What is the Distance from Grand Central Station to Times Square?
(Blocks or in minutes walking, on a first visit don't want to try and learn the subway and wind up in Red Hook or the South Bronx)
Also What is the Distance from Grand Central Station to Broadway?
I'm thinking of not sure if it will happen to go by train and just explore for a day or go see what I can find.... Flying seems crazy cause that means I have to an airport and do the security thing and the pat down thing and get an x ray and even with the x ray take everything out of pockets then fly to NYC then from there find a way into the city and then after all that repeat that in reverse no thanks..........
Now The reason I mention the NYC thing is that it is important to this musical... I have never seen the Disney ones like The Little Mermaid or The Lion King (by the way Disney borrowed that story for those that don't know) So I don't know if some of things I saw where a mockery of them or just because of my where I was sitting.... Here are the two examples.... There is this Big Dragon and you can see the people in black out fits working it..... Yes there was some smoke but not enough to cover them up.... My first thought was well I bet from far back you can't see them in the lighting I bet in the balcony they are hidden.... Now as you back up the seats go up and from where I was there was this effect where a screen comes down and the people's feet are rats. I could see their legs.... So I wonder are these things that are bashing Disney and big musicals or is that they are made for people in the center to see only really....
What I liked about the Shrek Movies and it holds true here is how they Bash Fairy Tales and they do a great Job here doing it as well yes the lion king gets dissed. To be clear there aren't really any songs in Shrek the movie but the songs in the Musical are great and funny... Now that being said a lot of the Sexual jokes aimed at adults aren't in the Musical but that is ok Not sure if they would fit really... Now that being Said My Favorite part was Donkey he was great and I loved how he sang and talked kinda reminded me of Corey Glover I think from Living Colour singing wise... An it isn't just cause he was black... Then they do this big song at the end of the play after the standing o and Confetti rains down it is great... Is It a bit over the top Sure but all Musicals are.... Hey how can you not like a musical that is a love story and kinda a fairy tale that mocks fairy tales and is funny.... It was a great time now for some pictures (oh pictures of the performance are strictly prohibited so I didn't take any but this is before and after and the Journey)........
Thanks to you both for those great links now I just have to decide what I want to do and what is the best way about going about it.....
So NYC subway is not tough AT ALL. I went there ALONE the first time (a couple years back) for my Czech visa and I was able to get one point to the another very easily. It looks and feels very much like home (Delhi) to me. I have taken the bus (megabus and greyhound), the train, the plane to NYC.
The plane is obviously the most comfortable and the easiest. Also, in my personal opinion, it is VERY easy to get from the airport to anywhere in Manhattan - though it does take about 40 minutes (JFK airport is near Queens). I also think that the security is not intrusive regardless of what people say. If you have seen the movie "Up in the air", pretty much EVERYTHING that George Clooney says in the airport scene is true. To summarise, wear shoes that you can remove and put on easily, don't wear belts, make sure you have no liquids and semi-solids in your carry-on baggage, empty your trouser pockets before you get in the line, you can put everything in your coat pockets and put the coat in the checking tray. So, if you are ready you just walk right through the scanner. I have gone through the buffalo airport (and JFK) uncountable number of times and have NEVER been held up for more than 15 min and I am usually the one who gets extra checking because of my name. I definitely don't think any of it is intrusive. I don't think it's fair to pull down the TSA or the homeland security on the basis of random reports out there with experiences of cancer patients, people with prosthetic limbs or intestinal catheters. These are special cases and does not apply to 99.99% of the people who walk through security scanners on a DAILY basis. So yes, if you every see a $49/$39 special on JetBlue, pounce on it by all means.
If you don't spot these $49/$39 each way deals then airtravel is really more expensive than any of the other options. Train travel is AS CHEAP as megabus or greyhound, takes the same amount of time, and is infinitely more comfortable. Travel is around $44 each way (you can put in the I-LOVE-NYC code V557 found in the magazine in the seat pocket and knock 20% off your rail fare). Also take a look at this page: :::link:::
My third choice would be Megabus. The buses are WAAY more comfortable than greyhound and if you have a laptop, you can surf the net for 8 hours nonstop. :^) They are are not that crowded and the passengers are mostly students and business people. If you can sit on the top rung of the double-decker in the front seat, the views are spectacular. If you can catch up on sleep for 8 hours, its probably a good alternative. The bus is actually just $5 - $10 more than the train or waaay more expensive than the train - depending on how close you are to the traveling date. I recommend booking any of these (plane/train/bus) as soon as you possibly can as the price keeps going up till the last day - when they skyrocket to the maximum rates - wayy more than airfare.
My last ditch-attempt choice would be greyhound. I would avoid it as much as I possibly can. They are irresponsible, don't stick with schedules around holidays and may have somewhat sketchy smelly people travelling in their buses. Most of all, I really hate it when they waste my time and overbook people and then delay for as much as 2 hours. Avoid greyhound as much as you can.
If you know where you are going and what you want to do, I can sit down with you and give you a run down of all subway routes and pretty much anything I can help you with. I also know of the cheapest hotel in NYC (Red Roof, Brooklyn - that is not really as bad as the reviews say it is) Let me know! Meanwhile, this is an excellent website to check out: :::link:::
Grand Central to Times Square: :::link:::
Broadway is one of the streets that make up Times Square.
I've taken the megabus from Buffalo to NYC - it was long and kinda painful but cheap. The train & plane are the same cost (much more than bus). Train takes almost as long as the bus but is way more comfortable. Plane is quick but has two major problems: all the intrusive security, and getting from the airport to somewhere useful. The train & bus get you to relatively convenient places on Manhattan.