Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
Have you visited the major landmarks and sightseeing attractions in the city where you live? I have lived in New York City for over 30 years and have NEVER visited the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty! Even though I love exploring the city especially with my children, I guess we have been discouraged from visiting when I think of all the crowds, we will encounter at these iconic places with three children (ages 5, 8 and 10) in tow. Truth is, we tried the Go City Pass and the experiences were quite easy, stress-free and pleasant. Thanks so much to Go City for partnering with me on this sponsored post and helping us to explore NYC! The Go City Explorer Pass was the perfect way for us to schedule some hometown sightseeing during the holiday season to keep the boys active and engaged. The pass gives you access to a number of attractions from 3-10 in a particular city that you can visit at your leisure, once the pass is activated at an attraction you have 30 days to use the remaining access admission. The BEST part is that many of attractions do not require advance reservations and you can visit them at your own time. You can choose to print them out or use the Go City smartphone app and easily access the passes with your phone!
Our first stop was the Empire State Building, which is educational, interactive and fun for even the youngest visitors. With our Go City passes in hand, we bypassed the ticket counter and headed straight through the security checkpoint, scanned our passes at the entrance turnstile, made our way through the historical exhibit including a super cool King Kong exhibit and into one of the elevators to the 80th floor leaving the lines behind us.
Once on the 80th floor, we took in the views through the oversized windows which all had viewers and location labels indicating which NYC “locations” could be seen from that area, Next, we decided to head up to the observatory deck on the 86th floor (we waited on line for the elevator but visitors are free to walk up the six flights of stairs). Even though the outside temperature was pretty chilly, the well heated outdoor deck offered a pretty toasty viewing experience.
Our next destination was Spyscape, the all new Spy Museum in New York where visitors learn spy history, test their spy skills through a variety of interactive hands-on tests. We walked up to the ticket counter, scanned our Go City passes and were each given a personalized bracelet which we would use throughout the museum to access personality tests and challenges.
Spyscape is filled with the interesting history of spies, hackers, cryptology, government and secret intelligence. Our favorite, the Special-Ops challenge that tests your agility in a timed mission-impossible style laser filled obstacle room that we tackled a couple times each, trying to beat our own best scores and each other’s.
We learned all about the teenager who hacked the CIA and even how to protect our own online data. After completing at least 8 of the challenges offered, your visit ends with a thorough debriefings where you are assigned 1 of 10 spy roles from Analyst to Spymaster.
Our final attraction was the American Museum of Natural History where we spent a rainy holiday vacation afternoon indoors exploring the world of dinosaurs to our vast galaxy. Our Go City passes once again gave us speedy access to the museum and the boys each chose a section they wanted to visit.
My dinosaur lover wanted to check out the T.Rex exhibit where we learned all about the different types of tyrannosaurs. The Hall of Ocean life was the choice of my oceanographer in training who particularly loves the iconic Blue Whale and the 750+ marine creatures on display. My mini astronomer decided to visit the Rose Center for Earth and Space to study the history of the universe.
So, whether you are visiting a new city or want to pretend to be a tourist where you live plus save time and money…Go City Passes are the way to go! They are available in New York, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Orlando, New Orleans, Washington D.C., San Diego, Las Vegas, Chicago and even in some international cities: Dubai, Cancun, Madrid, Oahu, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney! Check out Go City for more information and to get your one passes to start exploring today!
Here is your chance to WIN a family four pack of Go City Explorer passes to one of their U.S. destinations! Simply leave a comment telling us which city you and your family would like to use your Go City Explorer Passes -OR- what attraction you guys would like o visit in your own city! (Winner muse be a U.S. resident and over 18 years of age. Winner will be randomly chosen and contacted on 12/24)
We need to see so much of NYC. Definitely going to the Empire State Building, American Musuem of Natural History and we need to find out what’s new to add.
I would love to be a tourist in my own city, NYC. So many times we don’t get to experience what is right in front of us. Thanks for the opportunity!