New York Citypass a way to save on sightseeing and time

ON A trip to New York, this writer makes a delightful discovery that cut the cost of sightseeing ... and the time lining up for attractions.

ESCAPE: CITYPASS .. Mark William Sheehan story .. Brooklyn Bridge and the New York city skyline. Picture: iStock

ON A recent holiday visit to the fabulously popular American Museum of Natural History in New York, our family’s first “discovery” was that the line was enormous. (“Umungous” in kidspeak.)

Our kids had insisted on visiting after seeing the movie Night at the Museum, which took place there. The general admission line began at least half a fairway off, making a dogleg turn on the Central Park kerb-side. Our excited offspring suddenly had second thoughts, shuffled their feet, and asked: “When are we going to get there?” Other would-be visitors stepped out of line to buy Kosher Coney Island hot dogs from footpath vendors (sauerkraut, mustard, pickles, relish and “catsup” included for a buck and a half). I meandered into the museum’s massive lobby and discovered a gold-leafed sign for “VIP and CityPASS” holders – and there was no line in front of it. The lass behind the counter seemed pleased to see me. I bought five passes (three at kids’ prices and two adult passes), returned to the tail-end of the line and collected my clan. We marched like celebrities through the massive wooden doors, flashed our new passes, and we were in. We saved more than 50 per cent of the rack rate for general admission, and if time were money, our passes saved us a bundle. We had enough time inside to kick the tyres on the Moon-mobile (not recommended in thongs), enjoy two IMAX films and join in on a fun-filled “dinosaur dig”. If we’d stayed in line, we’d have missed these sessions for certain. It was to be the beginning of a love affair with CityPASS that has withstood eight other great American cities, and CityPASS is still adding new destinations. Later that same week, armed with the New York CityPASS, we strolled to the front of the queue-less special kiosks for CityPASS holders, and pre-boarded a fully-narrated cruise to the Statue of Liberty, took the express elevator to the top of the Empire State Building, landed our fighter-jet flight simulators on the deck of the fabulous Intrepid Air & Space Museum and spiralled our way through the Guggenheim Museum, and still had other inclusions that took us to the front of every line – every time. We’ve become walking sandwich boards for buying multi-attraction passes. Face facts. No visitor to any attraction, anywhere in the world, looks forward to shifting from foot to foot, corralling the kids, and waiting in long admission lines. But buying advance-purchase entry cards and passes helps to assure hard-earned holiday time can be spent at those must-do attractions rather than waiting in queues:. CityPASS bulk-buys entry to major museums, activities, aquariums, theme parks and attractions in advance, and consumers are the biggest beneficiaries, saving up to half what it would cost to buy admissions separately at each ticket office.