Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comEmpire State Building Observatory
based on 163 reviews
Duration: 2 hours (approx.)
Location: New York City, New York
Product code: 2194EMPIRE
163 reviews of Empire State Building Observatory
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the Empire State Building Observatory. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
The views were fantastic but the building is showing signs of age. The current refurbishment of the top of the building cannot come too soon. Also, the photographers who take visitors photos need to take more care. Our photo cut out one of the party and so we didn't buy it.
Reviewed by: Evan Huw J, United Kingdom, April 2007
The only thing with the vouchers is that you still have to queue up to get your tickets. If you get the chance go up it at night, amazing!
Reviewed by: Lesley A, United Kingdom, April 2007
Just a great experience, everyone must do it.
Reviewed by: Elaine C, United Kingdom, March 2007
The Empire State Building was a great attraction! We really enjoyed the magnificent view of Manhattan! However, I was under the impression that buying my tickets online would eliminate me standing in the ticket lines along with everyone else. That was not true! I still had to take my pre-paid voucher and stand in the same line with all the people who had not yet purchased tickets! So what was the point? I could have misplaced them or even lost them. Since it didn't make it more convenient for me to purchase them in advance I would have just waited had I known there wasn't a line for people who purchased tickets in advance!
Reviewed by: Marla K, United States, March 2007
Wonderful 360 degree view of Manhattan from the observatory, take a chance to see one of the most talked about buildings in NYC. Definitely a must do before you leave New York!
Reviewed by: Pei San G, United Kingdom, March 2007
Definitely can't complain about the views! Amazing! But beware, this voucher does not allow you to skip the ticket line. We had to wait 45 minutes with everyone who didn't have tickets yet to exchange this coupon for a ticket to go up the elevator. There was a pre-paid line, but apparently this did not qualify as pre-paid.
Reviewed by: Cheryl K, Australia, January 2007
It was great because it was a clear and a warm day. Ordering online did not save a lot of time as one had to stand in the line for security before you could move to the pick up tickets queue.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States, January 2007
A wonderful experience. I definitely recommend it.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States,
Difficult to comment as it was very foggy when we went up, so visibility was very limited. We were warned about that beforehand, but my husband was determined to do the Empire State Building on his 60th birthday, and it was definitely memorable, but probably for the wrong reason!!!
Reviewed by: Michael R, United Kingdom, October 2008
My trip up the Empire State Building was not a very nice experience. The queues were long and when we got to the top there were so many people you couldn't see anything at the front. Much preferred the Top of the Rock.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, September 2008
It's awesome for a couple of seconds, but after that its boring. I would recommend you to do this trip at night where it might be a little more interesting.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States, September 2008
This is one of the sites everyone wants to see, but to be honest it's not really worth it! The queues are massive, first to get in the building, then to get through security, then to get a ticket even though we had a voucher, and then to get on the lift, and when you get to the top you can't see because there are so many people. They are all pushing and shoving to get to the front to see! To top it off, you queue a little more to get on a lift to get down again and out of the building. The best bit about it obviously the view from the top, but the Stratosphere in Vegas is better. There are also better views of New York! The guys taking the cheesy pictures when you go in were good fun. They were at least having a laugh. Do the Empire State once in your lifetime - that's it! Worth seeing, but not going to see.
Reviewed by: Karen M, United Kingdom, August 2008
Once we reached the observatory, the views were stupendous and could appreciate the height of the buildings far more when looking down on them. It looked like Toy Town and did not seem real!! The downside were the QUEUES. Despite being given the impression that pre-booking avoided lengthy queues and meant we would be in an 'express' queue, there was no such thing. Even upgrading by purchasing tickets for the space ride did not avoid the queues, even though we were told that it would by the guys selling the tickets outside. Sure, we went up a different staircase and underwent a speedy security check, but once the ride was over we had to rejoin the queue upstairs to exchange the vouchers for tickets and audio sets, 2 out of 3 were not working! There were queues for the tickets, lifts to the 80th floor and more lifts to the 86th floor, which took about 2 hours. It was very hot and there was nowhere to sit down up there. We were told off for sitting on the floor when we wanted a rest before queuing to go down! If I went again it would be early in the morning before the queues had built up!
Reviewed by: S J M, United Kingdom, August 2008
There are a lot of lines!!! It took us 4 hours. No exaggeration! When we got there they said it would be one hour and a half wait. The lines move fast, but there are so many of them. Waiting so long took the fun out of it. We took about three elevators and ended up going the last six flights by stairs because the wait for the last elevator was like 15 minutes. But when you go make sure you buy the audio tour or the $8 map. It's worth it because there's is absolutely no way of knowing what is where without it. But we got some beautiful pictures.
Reviewed by: Toni M, United States, July 2008
I bought entry tickets to the Empire State Building. I thought I would be allowed to skip the ticket line at the Empire State Building but when I showed the Viator voucher I was told that it was not a pre-bought ticket but it was just a prepaid ticket voucher which had to be exchanged for actual tickets at the ticket counter. Didn't save me any time. If I had bought the tickets at the ticket counter at the Empire State Building it would have cost me exactly the same time and money. The instructions on the Viator prepaid voucher were also very confusing. Getting airline miles is the only concession, hope that is credited properly.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States, June 2008
