New Yorkers...pleas help with Macy's Parade tips (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Adkins]

We're leaving Tuesday night for Long Island to visit the in-laws. This year my 9 year old daughter really wants to go to the Macy's parade. I've always avoided it in the past, thinking it would probably be so crowded that we wouldn't see much anyway.

However, this year, I am probably going to take her and try to make the best of it. I've done some research online and it seems that everyone says the best viewing spots will be on Central Park West from 60th to 70th streets, as they are far less crowded than points South. I've also read that people start lining the streets at 6:30am. If I have to get there that early, then we'll probably just skip it. I don't mind getting there early, but 2 1/2 hours of just standing on the sidewalk before the parade starts will be a bit much for her. I remember getting to Times Square at about 11 pm on New Year's Eve and still being able to see pretty well.

So I guess I'm curious if any of you have been before and just what to expect.

Thanks!

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Actual New Yorkers don't go to the parade unless they're in it or being paid to work on it. All those people you see on TV every year are tourists.

(OK, I'm semi kidding. But I'm a New York native who never attended the parade, rode the Staten Island Ferry, visited the Statue of Liberty - my class went on a field trip after I moved out of the city, but I was sick that day - or visited the Empire State building except on business. (I finally stopped in and went to the observation deck on impulse as I was walking back to Grand Central station to take the train home on my last working day in Manhattan before I moved to Florida.)

Regards,

Joe