Birthday visit - This is a must visit whilst you are in New York. The views are spectacular on a clear day. You can see all of Manhattan, Brooklyn, etc! FANTASTIC!!!!!

Freedom Tower NYC - On my first visit to New York I had to visit Ground Zero and take a trip to the Observation Deck at the Freedom Tower. The experience, although not cheap at $37 per tmr is incredibly well presented. The lift has floor to ceiling video screens on 3 sides that show how New York has evolved as the lift ascends 100 floors in 60 seconds. The observation deck itself offers incredible views and if you are willing to spend an extra $15 you can rent an interactive iPad that gives extra info on the buildings you are viewing. Be warned, as with all NY tourist attractions you need to pass through airport style security first

NYC Freedom Tower - In September we went to NYC and took a trip to the Observation Deck at the Freedom Tower. The experience was incredible and a must when you are in New York! The Observation Deck makes it possible to see whole Manhattan, which is a beautiful sight. The only negative part of the trip was that we went to Observation Deck in the middle of a sunny day, which makes it harder to take good pictures (Look at the attached pictures) We went as a group and each person paid $23 to visit the Observation Deck. If you are willing to spend extra, you can rent an IPad that gives you info about the buildings you are looking at.

Perhaps a bit underwhelming - This maybe just one of the things one has to do in NY but I can’t say it made a huge impact on me. It’s not cheap of course and they’ve included a few additional features to help justify the cost but I’m not convinced it was added value though the elevator ride is good! We declined the offer of the ipads. We’d heard some people say they weren’t worth the additional cost. I just can’t see why they couldn’t put illustrated display boards pointing out the sights. Still, you wouldn’t be paying extra for that. We chose a sunny day and that had its drawbacks. Pics are not good unless you have a good camera. We also chose later in the day as it’s less crowded, however it was still not easy to get good views even with fewer people there. There’s a cafe and the inevitable merchandising. We spent about an hour or so there. We had real problems finding our way out and became quite lost. Perhaps that was us but be mindful, you don’t exit where you enter.

Just OK - The elevator ride up was the only good part in my view. I guess we paid for the I-pads because they were given to us, but they were awkward to the point of unusable. We ditched them, but it’s possible that we just didn’t know how to use them. Once we arrived at the top, it was very crowded and hard to get next to the windows. The views are great, but you can’t see Central Park. I like the view from top of the Rock better. This was just meh after seeing the 911 Museum