Most overly-crowded tourist site vou've been to (time)
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 visited Zion NP a couple of years ago, luckily we got there at dawn, still dark, & walked around several trails for a few hours. When we regrouped to leave at around noon-ish the close-by trails were crowded, there were long lines of cars & buses waiting at the entrance to enter & cars inside were slowly circling around the lots hunting for parking spaces. The entrance area with the shops, cafe, etc... was mobbed, we didn't realized later that we had picked Spring Break week to visit.
The trail at Angels' Landing was so crowded that weekend that a photo of the line made the front pages & national TV news.
I don't get the surprise or complaints about Times Square. An overcrowded place is the defining feature of Times Square and the very reason why New Yorkers avoid it.
Wasn't experiencing a jam-packed tourist trap the REASON you went there in the first place? Why else would anyone go?
No, I was a NY resident (over the decades having lived in different areas across the metro area). If I remember your posts, you worked in the city at one point. So I'll explain how I encountered the crowds.
I'm a walker and anytime I can walk instead of taking the train or bus, I do. After-work in the city, on days I checked my postal box at Grand Central, afterwards I'd walk to Port Authority to take the bus to NJ (lived in NJ for a year, twice). Had to walk through the crowds in TS because they're on 42nd street as they are on the higher number streets in the area.
I've also taken family and friends, who came to NYC to visit me, on a walking tour of the city. Of course, I took them to Times Square as their trip would not be complete without seeing it for themselves in real life.
If I went to Macy's to buy sandals, for example, and then walked to meet up with a friend at Central Park, I walked through the TS area to get there because that's the fastest path. I could walk either farther east or west and then walk in the direction of the park when I reached the upper 50's streets but I didn't always have the time for that. Or, if it was very hot, I'm was not going to add extra mileage to the route because it would make me sweaty and stinky by the time I reached my destination.
If I needed something from Walgreen's, the only one near my jo at that time was the one in TS. If you lived in the city near the area or worked in the area (yes, I've done that too with a employer's main office on theatre row), you will encounter the crowds or spill-out from TS crowds even when walking a block or two over from TS (and those are long blocks not short city blocks).
I avoid it most of the time, but there are theaters in the area and sometimes I had to go through the area to get to them. It's rare, but it's always a bad experience.
A post from another NYer, thanks. Your post sums up concisely what I've just posted in response to mightyqueen's post. When you live or work in NYC, depending on where you're located and what you have to do, you may not always be able to avoid TS crowds.
You're right, going to the theatre (people who live in NYC do go to the theatre sometimes, too) means you're thrust into the midst of walking through the TS crowds. On several occasions, I've gone to see a show with friend(s) and we went to a restaurant afterwards. We had to navigate through the crowds to get from the theatre to the restaurant.
Colonial Williamsburg, VA during the grand illumination around the first week of December. First and only time I went was as a kid back in the 80’s. I remember how crowded it was, especially as the flute players in their Colonial uniforms marched by during the parade. After the parade was over, they lit up all the candles in the Colonial buildings.
Yellowstone National Park in September. Busses with every nationality everywhere, at all the major sites. And some of the foreign visitors are rude about hogging the views for personal pics.
I was there this last September, I was shocked at how many people were there, especially at Old Faithful
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.
Why else would anyone go?
