So Much for Serendipity - Plan Ahead for Trips to NYC

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Gone are the days of not planning ahead and just seeing where the day takes you. On our trip to New York last weekend, we only had a couple of dinner reservations booked and tickets to see Phantom of the Opera on our first night. Beyond that, everything was planned last minute or we just showed up and hoped for the best.

Once upon a time that may have worked, but we were left with more disappointments than successes. For example, we’d heard great things about the Comedy Cellar and tried to buy tickets the night before the show but couldn’t. Instead, we arrived early and waited in line for over an hour in case of no shows before being turned away.

There were several Broadway shows we would have liked to see, but my family chose to intentionally wait until the last minute to buy discounted tickets. This meant we had very limited choices, as all the top shows were sold out. We ended up seeing Almost Famous, which was good (and actually better than this cast of Phantom) but with such limited time in the city, there were other shows I would have chosen to see over this.

I think the there’s 3 main reasons for this shift. First, the pandemic limited capacities and made most places shift to selling tickets online in advance, often timed tickets and less than full capacity. While capacity limits may be lifted, many businesses never resumed their old ways of doing business. Customers are generally used to booking online in advance by now.

The next big shift is that there is so much more access to information than there used to be. Thirty years ago, if you wanted to know what the best places in New York were you’d have to pick up a guide book. Now, the internet is full of Youtubers, travel bloggers, and random TripAdvisor reviews to help you determine activities for your trip. This means the once “hidden gems” aren’t so hidden anymore. The more people who know about something, the more demand and thus the bigger need to plan ahead.

Lastly, people have more disposable income than they used to, especially young adults, and they want to spend it on all the popular activities, further increasing demand. The pandemic lent a hand here as well, for many people were able to save money when traveling wasn’t an option and are ready to spend it now.

Even activities we were able to do would have been much better if we’d planned ahead. On our last morning, we went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum but only had 1 hour for our visit before we had to head to the airport. While I often go through museums at a quick pace, this was the one museum I wished I’d had 2-3 hours to go through instead. We’d only decided to go here the night before and if we’d planned this trip further in advance like I normally do, I would have done my research and allotted more time.

When we went into the Plaza Hotel for hot chocolate like we’d done nearly a decade before on another trip, we found out that the restaurant had permanently closed. Another example of a disappointment that could have been avoided with more planning and less serendipity.

I can understand the joy of seeing where a trip takes you, but in reality, that can lead to a lot of dead ends and let downs in places like New York City. The reality is that if you want to see a certain show, eat at a certain restaurant, etc., you likely need to plan ahead.