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SPAMALOT - Going to see Clay on the cheap


Couch Tomato

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Cool! :)

I did some research, and have answered a few of my own questions in regards to the JFK airport. Apparently, taxis into Manhattan are $45 flat rate, plus tolls and tip. There is also a New York Airport Service Express Bus, for $13 each, that will take you to Grand Central, Port Authority or Penn Station. What I'm still not clear on is whether I have to get to Manhattan in order to connect to the bus to Secaucus, or whether there is a more direct way. Anyone?

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Cool! :)

I did some research, and have answered a few of my own questions in regards to the JFK airport. Apparently, taxis into Manhattan are $45 flat rate, plus tolls and tip. There is also a New York Airport Service Express Bus, for $13 each, that will take you to Grand Central, Port Authority or Penn Station. What I'm still not clear on is whether I have to get to Manhattan in order to connect to the bus to Secaucus, or whether there is a more direct way. Anyone?

Hey--I did a bunch of research and edited as I went, over at the CH. If you don't have a lot of luggage, and don't mind public transportation, take JFK Airtrain to Jamaica Station, get on the LIRR and go to Penn Station, get a NJ transit train to Secausus. Not expensive, fast. Penn Station is pretty much on the way to Secausus anyway, near as I can tell.

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I live 15 minutes from the Secaucus train station, but 10 minutes from the bus stops. I avoid the train because it runs so infrequently. I know lots of people commusted by train, but if I worked 10 minutes late, I would have to wait 2 hours for a train and I hated that. I live about 1 mile from the Clifton or the Kingsland Mainline stops. I think I am bout 1 hour from the JFK airport, further from LaGuardia.and about 20 minutes from Newark Airport (purely due to constant construction!).

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Has anyone here ever stayed at Hotel Beacon? It's on 2130 Broadway at 75th st.

Nope, but that is quite far from Times Square. Don't know if that matters to you guys or not. Hotels in NYC are very expensive, so perhaps your travel agent is trying to save you some money, but you can often find decent deals in hotels closer in. A lot depends on what else you want to do besides go to the musical.

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Has anyone here ever stayed at Hotel Beacon? It's on 2130 Broadway at 75th st.

Nope, but that is quite far from Times Square. Don't know if that matters to you guys or not. Hotels in NYC are very expensive, so perhaps your travel agent is trying to save you some money, but you can often find decent deals in hotels closer in. A lot depends on what else you want to do besides go to the musical.

I stayed there before but it was about 10 years ago. It was ok at that time. The thing about NYC IMO..you can get anywhere in a hurry on public trans. Yeah it's 30 blocks away but really that's nothing especially if you're doing all sorts of things in NYC. I remember walking that actually. There's so much to do and see along the way.

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Has anyone here ever stayed at Hotel Beacon? It's on 2130 Broadway at 75th st.

Nope, but that is quite far from Times Square. Don't know if that matters to you guys or not. Hotels in NYC are very expensive, so perhaps your travel agent is trying to save you some money, but you can often find decent deals in hotels closer in. A lot depends on what else you want to do besides go to the musical.

I stayed there before but it was about 10 years ago. It was ok at that time. The thing about NYC IMO..you can get anywhere in a hurry on public trans. Yeah it's 30 blocks away but really that's nothing especially if you're doing all sorts of things in NYC. I remember walking that actually. There's so much to do and see along the way.

Absolutely true--that's why I said it depends on what else you want to do. The Asia Society is relatively close to the Beacon, and I've visited their museum and shop a number of times. Fancy Park Avenue addresses are pretty close by, just for looking and wishful thinking. (Both on the other side of the Park. ETA: And not really that much closer, on reflection--maybe 1/2 as far or even more.) The Met is also on the other side of Central Park from there. The Museum of Natural History, which is a great museum, is nearby the Beacon on the Beacon side of the park. Also Lincoln Center. And yes, it does depend on whether all of you are good walkers, and/or comfortable with public transport in a strange city. For some reason a mile in NY seems much longer to me than a mile in my little town. Once when attending GMA a group of us stayed at the Holiday Inn on 57th, which was cheaper and not quite so far away from the theatre as the Beacon. As I said, it all depends on what else you want to do or see in Manhattan. Here's a good list of attractions within walking distance from the hotel website: Beacon, as well as downloadable walking tour podcasts. There's a good map at that link as well. (And you've probably already seen this.) I see that the Beacon has theatre ticket packages, and perhaps that's why your travel agent recommended this hotel.

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You know what's funny to me JMH..is that in NYC it seems nothing to walk 20 blocks yet I'd be bitchen and moaning hte whole way doing it here. I think it's because everything feels alive and there's so much stimulation. Although that was 10 years ago when I used to go every other year and I was much younger then. Now I'll probably be huffing and puffing the whole way. :cryingwlaughter:

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You know what's funny to me JMH..is that in NYC it seems nothing to walk 20 blocks yet I'd be bitchen and moaning hte whole way doing it here. I think it's because everything feels alive and there's so much stimulation. Although that was 10 years ago when I used to go every other year and I was much younger then. Now I'll probably be huffing and puffing the whole way. :cryingwlaughter:

Ah, interesting....I get exhausted in a mall shopping for a couple of hours, but can walk for miles in the countryside. Crowds and noise and traffic just suck the energy right out of me. Different types of people, we are. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

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OK, latest question from me: I've got two tickets to the show so far. March 28 I'm in the 3rd row of the center mezzanine, right on the aisle. March 30, afternoon show, I've got second row dead center of the center orchestra.

Today, I was looking at seats for the 8:00 show on March 29. Most of the stuff popping up was way on the sides of the floor....until front row center mezzanine showed up.

My question is this: do ya'll think I should try to get that mezzanine seat and pay $125 for it; or wait until a few days before I go, and see what appears (at either the same price as the mezzanine seat, or maybe a cheaper ticket)? In other words, does the Ticketmaster theory seem to work for Telecharge too? Do ya'll think something in like row H of the center orchestra would show up at that time?

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I think it's all a game of chance. If you are willing to play it, you could come up lucky. I know someone who pulled up a front row centre seat the other day, for a show this past weekend. So it does happen, but I have no idea how frequently.

I have seats in row B orchestra, so when I decided to go to a second show, I grabbed front row mezzanine so that we could have a different perspective the second night. But I wouldn't have turned down front row orchestra if they'd been available! LOL

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For those looking for cheaper airfares, I just got a hot wire notification that is offering each way fares from $39. They used an example of LA or San Francisco to NY for $129 each way, this is on Virgin Airlines. I don't know if you have to book through hot wire or not, must be booked before midnight March 4th.

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This link was posted over at CV by cindydoe:

Air Tran Leap Day Specials

Thought I'd bring it over here for those who are still working on their Spam travel plans. Only good thru 11:59 PM tonight 2/29/08.

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A couple of questions for more seasoned travelers, which would be just about anyone other than me! :cryingwlaughter:

This may sound silly, but I'm going to ask anyway.... :blush: Do you need to have cash for cab fare, or can you use debit/credit cards? Also, what's the usual for tipping? Obvious NYC virgin asking here! For that matter, what would we definitely need to have cash for while in the city? I use my check card everywhere I go in my everyday life - very rarely need to use cash.

Is anyone familiar with the Chelsea area? A friend found a good deal on a hotel that's just about a mile from the the theatre district, around 7th & 28th, I believe. Wondering how the area is?

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don't kknow about cabs, you probably can use cards, but I don't know.

Tipping is pretty stable at 18-20%, be sure the tip is not already included in check first.

Tipping in cabs I do 25%.

I know that the Chelsea hotel used to be there, a real dive, but made famous for all the famous people who stayed there and it is where that punk rocker and his girlfriend killed themselves - there wasa movie aoubt them. Ihaven't been there for years, most places in midtown have cleaned up. I should not talk about it, haven't been there for over 7 years.

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I have seen the card machines in the cabs. What I don't know is if they have a minimum before you can use a credit card. I would carry cash for that anyway. You probably won't be taking so many cabs that it would mean carrying a lot of cash.

For anything else, your check card should be fine.

I know nothing about Chelsea.

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OK, I'll add to the "newbie to NYC" questions then....are ATM's plentiful? Are they safe?

I'm trying to decide how much cash to get before my trip next week. I'm guessing I will need taxi fare from LaGuardia to my hotel (I'm staying at the La Quinta Inn in Long Island City (Queens) with muski). I will probably either debit or credit card most of my meals and the souvenirs I want to buy.

AAACK!

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OK, I'll add to the "newbie to NYC" questions then....are ATM's plentiful? Are they safe?

I'm trying to decide how much cash to get before my trip next week. I'm guessing I will need taxi fare from LaGuardia to my hotel (I'm staying at the La Quinta Inn in Long Island City (Queens) with muski). I will probably either debit or credit card most of my meals and the souvenirs I want to buy.

AAACK!

ATMs are everywhere. This is a big modern city you know! :cryingwlaughter: They're safe - as long as you don't find one down a back alley when you have some guy all dressed in black following you. :imgtongue: Just take enough cash for the cab ride and subway fares and small things like a cup of coffee and you can always get more at an ATM.

While we're at it , has anyone heard anything about Hotel Beacon? It's on Broadway & W75th st?

Would it be safe to take the subway there at night?

Its way up, close to the Beacon Theater where Clay played the 3-fer during the JNT05. It is also up where a friend of mine's brother lives. We stayed with him during the JNT05. You can definitely take the subway and I think its probably safe. You could also get a cab. We took one from his place to Penn station, which is further, during rush hour and with tip it came to about $10 so it should be much less late at night and a shorter distance.

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I know that the Chelsea hotel used to be there, a real dive, but made famous for all the famous people who stayed there and it is where that punk rocker and his girlfriend killed themselves - there wasa movie aoubt them. Ihaven't been there for years, most places in midtown have cleaned up. I should not talk about it, haven't been there for over 7 years.

:unsure:

Ok after some Googling & Wiki help I figured out what you were talking about! :cryingwlaughter: That was back in the late '70s, almost before my time. Seems the Hilton Garden Inn is actually in more what is called Midtown South. Even with the cheaper rate I think we're going to stick with our Midtown East reservation as that sounds like it's a little more central to most of the things we're planning to do. Besides that, I'm not sure about giving business to the HGI and in a roundabout way putting more $$$ in Paris' pocketbook!

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While we're at it , has anyone heard anything about Hotel Beacon? It's on Broadway & W75th st?

Would it be safe to take the subway there at night?

Well I probably shouldn't speak...since I've never been, but my kid goes a couple of times a year to visit a friend and for work and they never take the subway after dark.

Never thought to ask why. I just assumed they felt safer.

They do take the subway during the day....she loves the subway system.

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How about the Jamaica area? The hotel rates there are quite a bit cheaper, and it's just a quick train ride into the Theatre district. Does anyone know what kind of neighbourhood it is? My daughter and her friend are thinking of staying there for the final weekend in May.

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