Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
saying times square is a joke, is in itself a joke. Times square is an impressive bunch of acres no matter how you slice it. Theres no way you can go there for the first time(especially at night) and not be impressed. Its not possible.Theres just certain places on the planet that are official and cant be hated on. TS is one of them, period
As far as nyc as a whole, the whole city is an attraction. Im shaking my head at other cities relying on theme parks to keep up. You can easily get two days out of bronx,brooklyn and queens respectively. Manhattan is a week or more by itself. Not theme parks here but things apart of the city itself
Hey if you're so easily impressed by TS then I can't imagine how blown away you'd be by Vegas! But TS was possibly the biggest disappointment of any time I've spent in NYC. I was severely underwhelmed by what was there; I thought it was supposed to have unique things to check out and plenty to keep me entertained. I was very disappointed to find that it just had blown up versions of chain restaurants that can be found in any-suburb, USA. Olive Garden, Fridays, McDonalds, Walgreens, like 3 Sbarros, I don't know how many Starbucks....what am I supposed to be so blown away by, the lights and billboards? I'm not 5 years old and didn't find it to be too impressive, sorry to break it to ya.
Even the stuff I checked out that surrounded that area was not all that great. Magnolia Bakery was a HUGE disappointment as was grossly overrated (shouldn't even be mentioned in the same paragraph as Sprinkles - and lol @ the irony that I'm doing exactly that right here ); I had some mediocre tapas and Sangria at some random spot off to the side (I forget the name of it) and it was okay; I had disappointing food at both Gray's Papaya (not good at all at the TS location at least; Papaya Dog near Hell's Kitchen was way better IMO) and some crappy place called Hot & Crusty (yuck!). And the entire area was driving me nuts with so many annoying tourists stopping every 3 steps to take pictures and walking around all clueless. Can't forget that when I wanted to grab a bite to eat in the "city that never sleeps," the spot at TS that I went to that was open after 12:30a would only serve dessert and had stopped serving food 30 minutes earlier. Needless to say TS did not live up to the hype.
So all TS was to me was some over-glorified tourist trap. It is definitely very alive, no doubt, and it is in an awesome location right in the heart of Manhattan. And I think its cool to finally see what all the hype is about, and see up close all the billboards and neon lights that you see on TV. (And the M&M store was kinda cool and not to be found everywhere else. Also the halal cart near there was very good.) But its not really anything special as far as what it actually offers. NYC has so much more than TS; TS should be renamed to Tourist Square IMO.
Apparently what is not possible is for you to see the world in any way other than how you've already decided it to be. You can't get much more closed-minded than to try and deny the honest first impression another person has given you. ITS NOT POSSIBLE. You seem really impressed by fluff rather than substance. Its a shame that you can't see beyond your little tiny bubble.
NYC is not lacking at all in the attractions department. But who cares if some cities have amusement parks lol? Attractions are attractions, so what? In NYC they charge you about $90 or more to go to the top of the Empire State Building! That's freakin ridiculous. At least at an amusement park you can make a whole day out of it. I don't see anything wrong with a city having amusement parks in addition to other natural and cultural attractions. Unless you're simply referring to Orlando, which if you were I don't know why you pluralized.
I agree with those that say Times Square isn't really anything special. Don't get me wrong, I still put NYC at #1 or#2 for this, but TS is not the reason. I don't know why some of you New Yorkers are defending it so much when in other threads you all complain that it's too touristy.
THANK YOU! I was wondering the exact same thing. Some of them are comedically touchy about NYC receiving anything less praise in every instance. I thought it was common sentiment among NYers that TS has become Disneyland for tourists and isn't something real NYers even care for very much. But I guess when you're suddenly unimpressed by something NY-related it really ruffles some feathers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ffknight918
I like New York because of the history, culture, unique neighborhoods, and sites in the city that aren't built mainly for tourists.(Like Times Square)
Yea, you might not be impressed by Shibuya. I wasn't so impressed either. And I like how you think having more screens is impressive--they're common. I'm taking poetic license with the neon wilderness but it's not actually all neon or a real wilderness area.
Times Square is just sort of blegh for me since it has little of what's attracted me to NYC specifically. There's nothing that's really stimulating to the mind over there (I find most Broadway plays to be mostly brainless and not serious theater) nor is there the knitting together of various ethnic traditions that I find interesting. It's not as if I hadn't given it a try, and I've led a lot of friends who've visited to the place just so they can say they've gone (and for the most part, I don't think it's ever been the highlight of their trip). The only time I've enjoyed Times Square was for a shoot playing waylay the tourists with others by trying to top each other for best lie about what we're shooting.
Simply put, I don't enjoy it, and in that sense, it is overrated for me. I'm sorry if it goes against your canonical list, but by all means recount the numerous occasions where you've had a great bit of fun in Times Square.
.
luckily for new york there are tons that do enjoy it. In no way is times square common. Theres nothing like it in the united states. People try to sound cool by saying its overrated, especially my fellow new yorkers. TS with its visual grandness mixed with its vibrancy and sea of people- is not overrated
I have fun just walking through times square. I see a new addition every time. TS is new york. You see the diversity,the vibrance and the larger than life every time you drive or walk through. How can it be overrated its exactly what it says it is?
Im just curious though. How is it overrated? Ts puts off as a place filled with lights,screens and excitement.......is it not all those things?
Hey if you're so easily impressed by TS then I can't imagine how blown away you'd be by Vegas!
what am I supposed to be so blown away by, the lights and billboards? I'm not 5 years old and didn't find it to be too impressive, sorry to break it to ya.
Ive actually heard ,from ppl that went to las vegas, that times square is more impressive. How am i easily impressed , theres nothing like times square in america. Theres no bigger combination of lights and screens like that, in the world
You dont have to be five years old to enjoy something thats way different than anything you have in your own city
luckily for new york there are tons that do enjoy it. In no way is times square common. Theres nothing like it in the united states. People try to sound cool by saying its overrated, especially my fellow new yorkers. TS with its visual grandness mixed with its vibrancy and sea of people- is not overrated
I have fun just walking through times square. I see a new addition every time. TS is new york. You see the diversity,the vibrance and the larger than life every time you drive or walk through. How can it be overrated its exactly what it says it is?
Im just curious though. How is it overrated? Ts puts off as a place filled with lights,screens and excitement.......is it not all those things?
Yea, it's all those things--does that mean people have to like it? Does that mean it's enjoyable? There are a lot of places that have something unique to them, but that doesn't mean everyone has to appreciate how unique they are or must make themselves enjoy it. It's overrated in the sense that I don't enjoy it despite the clamor it gets. It's overrated in that there have been many people who've gone through Times Square and haven't found billboards, screens, lights, and bustle to be something amazing (or even all that unique). It's the same for other places such as LA which is supposedly the entertainment capital of the world--just because it does house a plurality of the entertainment industry doesn't mean you have to enjoy anything related to that industry. You can certainly find all of it overrated.
Shibuya is more impressive I hate to break it to you...there is no question. Yes, I have been to both.
Times square is pretty unique for the U.S. (aside from Vegas) - however there are several places in Asia that have equal or larger concentrations of neon lights. Shibuya in Tokyo is definitely one of them.
That said, I think NYC is at the top of the list of cities with the most attractions... and most diverse selection of attractions. I've been living here 6 years and still haven't run out of new things to do.
Times square is pretty unique for the U.S. (aside from Vegas) - however there are several places in Asia that have equal or larger concentrations of neon lights. Shibuya in Tokyo is definitely one of them.
That said, I think NYC is at the top of the list of cities with the most attractions... and most diverse selection of attractions. I've been living here 6 years and still haven't run out of new things to do.
Yea, especially since so much of things in NYC are people-driven events. There will always be a huge number of things to do as long as there's a density of creative and motivated people making new things to do.
Times square is pretty unique for the U.S. (aside from Vegas) - however there are several places in Asia that have equal or larger concentrations of neon lights. Shibuya in Tokyo is definitely one of them.
That said, I think NYC is at the top of the list of cities with the most attractions... and most diverse selection of attractions. I've been living here 6 years and still haven't run out of new things to do.
Agreed, NYC has the most amount of attractions, as well as the most amount of things to do of any city.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
); I had some mediocre tapas and Sangria at some random spot off to the side (I forget the name of it) and it was okay; I had disappointing food at both Gray's Papaya (not good at all at the TS location at least; Papaya Dog near Hell's Kitchen was way better IMO) and some crappy place called Hot & Crusty (yuck!). And the entire area was driving me nuts with so many annoying tourists stopping every 3 steps to take pictures and walking around all clueless. Can't forget that when I wanted to grab a bite to eat in the "city that never sleeps," the spot at TS that I went to that was open after 12:30a would only serve dessert and had stopped serving food 30 minutes earlier. Needless to say TS did not live up to the hype.
You seem really impressed by fluff rather than substance. Its a shame that you can't see beyond your little tiny bubble.
