Itinerary Help please :)

We are leaving late Thursday night, driving from VA to NYC for a weekend stay - my husband, myself, and my 9-year-old daughter.

We%26#39;re staying at the Lombardy Hotel Friday and Saturday night and we%26#39;ll be parking our car with them so that%26#39;s covered - I think $31/day.

Is the traffic really bad in the morning? We%26#39;re trying to plan accordingly, I think it%26#39;s about a 7-hour drive for us and I%26#39;m trying to figure out what time we should plan to arrive so as not to get caught up in a lot of traffic.

Friday - AMNH - exhibits, planetarium, etc.

FAO Schwartz, Build-A-Bear, World of Disney

American Girl Place - shopping and dinner at 7:30

Saturday - WTC Memorial, Radio City backstage Tour, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, possibly NBC Tour

Sunday - Central Park

We aren%26#39;t going to a show this time since I will already be using my free pass with my husband at the American Girl Place. ;)

Does this sound ';doable'; or should I switch anything? The only thing I can%26#39;t change is our dinner at American Girl Friday night - I%26#39;ve already paid.

Thanks for your help!!

Itinerary Help please :)

You don%26#39;t want to arrive at rush hour. Could take you 2 hours to go 5 miles. Either leave earlier to get in really early Friday or later and get in past 10 Friday.

I think your plan is doable, busy but doable.

Itinerary Help please :)

Not many folks on this forum stay at the Lombardy so I hope you%26#39;ll write a trip report after your visit. ;) A friend of the family used to have an apt. there so I have fond memories of the place.

I don%26#39;t know where in Va. you%26#39;re starting, but 7 hrs. sounds a bit long. Have you tried looking on maps.google.com ? If you%26#39;re leaving on Thurs. night, will you stop on the road to sleep? Rush hour here starts around 7:30am so if you can arrive before then or after 9:30 it would be better.

You may not get everything on the list done on Fri. but whatever you don%26#39;t get to can either wait til another day or another trip. WTC Memorial is all the way downtown and your other stops on Sat. are midtown within walking distance of the hotel. Why not consider doing WTC Sun. morning (when the city is quiet), have some breakfast or brunch downtown and then head to the park?

Thanks BobbyC and nywhiz -

We%26#39;re coming from the Virginia Beach area and mapquest quotes 6 hrs and 45 minutes. I think we%26#39;ll plan on getting in after 9:30.

I using a company apartment at the Lombardy (I%26#39;ve never stayed in it before). It looks really nice on the website.

We%26#39;re going for my daughter%26#39;s 9th birthday - she turns 9 on Friday so we%26#39;re having a birthday dinner at her favorite place in the world - American Girl Place in NYC. :)

You%26#39;ve given me advice before nywhiz - when I planned my first trip with my daughter and mother-in-law. I%26#39;ve gotten great advice from these forums. Our last trip was magical.

I will change our stop at WTC to Sunday. This is my husband%26#39;s first trip and that%26#39;s a top priority on his list.

Thanks again for your help! Here%26#39;s to hoping this trip will be just as magical!