My little buddy and I took a whirlwind trip to New York City this summer, just the two of, courtesy of Adventures by Disney. What a perfect way to see NYC with a kiddo! She fell in love with America’s most famous city, and I loved showing it to her through the Disney lens.

We started our adventure by flying into JFK and settling into our hotel, The Manhattan Club, which was just about ten blocks from Times Square. The room was definitely not an accurate picture of New York Living, just because it was a huge suite! There’s nothing quite like staying in Times Square, it’s perfect if you want to blow your kid’s mind!

We tried to hit major New York milestones, starting with a bus tour. Normally I am not a fan of bus tours, but this one was so fun! It’s called “The Ride” and it has that special Disney magic – that’s us smiling in the bus above. The Ride took us around Times Square, Hell’s Kitchen, and nearby areas to show us the famous buildings of New York, and while on The Ride everyone sits stadium style facing out towards the street, and people start randomly singing and dancing! A business man in a suit tap danced down Broadway and a ballerina pirouetted around Columbus Circle. Scarlet loved it. We also went down to the financial district and visited the 9/11 memorial. This was very intense for Scarlet, so while the other adults took in the museum Scarlet and I found a fun splash park in Battery Park.

Then we checked out the Irish Hunger Memorial,

and admired Freedom Tower.

Then our Disney guides surprised us with tickets to visit the One World Observatory at the top of the tower. Entering is very cool, we got to see that Scarlet was visitor #622,210!

I’m not gonna lie, I was TERRIFIED going up 102 floors in 60 seconds. It is really tall, but unlike the Empire State Building, you are not outside at the top. But you sure feel like you are! Here’s one of the amazing views you can take in – 360 degrees of New York City all around you.

They even have a video screen on the floor that makes it look like you are standing 100 stories above the ground. I knew it wasn’t real, but I couldn’t stand on it. My legs were shaking. Bravey McBraveface here loved it.

We spent another lovely morning taking a walking tour of Harlem. Scarlet loved all the front stoop flower gardens.

And I loved learning about some of Harlem’s most famous residents, like Langston Hughes.

But of course, going on stage at the world famous Apollo Theater was amazing. Scarlet even rubbed the stump for good luck!

After a filling soul food lunch, Scarlet and I hopped a train down to the meatpacking district so I could show her where her grandmother grew up. We took a leisurely stroll along the High Line.

We took a private tour of the New Amsterdam Theatre and learned about it’s history and the shows that have played there. The theatre is amazing, and getting to see it in this way was a wonderful experience. Scarlet stood there with her mouth open taking it all in, and said “Mom this is AHMAZING!”

Then she got to go backstage and try on real costumes from The Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins! EEk, so cute.

For our afternoon in Times Square, Scarlet insisted we visit Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. We have one at home, but she begs to visit them in every city we can. I’m not gonna lie, it was a total blast.

But the biggest hit of the whole trip, of course, was seeing a Broadway show!!! We sat third row center for the wonderful production of Disney’s Aladdin!

Now all Scarlet can talk about is when I am going to take her back to New York to see another Broadway show. That and she keeps singing all the tunes. I asked her if she would recommend other parents take their kids to New York on a Disney Adventure, and her answer is a resounding yes. She fell in love with our adventures guides. And of course she is now a Disney pin fanatic, as we got several special edition pins along the way!

Find out more about Adventures by Disney and plan your New York adventure here.

by Jaime