Well, I have not been here, but it is on my list. for my son who is 3.

http://www.nysci.org/

It was recently listed on some kids summer list on yahoo as top 10 places in the us to bring your kids. Again though, I can't speak for it personally yet :)

DH took our son to the bronx zoo recently and overall a lot of it was a hit. The monorail or train ride was a hit, the dora movie, and a few other things they have specifically for kids was of interest to DS. They were there for probably 6 hours., which was kind of too much, they went to some out of the way animals that were not such a big hit. :) Not sure they price of admission would be worth it for you, but there was probably about 4 hours worth of stuff that DS enjoyed. I have no idea if it is the same at the houston zoo as I have never been there, and it has been years since I have been to the san antonio zoo.

Mostly we stay out of the city, so I am not too much help. :)

We have recently thought about taking him to cirque de soleil, but after a trip to see a movie recently we have decided he wouldnt sit still that long or be that interested.

Here is the FB Page for Zarkana by Cirque De Solei someone I know online took their 4 year old who enjoyed it very much.

Toys R Us Times Square is supposed to be a really fun place to go.

I found the linked site that might be worth your time.

Here is a link that might be useful: NYC Sites

Is she into baby dolls? The American Girl store is pretty cool even if you don't own one but it's an expensive "hobby" if she is enthralled by all things dolls. They have "bitty baby" dolls for the younger crowd. My girls were a little older when we went there, but I know some preschoolers really like baby dolls.

My kids loved the Toys R Us store at Times Square and about a block and a half away is the M&M Store. It's mostly M&M souvenir stuff but they have every color of M&M you can imagine sold by weight so that might be a neat treat. FAO Schwartz is also fun but with these types of stores, you have to be prepared to say no a million times b/c they want to buy all that fun stuff they see.

I did do the Central Park zoo with my older dd when she was about 10. It was ok but we have the National Zoo and Baltimore Zoo here, so we skipped it the next time we went with the rest of my kids.

We went at Christmas so unfortunately a lot of the things my kids enjoyed won't be around in October. The Christmas decorations all over mid-town were neat to see, plus we did the Radio City Music Hall holiday show which they all loved (me too!). I remember once reading about a children's theater (maybe in Central Park?) but didn't have a chance to go. I'll see if I can find the information for that.

I don't have advice as to where to stay. When my dd and I went, we stayed at a Marriott right in midtown around 3rd Avenue and 49th Street. It was a great central location. When we went with the whole family, we were staying with family in Brooklyn. The boutique hotels are usually reasonably priced but the rooms are typically VERY small so not advisable if traveling with a child, at least the ones I've been to.

The big apple circus is wonderful! Small, no big every seat, is good. Believe it begins in Oct. and runs thru Dec.hoghly Reccommend this.
As for dining, Serafina's is hip, crowded and lots of families. There are two i. Have fun!

If you go to Coney Island,(have a hot dog at Nathans) there is also the Aquarium close by. It is small and I think perfect for a 3 year old.
I wonder if Radio City Music Hall has something for that age group In October?
American Girl tours for lunch have to be made way in advance. But they have other options that you can do as well.
It might be fun to go to China town for a lunch or dinner. Or ,Little Italy which is a block away. (or do both!)
Look at all the links. It would be nice to have tickets for a show, again something avialable for a 3 year old.
Museum of Natural History. Who doesn't like to see the dinosaurs? Maybe save it if it looks like rain.
If I am remembering right, I think Sony has a free hands on type museum.
Times Square at night! All the lights and action.

I don't have a NYC specific info, but suggest having a stroller that folds easily, And if your child is the type that can feel overstimulated easily, I suggest kiddie sunglasses and a iPod shuffle with songs they know on it. This lets them escape the noise and retreat if they need to.

You might want to research Coney Island well before going. Some love it, while some hate it. We had friends from Austin visit not too long ago and they were appalled at the filth and sketchy people. I think it's more of a people watching kind of place.

Gosh, three is awfully young even for most of the kid-friendly sites.

A carriage ride in the park, and a trip to the carousel. As for the Statue of Liberty, make sure you order advance ferry tickets or you may wait an hour plus. Also note, we took our kids in April and there was construction that hampered our tour of the statue. I loved the Ellis Island museum but it is not geared toward a 3yo. I say no to Coney Island. If you do the Museum of Natural History, maybe she would like to watch "night at the museum" first.

I do think she would like seeing Times Square at night, maybe on the double decker open air tour buses. My girls also always liked the windows at Bergdorf and such. Does she like Eloise? You could do tea at the Plaza (although i think they ruined the room when they redid it)

As for hotels, I live too close to stay in them and am only familiar with high end business hotels. While hotels like the Four Seasons or Ritz Battery Park (right next to the Statue of Liberty ferry) are very nice to children, often giving them stuffed animals or treats at check in, they are quite pricey.

What i recommend for families is the Sheraton at Lincoln Harbor. It is right across the Hudson, literally a 2 minute ferry crossing. Excellent views and cheaper than staying in Manhattan. Ferries run all the time, taking you to midtown manhattan. Ferries are fun. You can take free buses from there or there are always cabs.

As for restaurants, if you go early (say before 7), you can usually find place that are accommodating. The restaurants geared toward kids are universally bad quality and bad value, imho. One of my favorites, because their menu can accommodate anyone, is EAT on the Upper East Side. I also like Artisinal Bistro, BLT Fish downstairs, both restaurants at ABC Carpet. Lastly, the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle is enormous and has food to take out, to eat there, or to pack in your purse for breakfast in your room!

Have fun!

Here is a link that might be useful: 2 minutes from manhattan and great views

Thank you so much for all your input. I think based on your input we'll scratch Coney Island although I thought the aquarium would be more to her liking. The one thing at the Houston zoo she spent time actually looking at.

She is so excited about seeing the statue of Liberty. We will definitely book ahead and I saw on it was closed inside for renovations.

We may or may not do a show. She would do really good, but Daddy is the big question there. Says he doesn't like musicals.

I think if we do a mix of where she can expend physical energy and then more grown up stuff then we will be fine. She is generally very good if it is mixed up like that. She is actually very well behaved in restaurants etc. We could take her to the quiet romantic type restaurants and she would behave very well, but we'd rather not do that as i know others would cringe seeing us. We would likely be having dinner between 7-8pm so good to know it should be fine.

I do think a hotel not exactly in the thick of it would be good, but I think we need to find something with a suite that has a door to the bedroom. That way we can put her in there for her nap and get a longer nap out of her than we would if in a more open area or we would have to avoid having a conversation as she would wake up and want to be part of it.

Good point about a stroller. Looks like there are places we could rent one from while staying there. We don't have one that she fits in and haven't had a need for one as she likes to walk. I think I'd feel safer near traffic though with her strapped in.

Hi, just wanted to offer some suggestions of places and things my kids liked when they were little. Also a great resource is New York magazine (nymag.com); check out the vistors� guide section for kids.

Museum of Natural History - of course, the dinosaurs but there�s also the blue whale room and, for some strange reason, both my kids loved the gem room.

Metropolitan Museum of Art - some very cool Egyptian stuff that a 3-year old might be interested in and also the Temple of Dendur. Check out their website: metmuseum.org.
They also have some itineraries geared toward younger kids under planning your visit. (The entrance fee is just the recommended amount, you can pay less.) Great playground just north of the museum; it�ll play into your visit to the Met.

Broadway plays - my one son saw The Lion King when he was three and really doesn�t remember anything. You could check out The New Victory Theater on 42nd street - newvictory.org - to see if they have something appropriate for when you�re visiting. The costs are usually reasonable especially compared to a Broadway show.

Central Park http://www.centralparknyc.org/
Central Park Zoo - it�s a really good size for a 3-year old. Check out when the feeding times are for, I think, the penguins and sea lions. Also check out the Delacorte clock near the entrance.

Carousel - always fun

Model Boat Pond - you can rent a radio-controlled model boat (your husband might really like doing this with your daughter). If you�ve read Stuart Little or seen the movie, the scene where he�s on the boat takes place there. The formal name is the Conservatory Water.

Alice in Wonderland statue - right next to the pond.

Walking - the best way to see New York so I would highly recommend a stroller BUT don�t overload it. As much as you can walk forever in New York, you might need to take a cab or the subway depending upon where you�re going. So you�re going to need to fold it up and, if you have too much, this can make you a little frazzled trying to keep track of your daughter and all the other stuff.

Great places to walk:
Central Park
The High-Line (thehighline.org) old elevated railroad line on the west side of Manhattan. They did a great job but you need to look at the website to understand it. You can stop at the Chelsea Market for lunch (great bread at Amy�s Bread). It�s my new favorite place.

Battery Park - Lower Manhattan - (bpcparks.org) where you�d go to get the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. The whole Hudson riverfront all the way up to the George Washington Bridge is a park. The part that I liked the best is in lower Manhattan (Rockefeller Park); has a great playground and a fun sculpture garden with very playful statues by Tom Otterness. You could go there the day you�re going to the Statue of Liberty.

And if you�re downtown, the 9/11 Memorial could be combined with Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty. You need to get tickets (they�re free - 911memorial.org). I was just there recently and the lines moved fast. I think you have to empty everything out of the stroller and put it in bins.

Empire State Building - I love it at dusk when the lights are coming on but the lines can be really long. Even if you get tickets ahead of time, you still have to wait for the elevators.

Coney Island - Unless you or your husband are hugh roller-coaster fans, I'd give it a miss. If you do want to go on the Cyclone, I think it's only open on the weekends in October.

Enjoy your visit. Don�t wear good walking shoes, wear great ones!

If you look around the city, there are parks/playgrounds near all the attractions. The attractions are really crowded in summer, but you could go to them for a SHORT TIME with her, then have her and an adult head to the nearest playground. Bring swimsuits--many playgrounds have some kind of water feature in the summer.

Statue of Liberty: Full-day trip, LONG lines. If you are going as a group, best to designate someone to run around Liberty Island with her while the adults do the statue. The food they serve on the island is the kind that makes you sick on the boat going back--hot dogs and pretzels. Pack a lunch.

Battery Park: beautiful, has a terrific playground with sprinklers. The River to River festival is going now and has national-level artists (music, dance, other) for FREE. I just missed Parliament-Funkadelic. Aaargh. There is a food court at the World Financial Center, kitty-corner from the playground.

South Street Seaport: Historic boats and mall. Fun for adults, maybe for a 1/2 hour for a 3-year-old. BUT there is a terrific playground there. Think about designating someone to be with her while everybody else does the Seaport.

I think someone on this forum suggested this web site a few months ago. I mentioned it to a friend who has been living in NYC for 2 years and she loved it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Time Out

The Roger Smith in midtown is a boutique, clean, graciously appointed hotel. It does not have eating facilities or other amenities. What it does have is suites with separate bedroom (I think ours had a king bed), 2nd bedroom (small but certainly adequate for a 3 y/o), small kitchen, lovely living room/dining area. We were amazed to find this hotel at about $200/night 2 years ago. I am not affiliated with them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roger Smith Hotel

Thank you all for the suggestions. I think we have enough to stay busy for the 2.5 days we are now planning on spending there as the trip has morphed into a one-way road trip with end destination of NYC. Looks like we are going to have a busy vacation.

BTW has anybody driven from Washington DC to NYC or would it be better to take the train. I looked at amtrak and it was fairly expensive, but would only take 3 hours to Penn Station. Looking at mapquest the drive seemed worse. I'm trying to think where it would be better to end our driving.

Yes - and I would do anything to avoid it again. Will you even need your car while in NYC?

Take the Bolt bus from DC. Very convenient and inexpensive. We always take the train or Bolt. Driving is a pain and parking very expensive.

Thanks you have confirmed what I thought.

We had planned on using a rental car and drop it in NYC, but sounds like if we go to Washington we should drop it there.

Not sure about going on a bus, I think the train would be better and more of an adventure for our train loving girl.

Is Amtrak the only train option or are there other? Is it hard to bring luggage or ? I may end up going from NYC to Europe with our daughter and DH heading back home (doesn't have much vacation) since we would be closer and could visit her grandma for her birthday.

There are all kinds of different Amtrak train options between DC and NYC. You can take the Acela Express (fast, pricier) or the regional trains (slower, cheaper). Luggage is no particular problem.

We took the train up with our kids one spring break to enjoy NYC with friends, and then we flew on to Venice from there. Very easy.

Lyfia-

Sorry I'm late to this thread. I grew up in one of the boroughs in NYC and live in NJ, 20 minutes away from the city.

I have 2 daughters. I've been to American Girl, and it's cute, my girls loved it, but it's so CROWDED and really hard to enjoy with so many crowds. If you do go to American Girl I highly recommend the 9:30 brunch seating, way less crowded. But if you can I highly recommend Alice's Tea Cup. I took my girls there for my daughter's 3rd birthday. She's 6 now and still remembers the place we ate where she got to wear fairy wings to eat. Upon our arrival they asked my girls if they'd like to wear fairy wings while they dine! It was precious. There are Alice in Wonderland murals on the walls, the food is FANTASTIC and affordable, which can be tough in NYC. There are little chandeliers everywhere, mismatched china, it is just so charming. (And since you're on a decorating forum, I'm sure you'll appreciate the decor as much as I did) There is more than one location, just google it, you can check it out online. I highly recommend it. As for the Statue of Liberty, if you'd like to actually go inside, tickets must be purchased way ahead of time. Otherwise you are just permitted to go on Liberty Island. I took my girls there when we had family visiting from Italy and learned that the hard way.

As for driving vs. Amtrak to DC. I've done both and I HIGHLY recommend the train. Traffic in the DC area is dreadful, if you are going on one of those tour buses they are not as comfortable as the train. Plain Amtrak is quite affordable, Acela is much more pricey. I'd take the Amtrak especially with a 3 year old.

Also, if you are coming in early October, I'm pretty sure it's around the time of the food and wine festival, I've never actually been to it, but it may be something worth checking out while you're in town.

Hope this helps, have a great trip!