robbalvey Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 (edited) Hey everyone! Every year during the Thanksgiving holiday we try to take a pre-Thanksgiving trip where we fly to our destination the weekend before the holiday, spend a few days, and then fly home on Thanksgiving before everything gets even more crazy with everyone off work and school. And flying home the day of Thanksgiving is usually GREAT because people aren't traveling this day as they are spending it with family. If you are ever able to celebrate your Thanksgiving either before or after the actual holiday, and do things a bit more "non-traditional" we highly recommend it! Not only are places less crowded the days leading up to the holiday, but flights are also easier. Anyway, here's some photos from our trip. Please be sure to POST YOUR COMMENTS when you're done reading! For this trip, we flew out of Tampa. I'd like to say it's because the flights were cheaper, but really it's because we needed our Tampa Airport Carrabba's Credit! "Hi Reed... We could have gotten this credit, too, but we didn't!" Got to our hotel (we like to stay at the Affinia Dumont on 34th & Lex) This was the view from our hotel. And GAH!!!! This was the view on our television! Oh, Miley, we always new you had a giant pussy! The next morning we decided we would go stalk Scott from Scott's Pizza Tour! There he is! We started our day at Lombardi's because the pizza here is amazing! Elissa looks happy! Some of the best pizza in New York City can be found at Lombardi's! After stuffing ourselves with pizza, we went for "second lunch" at Forcella... A place known for "fried pizza!" KidTums says "Take one of Scott's Tours... it's the best way to see NYC!" To Elissa, this burrata cheese is like hot, gooey sex on a plate! Yup... You know you want some! This is the fried pizza. I swear it is NOT as disgusting as it sounds. It's delicious! Hey look! We met up with Scott! Maybe he's going to start the NYC Cupcake tour next? KidTums says "You can leave me at Molly's Cupcakes anytime!" The real reason Elissa came to New York. Empire State Building looking pretty for Christmas. Day one in New York City! Amazing!!!! All we did was eat! Next day... back on the streets of New York! We went over to the Today Show and watched Al Roker do his thing... Here we are at 30 Rockafeller Center. We didn't ice skate this time around, but we looked at it. That counts, right? We did the NBC Studio Tour which we got to see some cool sets and stuff, but we weren't allowed to take any photos. I was going to sketch everything, but apparently you can't do that either. Oh, well... Time to get some Street Passes! Actually got 17 Street Passes on my 3DS just by walking into Nintendo World! They had every Pokemon you could imagine in here! "Gotta catch 'em all!" The Nintendo history display was pretty cool. I seriously had EVERY ONE of those machines!!! "Hey look! Proudly on display was one of the worst games I ever worked on! Don't buy this...it's awful!" Next up, something for KidTums... Because she's awesome and not some creepy Brony, she was allowed to make her Fluttershy Build-a-Bear early! (It wasn't going to be released to the public or disgusting brony's for a few days later!) What the hell is this thing??!?! Back at our hotel. Here's the view during the day. Love this city! Chowing down at one of our favorite Asian restaurants in the City, Chef 28. The obligatory Times Square photo... And another one! Yes! This is totally happening!!!! This was my third time seeing Newsies and it has become one of my top three musicals of all time! LOVED IT!!!! It was also going to be KidTums very first Broadway musical of any sort! Hope she enjoys it! Here was tonight's cast. Still quite a few from the original cast are still in the show, and I actually thought Corey Cott did just as good, if not maybe even a better job than Jeremy Jordan in the show. I've now seen three different people play Jack Kelley, and honestly, they were ALL great! Half-way through the show and KidTums LOVES IT!!! She even caught a "pape" that the cast threw out into the audience during one of the numbers! Newsies is such a rockin' good time! It plays homage to the original movie from the 90s, but it has story changes and new songs that really lend itself very well to the new production. In a way, I hope someday another movie is made from this version of the show! I'm still completely in awe that one of my favorite films from the 90s, one that totally flopped and bombed hard core, was made into a live musical. The material plays MUCH better as a live show than a movie and the fact that the show was only supposed to run for a limited engagement of twelve weeks, which then turned into an open-ended run is a testament of how good the show is. It opened in March 2012, and it's still going strong. It was announced that a national tour was going to start in fall of 2014, so I hope more people get to see the show. It really is fantastic, and some of the most fun I've had at a theater in a long time! At the exit of the show, Broadway Cares was asking for donations, and in return, we got this really cool signed poster from the cast. It was a great cause and an awesome gift! Happy to support them! Everything I've ever learned about the New York Public Library I learned from Ghostbusters! You know it's a kick ass toy store when they have a Ferris Wheel! Dear Creepy Bronys, Please stop buying my toys. Love, The parents of the target demographic. Skylanders - The next thing that's going to cost us a lot of money! Bond 45 for lunch. Wow. The meatballs melt in your mouth. Just like my testicles would do to you if you were sucking on them! (I was just testing you to see if you were actually reading these damn captions!) lol One of these musicals we want to see....one of them we are stuck seeing. Which do you think is which? So yeah, we saw Wicked.... I know, I know, it's been around ten years and I'm only just now seeing it. Here's the thing, I really just don't like Wizard of Oz, but KidTums really wanted to see it, and I figured we'd give it a shot. Wicked wasn't a bad show. But it was a bad show for me. Seriously, I'm honestly a little annoyed at all the people who kept trying to tell us "this show has nothing to do with the Wizard of Oz movie" when we would say one of the reasons why didn't want to see it was because we hated the movie. It had everything to do with the movie. I mean, it had 3 witches, a wizard, a tin man, lion, scarecrow, flying monkeys, yellow brick road, emerald city, tornados, flying houses, munchkins, Dorothy, and jeweled shoes. It's exactly Wizard of Oz!!! On top of it, the show was totally unoriginal. The first half was Legally Blonde meets Clueless and the second half was just stupid Wizard of Oz. The show draaaaaaagged on forever. That first act felt like it could have easily been 45 minutes shorter. And I wanted to strangle the Glinda character. OMG, she was annoying as hell. The music and songs probably are appreciated more by people who like the movie and books. Some of the songs were good, a couple really decent (although some were totally un-memorable), and the talent they had in the version we saw was excellent, but I just couldn't get into the music at all. From a technical level, the show "looked" great. It was big, impressive, had lots of pretty lights. It was like the "B&M Wingrider of Musicals." Impressive to the masses, but little substance for the seasoned rider. When it comes down to it, I just don't like Wizard of Oz and I could not connect with this show at all. I mean, I think I actually liked the Oz Great & Powerful movie a bit better, and I didn't like that either! Just had to rant about it... KidTums liked it, but she said "I liked Newsies much better!" (That's my girl!) We did, however, get a really awesome backstage tour of Wicked! We also met up with one of KidTums California pre-school friends who also were in town for the holidays! While the show might not have been my thing, I can always appreciate a backstage tour of a show, especially one loaded with such a high level of props and technical coolness. I think KidTums actually liked the backstage tour better than the show! Tonight the Empire State Building is saying Happy Thanksgivukkah to all our Jewish friends! The next morning... Thanksgiving morning (that's today!) Not that KidTums is NOT a morning person! (Just look at that face!) She takes after me! We got to do something VERY cool. What you ask? Thanks to Big Mike, we had this awesome VIP experience to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! I'm not a "parade" person, nor am I a "stand out in the freezing cold with literally a million other people" person, so if I'm going to go see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a nice, warm, indoor location above the insanity is the way to do it! Here's one for our video game friends! Awwww.... This makes me want to go back to Japan! Oh, wait... we are in March! Hey Kool-Aid! I love that people drink the TPR Kool-Aid! The awesome Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade update is brought to you by the Big Mike Roadshow! I don't care if you're 5 or 55, Spongebob is always awesome! Yes! Another one for our Nintendo fans! Adventure Time! To Infinity and Beyond! "Papa Smurf can I lick your ass? Yo, lick my ass, bitch!" (Google it kids!) The SeaWorld float looked great! We really support our friends and SeaWorld and feel they do NOT deserve all the negative publicity they have been getting lately! And the REAL star of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade... SATAN CLAUS!!!! Once again, thanks to Big Mike for the hookup! Let's re-cap the parade...it was AWESOME! What a GREAT Thanksgiving Day memory! It wouldn't be a visit to New York City without stopping by the only church I would ever consider worshiping! You know you're in New York City when you can find a $1,500 Etch-A-Sketch! Not creating a Muppet this time around...next visit! And we will end this update with the joyous discovery that Drake's products are BACK! We haven't seen them in Central Florida yet, so if anyone that lives in NYC wants to send us some on a regular basis, I'm sure we could pay you in TPR Love!!! Hope everyone enjoyed reading this update! Happy Thanksgiving! Edited November 28, 2013 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Looks like you guys had a ton of fun! I only got to experience NYC for one day when I visited, but I instantly fell in love. Living in L.A. my whole life, I was blown away with a city that actually had personality! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 My wife and I tried Lombardi's back in May. Fantastic pizza, plus it's the first pizza place in the United States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 I love Lombardis. One of the highlights of the NE trip 2011. And although I was really afraid to get lost, NYC was really amazing. One of my favorite cities for sure. Loved the Apple store and FAO Schwartz. Great report. Makes me want to go back to NYC. I actually have friends in NYC right now and recommended them taking the pizza tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBrylczyk Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Having grown up an hour from NY, it was nice to see these pics. I haven't been since last summer and now I live across the country, so memories are always fun. Now if you were to go outside of Manhattan, we might have a completely different report here, haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azza29 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Looks like you guys had a great time! Scott's Pizza Tour is a fantastic way to see NYC, and the guy's passion for pizza is infectious. The Muppet workshop is brilliant, but I definitely had a hard time deciding on the eye/fur/horn combination! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 I'm still upset that I was only 15 miles away and never had time to meet up. Stupid job and grad school. Looks like you had a full trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 I'm still upset that I was only 15 miles away and never had time to meet up. Stupid job and grad school. Looks like you had a full trip. We are planning to be back in the spring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayTheGForceBeWithYou Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 I haven't been to New York in about...13 years-ish. Every time there's a NYC update, I keep wanting to go back more and more. Oh well, these reports will serve my fix in the mean time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrlittle Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Looks like a fun time. That cupcake looks yummy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoppy Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Awesome! Thanks for sharing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the ghost Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 You guys look like such fun people to travel with! I need to visit NYC someday... absolutely amazing looking place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caflybois Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 "It was like the "B&M Wingrider of Musicals." Impressive to the masses, but little substance for the seasoned rider." -- and I have now officially pissed myself laughing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 "It was like the "B&M Wingrider of Musicals." Impressive to the masses, but little substance for the seasoned rider."-- and I have now officially pissed myself laughing! Of all people, I knew you'd appreciate that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 And Robb, your fave musicals are Newsies, Les Mis, and.....? (just checking) The whole tour looked great! New York is awesome X10 and I wish I could get there much more often. Thanks for sharing your visit - and all that pizza! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 And Robb, your fave musicals are Newsies, Les Mis, and.....? (just checking) It used to be Les Mis, Newsies, and Evita, but I think after seeing Book of Mormon that takes the #3 spot! (can I have Newsies and BoM tie for #2 and have Evita be #3?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caflybois Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Robb - that depends, is Evita with Elena screeching or her understdy? and ps, check your texts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 ^^ Works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 Robb - that depends, is Evita with Elena screeching or her understdy? and ps, check your texts! lol! I think it's just Evita in general! (I'll check texts when we land!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caflybois Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 well lets just say that now ms elphaba is now a fan.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 well lets just say that now ms elphaba is now a fan.... Oh, dear! lol The connections we have sometimes surprise me. Never would have thought we would be two degrees of separation from the actress we saw play Elphaba! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCjunkie Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Nice TR. It had pictures of pizza, cupcakes, broadway and great angles of the parade. Thank you for only mentioning your testicles and not providing pictures of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XYZ Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Great trip report on one of my favorite places. The SeaWorld float looked great! We really support our friends and SeaWorld and feel they do NOT deserve all the negative publicity they have been getting lately! Amen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 I've done grandstand seating for the Macy's parade before and it's a pretty cool experience, albeit one that will leave your butt freezing cold unless you have a blanket to sit on. Seeing the balloons up close is awesome. They're HUUUUUUGE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenflames Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Awesome TR! I think I really need to check out Scott's Pizza Tours someday. After all, pizza is one of my favorite foods! I think it was so cool that you saw two of my favorite shows! Newsies is amazing, and I loved Wicked. I can understand why it's not for everyone, and yes, Glinda is a whiny, self-centered character, but it's still a unique show (which I personally enjoyed far more than the book). Looks like you had a lot of fun up in New York! Did you see any of the performances from the parade, or just the balloons? The Cirque du Soleil performance was pretty cool to watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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