonus HHonors points when they sign up for the card which is phenomenal considering that you can get a free night for 25,000 points, or even less with points + cash, so you could get 2-4 nights just for getting the card!

If you’re like us and travel a lot, there’s something called the Hilton HHonors Surpass Card that may be more attractive for you. It costs $75 per year (as opposed to the HHonors Card which is free), but you earn 12 points for every dollar spent at Hilton Hotels, and 6 points at select supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations.  So you can accumulate points faster, and that doesn’t even include a 60,000 point bonus if you’re a new Surpass Cardmember

Either way you look at it, if you're going to be travelling this holiday season, then the Hilton HHonors Amex card may be something to look into before you hit the road.

Thanks to American Express for letting us know about the program and for offering us the opportunity to #hotelfortheholidays at the Hilton Times Square over Thanksgiving.

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Butterflies are back at the American Museum of Natural History

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Hundreds of butterfies will be on view to interact with species coming from farms in Florida, Costa Rica, Kenya, Thailand, Malaysia, Ecuador, and Australia. The vibrant colors of the butterflies are amazing to look at, and the plant life interspersed throughout the 1,200 square foot vivarium (yes, that's what it's called) brings it all to life. Be prepared though...butterflies live in humid climates, and the exhibit is 80+ degrees, but totally worth it.

We had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of the exhibit with children visiting on a local school trip, and it was entertaining to see the experiences from their eyes. I could tell you that my favorites were the blue morpho and the large owl butterflies, which was truly large.

HomeAdvisor Re-Launches With New Home Improvement Tools

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Fancy Nancy the Musical in NYC

Fancy Nancy the Musical premiered at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on the Upper West Side of NYC this weekend, opening the Vital Theatre Company's 2012-2013 season of family programming. I was delighted to have been invited to attend the purple carpet press opening and see the show for myself!

I even borrowed a fancy li'l friend, Little C, to join me for the experience. . .