Suggestions… We are going to Manhattan school of music for a tour and then later that night we are seeing Spongebob most likely staying in ahotel in Times Square and the next morning touring NYU.
Question should we drive and attempt to find somewhere to park during the day or take subway, taxi Uber ???
Public transportation for sure!
What did NYU tell you about visiting? Do they have a place for you to park or do they recommend public transportation?
Where are you driving from?
Unless you could find street parking, you could potentially be paying $50+/day for parking. It is not likely your would find street parking around time square. And out of curiosity, why would you be staying around Times Square?
@dramamama3 - Avoid driving in NYC if you can! It’s so much easier to take the subway or uber around town and the money you spend will be money saved on parking. Are you flying in or driving from home? I’m a big fan of avoiding traffic so I like to fly into Newark and take the airtrain into Penn Stn.
Times Square/Midtown area is the noisiest place to stay in NYC but it also has some of the best rates. You can totally walk from TS hotels to SpongeBob. You can take the subway from there to MSM - it’s a 25-30 minute ride on the 1-2-3 lines or you can get an Uber/Lyft which will take the same amount of time but will have more reliable AC. 
NYU is at the opposite end of Manhattan from MSM but again it’s a quick subway ride from Midtown.
We stayed in Midtown when we were visiting schools last year but we were in NYC last week (my D is starting at NYU next year) and we stayed in Greenwich Village - wow. So much more peaceful! It was fun but the rates were definitely better midtown and being centrally located does make it easier to go to the different ends of the city.
We are staying in Times Square so we can go to hotel quickly after the show. We are coming from lake George, ny. We haven’t asked either school about parking. We were going to take a train in from Poughkeepsie but thought about driving . Thanks for all and any advice
I would say, take the train into the city - and use the subway/taxi/Uber (depending on your comfort level) while you are there. Driving in the city is a pain the backside. But if you do want to drive - drive in, park car, and keep it in one spot until you leave the city - use same methods to get around in town. My D went to NYU - that is how we handled visits for 4 years. If you are staying near time square - there is a nice garage right by Sheraton at 52nd and 7th (north end of Times Square). If your kid ends up at an NYC school - they are going to have to learn the subway - might as well get a jump start now
We did the NYU tour last year. It is much easier to take subway than to drive. (first of all we could have walked faster than we drove anywhere in Manhattan, after first day there we parked car and didn’t drive it again) There are parking garages near NYU (there is a list on their website) none of them are NYU’s and cost about $50 for 2 hours. The subway gets off right across the street from the part of NYU where you need to go for the tour.
We also toured PACE and MaryMount Manhattan and using the subway was best. (did not do MSM) We crossed at the Lincoln tunnel which took at least an hour, don’t know if the bridge (washington) is quicker?
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@Boilermom - bridge v. Tunnel time depends on time of day. I really HATE the tunnels (both holland and Lincoln) but they do place you in the heart of Manhattan - whereas the bridges (on the west side) are much further north, so you have to travel a ways down into the city, it really depends on where you are coming FROM. In our case - it’s virtually a straight shot across I-80, so the tunnels were fastest. Now that D is living in Washington Heights post grad - it’s all about the GWB. when we went last month to help her move- we actually stayed across the bridge in NJ - it was easier to drive from there (where parking was free at night) than to stay in manhattan. Now- to be fair, we were not seeing shows etc. we are headed back next week to see D perform off off off off bway (in Brooklyn) - still debating where we will stay
We travel from Burlington VT (so pass through your town) to NYC, have done it many times for fun but DD will be at NYU this fall so now it’s business. Definitely take the train into Manhattan, a car is more pain and expense than it’s worth. Amtrak from Albany has decent schedules and a lot of parking, but the cheapest way to go is Metro North. We drive to Croton on Hudson bc there are a lot more trains than Poughkeepsie, and there is a lot of parking. Also, Amtrak goes to Penn Station, Metro North goes to Grand Central - more convenient to Times Square (although neither is very far!)
I used to live in Vermont and while I have driven to NYC many times, I often did not (I especially did not if I didn’t have to bring significant stuff there), plus my D also went to NYU/Tisch, and never left NYC after she graduated, I would drive to the Amtrak station near Albany (straight shot down for you from Lake George on the Northway). The Amtrak trains to NYC run quite frequently. Once in NYC, depending on your preference, you can take taxis, Uber, or the subway,. Arriving in Penn Station is pretty convenient to most places you are going. Driving the car in the city is intense, but also the cost to park is very high,. If you take the car, you’ll likely need to keep it in one garage the entire visit, which means you will be still taking cabs, Uber, or the subway to go to each destination on top of the parking expense. The other thing is the traffic getting in and out of the city might be bad depending on the day of the week and the time of day,
Thank you everyone for your advice!!! Sounds like the train in might be best and just pack in s backpack until we can check into our hotel. You guys are all the best
If you take the subway, take a moment to go on www.mta.info before heading out the door that day. It tells you if there are any changes that day (which often happens - they’ll do maintenance work on a subway line and re-route that train). That website also has a Trip Planner that tells you the best subway route to take for your destination.
Thank you for the mta site @actorparent1.
google maps is a good source to figure out best way to get some where (which subway/bus to take). It will also tell you when is the next subway.
We used it when we were traveling in Europe and it was very precise, so we started using in NYC too.
The MTA also has an app you can put onto your phone. We use it constantly when in NYC.
Many hotels will hold your luggage until check in or hold it after check out so you are not carrying it around the city.
Also - if you’re not familiar with it, the City Mapper App is fantastic for helping with how to get from place to place. It will give you times for the next train/bus, approximate costs, and will even give you a reminder when you’re stop is coming up.