Our latest #travelfail was to visit the Empire State Building on a cloudy day. The views were completely blocked – I can’t believe they let us in without a warning.Β
Only after we complained, we got free re-entry on a clear day. Was it worth it – or is it better to avoid the Empire State Building?
PS: Are you planning a romantic getaway to New York City with your loved one? Check out these unforgettable things to do in New York City, especially for couples.
Definitely avoid on a cloudy day
We had pre-booked our tickets to visit the observatory decks on the 86th and the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building. When the day of our visit was finally there, it turned out to be a rainy day. Of course we didn’t want our tickets to expire, so we decided to show up at opening time to avoid the crowds.
None of the staff warned us about any clouds blocking the view, they just scanned our tickets and let us pass through. Even worse, they had the nerve to say “enjoy the views” by way of welcoming us. When I said “what views?!”, they just completely ignored me.
As if this wasn’t disappointing enough, the staff also tried to up-sell the tickets for visitors who only had tickets to the 86th floor observatory deck, so that they could visit the 102nd floor. We already had tickets for the 102nd floor observatory deck, so we thought we might as well give it a try:
The 102nd floor observatory deck has recently been renovated, and only re-opened to the public on 12 October 2019 – just 2.5 months before our visit.
I fully understand that they want to earn money on their investment in renovating the deck, but up-selling tickets to already disappointed visitors while there is absolutely no view is just not the way to go about it. After this experience, the “Empire state of mind” will always equal “greed” to me.
Luckily, they offered us free re-entry any day after we complained about our experience at the reception downstairs. As we still had a few days left in New York City, we took this option.
How about a visit on a clear day?
When the clouds finally cleared, we had 2 observatory decks to visit in 1 day. We decided to go to the Top of the Rock first thing in the morning, and then give the Empire State building another chance.Β
It was 9:45 am when we arrived at the Empire State Building, and we already had to queue 30 minutes to reach the 80th floor. The 80th floor is where they opened an exhibit late November 2019 – a few weeks before our visit.
The exhibit on the 80th floor is really just a waiting area for the lifts to the 86th floor observatory deck. In fact, the queues for those lifts were so long, that visitors were recommended to take the fire stairs to the 86th floor. Yes, you read that right, we reached the 86th floor by walking up the stairs at the fire exit.
I think visitors should be given a choice as to whether they want to take lifts to the 80th floor to watch the exhibit before the observatory decks, or if they just want to go straight to the 86th floor.Β I would have definitely gone for that latter option…
86th Floor observatory deck
It was 10:30 am when we reached the 86th floor observatory deck, and I have to admit that the views were a lot better than the first time around:
As expected, it was already crowded on the 86th floor observatory deck, but we still managed to take pictures and enjoy the views. It was just a bit difficult to strike a pose while looking against the sun.Β
Also, the views on the 86th observatory deck are blocked by the fence, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Top of the Rock, where they have glass walls instead of fences.
102nd Floor observatory deck
We got stuck in a queue again when we wanted to go up to the 102nd floor observatory deck. Annoyingly, by the time we reached the end of the queue, the staff randomly decided to change their system and started asking people if they had VIP tickets. We didn’t – so we were pushed back in the queue again while there aren’t any separate queues for VIP tickets to the 102nd floor:
At some point, I realised that non-VIP ticketholders got through anyway, so that was the end of my patience and I joined the “VIP queue”. Their whole queuing system was one big chaos!
Surprisingly, the 102nd floor observatory deck wasn’t as crowded as the long queues would suggest. The views are also a lot better compared to the 86th floor because of the glass. While the 86th floor observatory is outdoors, the 102nd floor is completely indoors:
PS: Tripods are not allowed, so you will get a ticket to collect any prohibited items from the cloakroom after your visit.
The views from the 102nd floor were absolutely stunning, and I’m glad that we got there in the end. I just hope the Empire State Building will improve their queuing system going forward.
The verdict:
With the renovated 102nd floor observatory deck only having re-opened in October 2019, and the exhibition area on the 80th floor in November 2019, I can only hope that the queuing problems we had during our visit on 2 January 2020 are teething issues that will improve over time.
While the 86th floor observatory deck isn’t the best one in New York City, the 102nd floor one is well worth a visit on a clear day if it wasn’t for the queues.Β
So, if you are planning a visit to the Empire State Building, expect having to wait a long time in queues and schedule your visit accordingly. If you don’t have the time or patience for it – avoid!
Wonderful ! Great style above sophisticated New York !
Thanks Ron, I’m glad to hear you like my style!
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