Empire State Building Surprise

Sheila and I kept a few things about our plans for our time in Manhattan a surprise for Lukey and Kenzie.  One of these surprises was that, unbeknownst to Lukey and Kenzie, we had previously purchased tickets to visit not just the common observation deck but the 80th, 86th and 102nd floors of the Empire State Building which includes the topmost small, enclosed observation deck.  

When we surprised these two grandchildren with this Christmas trip back on Halloween (see this blog post), one of the many tickets we had gifted to them was for the Empire State Building.  At the time, we made it clear that, unfortunately, we would not have time to go up to the observation deck because it will be the busy Christmas season with long lines so it would take up far too much of our valuable time.  Regardless, they still seemed excited to be seeing this monumental building from the street.  I put their minds at ease explaining that, at the very least, we could see what the lobby looks like just like it was in the movie "Elf".  They seemed perfectly happy with this plan.  Really, however, we had far bigger plans.

So, on the day we were scheduled to go to the top of the Empire State Building, we were now diverted from the Museum of Natural History up on the upper west side down to Penn Station down at the lower end of midtown Manhattan.  Flooding in the previous days caused some transportation problems for us so we had to forego our visit to the Museum of Natural History.  

Our reservations for the Empire State Building were scheduled for 8:30pm to allow us enough time at the Museum of Natural History in the afternoon.  Now, due to missing out on the museum, we had time to kill so I gave them a tour of Penn Station and we did some shopping at Macy's and a few stores on Fifth Avenue.

We had dinner reservations at a small Mexican Cantina off Fifth Avenue but that wasn't until 6:15pm.  After we did some shopping in the afternoon, we had some shopping bags in hand and I suddenly remembered that, in order to get into the Empire State Building, we would need to go through a security checkpoint and that extra bags would not be allowed.  This meant we needed to drop the shopping bags off at our hotel which was uptown between Rockefeller Center and Central Park.  

To get to the subway, we had to walk back to Herald Square at Macy's.  We caught the subway here and then rode the subway up to the station closest to our hotel.  We walked to the hotel then took the elevator up to the 41st floor to our room.  We quickly dropped off the extra bags and then made our way back to the subway to get back down to Herald Square.  Unfortunately, even after all this extra traveling, we still had an hour to kill before our dinner reservation so we slowly strolled up Fifth Avenue toward the restaurant.  The restaurant was only a few blocks north on 38th Street so we knew that walk wouldn't take long at all.

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On a side note in reference to the above photo of Macy's with the Empire State Building in the background...  As I walked past this point on the sidewalk in the above photo, I wanted to stop to capture a photo of the Santa hat in the foreground and the Empire State Building parallel but in the distance but there was too much pedestrian traffic to stop in the middle of the sidewalk.  I waited for a break in the pedestrian traffic and then got into position on the sidewalk to capture this shot.  When I turned around to move to the side and go back to Sheila and the kids, I noticed about four people behind me capturing this same scene with their cellphones!  This happened a few times during our trip.  I would see a scene that would make a good photo...  I'd wait for a break in pedestrian traffic, jump into the ideal place for a photo, shoot the photo, then as I was walking away I noticed a bunch of other people shooting the same scene!

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When we arrived at the restaurant, we were still ahead of schedule by about 45 minutes.  Fortunately, they had a table available anyway so they took us in early.  This day's diversion and change of plans (missing out on the museum) was somehow working out with alternate plans but we still had quite a bit of time to kill before we could get into the Empire State Building and I wasn't sure what we would do to eat up this extra time.  Not only did I not know what to do to eat up this time but I also had no idea how we would explain all the stalling to the kids.  We didn't want to clue them in to this surprise.

After we had some chips and salsa (actually...  three salsas), the kids and Sheila had a bunch of tacos for dinner while I had steak fajitas.  The food was good but, as we ate, I was trying to figure out what else to do to kill some time without giving up the surprise.  We still had about an hour and a half to kill before our reservation at the Empire State Building so I was beginning to think that I would finally have to give in and simply divulge our surprise now.  

I was at a loss for ideas and the kids were beginning to wonder why we seemed to be stalling in the restaurant.  After stalling a bit more, I reluctantly mentioned that we had a surprise already scheduled so we had to kill some more time, however, I was hesitant to tell them what the surprise was just yet.  These two kids are not good at patiently handling anticipation so knowing there was a surprise was driving them crazy.  Instead of divulging our true plans, I began to make up some possible surprises...

"We're going to take a horse and buggy ride up Fifth Avenue to the hotel."

"We're going to tour Koreatown where we often stay when in Manhattan so we can show you the hotels we've stayed at and visit some Korean restaurants."  Then I retold some stories of Gee and I walking through Koreatown and sending Uncle Adam photos of Koreatown and Korean restaurants.  At the time, Uncle Adam was in South Korea.

"We're going to walk up Fifth Avenue to do more shopping."

"We've scheduled a helicopter tour over Manhattan but we cancelled it because we figured you'd be too frightened."

"We're going to trace Elf's footsteps in the movie."  

I made up a few other silly things as the kids rolled their eyes and giggled in my attempt to throw them off the trail of our visit to the Empire State Building.  We had some dessert while they tried to get me to admit what surprise awaits them.  Having dessert (fried ice cream and churros), which was delicious, did kill a bit more time before we left this Mexican Cantina but it wasn't enough time so I knew I had to continue dragging my feet.  

Now we were back out in the cold...  in the wind...  and we still had far too much time to kill to be aimlessly wandering the streets on a cold windy night.

We slowly meandered down Fifth Avenue toward the Empire State Building... 

Before we knew it, we were standing across the street from the main entrance to the Empire State Building.  In an effort to kill more time, I shot some photos and told them more things about the building...

We then went to the southernmost corner to cross the street so we would be walking northward again toward the main entrance to the Empire State Building.  I figured that if we could enter the building, then I could show them the lobby which was shown in the movie "Elf".  Unfortunately, it appeared as though something was going on in the lobby so we couldn't go inside. (We would later find out what was going on.)  We did peer through the glass doors though so we could see the lobby just like it appeared in various movies including "Elf".

At this point, we really could have used a break from the cold so not being able to find some refuge in the lobby was a major disappointment.  Plus, getting into the lobby was going to eat up some of our time which was still a good thing at this point.  

We continued to the corner of Fifth and 34th Street and then turned onto 34th Street to head back toward Herald Square and Penn Station.  As we were walking toward the 34th Street observation deck entrance to the building, I told the kids we were heading back to the subway so we could make our way back up to the hotel.  In reality, I still had no idea what I was going to tell them when we got to the entrance to the Observation Deck.  We were getting closer and closer to this entrance though.

We were all freezing now so I really think that if we had called it a night it would have been welcomed news for them.  This was not our real plan though.

As we approached the entrance for the Observation Deck on 34th Street, I whispered to Sheila that she should see if she could get us in early while I distracted the kids.  Sheila made her way toward the Empire State Building attendants who were checking tickets and greeting those entering for the Observation Deck.  Her goal was to try to get us in early while I made up another story for the kids.  In the meantime, I pulled the kids over to the curb to wait. 

While Kenzie, Lukey and I waited at the curb and a bit behind a food cart, I asked them if they were cold and they both quickly acknowledged that they were freezing.  I then explained that Gee was trying to get us into the building so we could warm up for a bit.  I explained that there was a museum on the second floor where we could warm up if they would somehow allow us into the building.  

I reminded them of our last cruise on Lake Champlain this past summer when Gee talked the Captain of the ship into delaying the departure time while we waited for Ellie (another one of our grandaughters) to arrive from the hospital so she could take the cruise with us.  I seemed to convince Kenzie and Lukey that Gee really was trying to get us inside so we could warm up.  At this point, I was fairly confident and a bit relieved that they bought this story.  Now, we just needed to wait for Gee to get us into the building well ahead of our scheduled reservation time.

As we stood there shivering in the cold wind, I noticed Sheila waving at us to come toward her so I herded the kids over to her.  Sheila told the kids we are allowed to go inside to warm up.  In reality, she had already shown our tickets for our Observation Deck reservations and told the Empire State Building attendant that we were surprising the kids so we entered the building way ahead of schedule as the attendant gave us a sly smile...  and it was warm inside!

The place was empty which was really good news.  This meant we could take our time and wander through the new museum on the lower floors with no rushing.  The kids still assumed we were only there to warm up and that getting inside the building was just dumb luck and an added bonus.  They were happy to get to see some of the interior of this famous building.

We meandered slowly through the empty hallways.  When we arrived at the staircase to the second floor museum, we were told to take the elevator instead since Lukey was on crutches.  So, we got to ride up the elevator to the second floor.

Now we had to go through security.  I honestly thought this is where the kids would think something was up...  why go through security if we are in here to just warm up?  They didn't say anything though.  

After we put ourselves and our clothes back together again, we continued on to the museum.  One of the first areas of this museum had a photographic mural on the walls enveloping the large room.  This photo was of how this location looked before the Empire State Building was built.  There were transit levels on tripods that you could peer through.  Inside the eyepiece of the transit levels was a video depicting the spot at which the transit level was pointing during this time period.  Each transit level was pointed at a different spot of the mural so each video was different...

On the walls around another large room was a video showing the building under construction.  The video stretched across these walls as though there were no walls...  just construction happening...  iron beams were being hoisted upward...  ironworkers were yelling to each other...  others were pushing wheelbarrows and pounding giant rivets.  It was like we were on the same floor as the construction...

There were interactive displays that the kids played with for a while...

The next room was sort of a long mini movie theatre showing screen after screen of video clips of all the movies that were filmed at the Empire State Building...

This new museum is pretty impressive and is a great way to entertain people as they wait on the typical long lines.  Fortunately, we had no lines on this night so we could take our time and enjoy.

Eventually, we finished with this second floor museum and it was time to get on the elevator to make our way to the 80th floor where we would continue on with the museum except that we would now have spectacular live views out the windows of the 80th floor!  This particular elevator is the most interesting elevator though.  This elevator was definitely going to give away the surprise that we had tickets to the observation deck!

As we all stepped onto the elevator, Lukey asked, "Where are we going?"  

Kenzie quickly followed with her own, "Where are we going???"

I still wanted to see how long I could torture them by keeping them in suspense so I said, "I think we're going into the basement."  

We had already told them some stories of eating and drinking at a brewery that used to be in the basement of the Empire State Building so, for a short instant, Lukey was satisfied with this answer...  well, I think he was anyway.  

An instant after I said we were headed to the basement, the elevator doors closed and the roof of the elevator car opened up...  we instantly felt the unmistakable feeling of moving upward, not downward...   both Lukey's and Kenzie's eyes popped open wide with huge smiles on their faces as this open-topped elevator car flew upward...  up, and up, and up, while a voice narrated our rise upward as though the building was being built around us as we moved upward.  

Our ears popped on the way up!  We went from the second floor to the 80th floor in less than a minute!

When the elevator doors opened on the 80th floor, I said, "Do you know what the surprise is yet?"  Lukey and Kenzie were no longer cold...   they were no longer exhausted...  they were now excited with huge smiles on their faces, mouths agape, as this open top elevator car quickly shot upward and upward!

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A video of this very impressive and memorable elevator ride can be

found at the bottom of this page.

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Here is a view through the windows on the 80th floor...

EDIT:  It's funny how sometimes you don't notice something in a photo until much later.  That is what has happened to me with this photo, above.  

I was scrolling through these photos for the umpteenth time (it is now early February) and I finally noticed a reflected glimpse of me in the window straight across in the center of the frame...  also the 80th floor but in the outcropping straight across from the window where I was shooting from...  I went to the folder containing the full sized photos (as opposed to the smaller resized photos I upload to the internet) and I can see myself in the reflection of the window!  I am tiny and it is a double image due to the double pane glass...  but I can definitely see my silhouette and the lights behind me in the reflection!  I don't know why I didn't noticed that when I first processed this image file.

Seeing the double image in the reflection also reminded me that the photos I shot through glass are not the sharpest.  I was shooting through double pane glass, the glass has handprints on it from kids who insist upon touching everything (leaving dirty, greasy handprints in their wake), there are reflections off the glass, it is a bit dirty on the outside (although not nearly as dirty as you would expect...  for a skyscraper, these windows were actually quite clean but not nearly as clean as a lens), and the window panes are not optical quality so there is a bit of wavy distortion.  The photos I shot from the 86th floor observation deck, however, were shot out in the open air so those are sharp.

Lukey, Kenzie and Gee with their first view from the 80th floor...

This area of the building was pretty cool.  In hindsight, I should have tried to get some video clips from this area.  These windows were really LCD displays depicting King Kong and passing aircraft...  all in motion...  all quite realistic...  It made for some good photos too!

The aircraft seen through the left window, below, are the aircraft that were buzzing around the Empire State Building in the original King Kong movie.  These aircraft would continuously circle the building...  going from the window on the right, to the center window, to the window on the left...  continuing around the building and then appearing again through the window on the right...

Lukey, Gee and Kenzie sent mommy a selfie from the Observation Deck on the 86th floor.  I think they may have attempted to video chat with her but that didn't work out...

Kenzie got to pose with Buddy the Elf, the cotton-headed ninny-muggins, on the 86th floor Observation Deck...  one cotton-headed ninny-muggins with another!

Looking southward toward the new World Trade Center, One World Trade Center...

You can easily identify the Statue of Liberty in this photo, below...  Lukey was very excited to have found the Statue of Liberty on his own.  When he found it, he exclaimed, "I found the Statue of Liberty....  I used math to find it!"

The very well known Chrysler Building which, at one time, was the tallest building in the world...

Looking northward toward the Top of the Rock Building...

We had a view of Bryant Park from the observation deck up in the frigid cold wind...

Lukey, Kenzie and Gee took turns looking through the big binoculars trying to find familiar landmarks...

Looking downward toward the ground far below and westward down 34th Street...  Macy's and Herald Square are in the foreground...  Madison Square Garden, the round building, is just peeking out from the left...

Here is a closeup looking directly downward to Herald Square and Macy's...

Looking up from the observation deck on the 86th floor to the enclosed observation deck on the 102nd floor...

One World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan...

Here are a couple of photos of us up on the uppermost enclosed observation deck on the 102nd floor.  This observation deck is a relatively small darkened room with a 360° view of Manhattan.  Actually, we could see all of New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut and, if it were daylight, even Pennsylvania.  This part of our tour was quite impressive and we were all glad we had the opportunity to get up into this little room!

When we arrived back down to the lobby, there was a photo shoot happening.  Miss Teen USA was being photographed in the lobby and, I assume, had already done a photo shoot up on the observation deck too.  

I showed some professional courtesy and refused to shoot my own photos of her.  Besides, an old man shooting photos of a teenage girl could easily be construed as disgusting or perverted!   Instead, we walked around this famous lobby before heading back out into the cold...

Here is a photo showing the different levels where we got to go in this classic skyscraper...

The wind was whipping up there and it was frigid on an open deck at 1050 feet but we had a great time.  We all had a really great time doing many different things in Manhattan but this surprise visit to the top of the Empire State Building was probably the favorite for each one of us.  It certainly was the place where the kids were most shocked, most impressed and most excited!

Here is a video of our elevator ride up to the 80th floor...