Empire State Bldg. vs The Top of the Rock

Any pros or cons for either?

Empire State Bldg. vs The Top of the Rock

Top of the Rock: You can reserve tickets and even if you don%26#39;t there is rarely a line. The view of Central Park is amazing! The museum prior to entry into the elevators is very interesting regarding the building of Rock Center. Best of all, you get a view OF the Empire State Building which is so lovely! Moms

Empire State Bldg. vs The Top of the Rock

Empire State Building:

Pros - Famous, so you can say ';I was there';. Good view of Times Square at night. Also good views of Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center.

Cons: horrible, horrible lines. No place to wait to get upstairs other than on line, with little to see or do. Pushy and rude staff. Elevator does not run direct; you must transfer. Cramped space in the observation area. 360 degree views from any single point are impossible. Much of the area upstairs taken up with commercial activity (cheesy souvenir shop; obligatory pose for a picture you probably don%26#39;t want, etc.) Poor view of Central Park. No view, naturally, of the ESB itself.

Top of the Rock:

Pros - Tmed tickets, and the lines are much shorter. Waiting area is a pleasant, new, and informative museum. Staff is polite and cheerful. Elevator runs direct, and is entertaining in itself. Observation area much bigger, and on three levels, meaning that on the top two there is no glass to interfere with pictures, and you can have a 360 degree view from the top of the roof. Outstanding view of Central Park in the daytme. All views (day and night) include Empire State Building.

Cons - partially obstructed view of the Chrysler Building. Nightime view of Central Park not particularly interesting, and night view into Times Square partly obscured. Not as well known, so you won%26#39;t impress the folks back home in Oshkosh as readily.

All things considered, I would definitely recommend Top of the Rock during the day, or for day into night. If you are going up at night only, then consider ESB.

TOTR, the view of Central Park is amazing!

Top of the Rock is the best~ You can see the Empire State building and Central Park from TOTR. However, you do want to see the Empire State Building,so, be sure to go to Macys and get a good picture of the Empire State Building from there. But as far as views go, definitely go for Top of the Rock! Mak

i would definately say TOTR, no queuing is a bonus too, and the views are just as good!

I wish we%26#39;d gone TOTR cuz when we finally got there, the weather was glorious. But knowing we were doing ESB, my kids said one view from up top was enough. However, we did choose to go up after dark; we went about 9:30/10:00, there were virtually NO lineups at that hour, we got upstairs in minutes, and the city all lit up was just as spectacular as in daylight.

The advantage to TOTR, I think, is that if you go in daylight, you have tons of great shopping all around there. ESB is pretty much...ESB, and lesser on the ground interest.

When I used to bring friends from college home, I would always take them up to the Rockefeller Center Observation Deck (in the olden days before some marketing guru came up with that cute ';Top of the Rock'; name.) My point to them was that, from there, you could see (and take pictures of) the Empire State Building rather than being in it and not being able to see it! Of course, back then you also had a beautiful shot of the Empire State Building with the Twin Towers just behind...sigh....

So, one more vote for the...uh...';Top of the Rock';.

TOTR was good because we didn%26#39;t have to queue and it has great views

ESB has horrendous queues but we prefer the view from there (especially The Chrysler Building which you can%26#39;t see properly from TOTR)

Thanks everyone, After reading all of your pros and cons it%26#39;s going to be Top of The Rock for us!

Good info. Is it wise to buy a timed ticket to TOTR or just show up?

Thanks!

gray hair