For those who have never heard of or taken “The
Ride”, let me give you a bit of a description of this unique bus tour. It is not your average bus that you sit
facing the front. Floor to ceiling windows
are on the side facing that street as you are seated stadium style peering out
onto the hustle and bustle of Midtown Manhattan. Tour guides will point out specific
buildings and the likes as any guide would.
There are screens with sound all over and a commanded voice will relate
a description to which the guide might add an anecdote. “Big deal”, you say?
Let’s hear some feedback from an out-of-towner, Steve Stoloff from Florida visiting with his family. “What a great experience I had on my recent visit to New York City. There were many different tours to choose from but for whatever reason, we wound up choosing The Ride-NYC and how lucky we were.”
After speaking to a number of people who chose different bus
tours without any question of a doubt ours was, by far, the very best. During
the entire ride we were rocking and rolling. The two tour guides just had us
standing and cheering. It was almost like being at a football game, especially,
when out of the clear blue sky on the street (and this happened on a number of
occasions)there were people who appeared to be connected with the ride but we
weren't sure. At different points, they were singing to us dancing to us and
rapping to us!!”
It had a feel similar to being at a Broadway musical when the
stars came out for a bow at the end of the show. I would recommend this to all,
not just any particular age group. When in New York City looking for a bus tour
do not fail to use The Ride-NYC It is, by far the very best one to hook up
with.
Wow!!!”
Most of these performers had microphones and our
speakers could open up for people on the street to hear us cheer. People on the street or sidewalks could see
us wave and even wave back. What makes
this trip hilarious is watching the reactions of the “audience”. You can tell who are the tourists. They will take photos and gladly wave
back. New Yorkers will totally ignore
and walk past the performers as if nothing were happening. Sometimes one of the tour guides will make
fun of someone passing by, but not in a way that is hurtful.
Having experienced The Ride a few times, I found one
particular thing that was new. Having an
experience of what it feels like to be seated in a subway car.
The Ride is 75 minutes long, operating different times of the day. The company also has one called The Tour, which I will be checking out after the heat waves. From what I’m getting, The Tour covers a much larger area of Manhattan and without the performers. www.theridenyc.com
There are no facilities on the bus, nor can you
bring food or drink. You line up in
front of Sr Frogs and can get a ticket if you need to use their bathroom. As for where to eat, I checked various
places in the area both quality and price.
Dallas BBQ for sure! It’s on 42nd
street just down the block from the bus.
It may appear small when you enter.
Take the escalator and you’ll find out how huge it is. They don’t take reservations unless there is
a group of about 15. I ordered a combo of
baby back ribs and beef ribs. Off the
bone tenderness and the bbq sauce was not at all overbearing. I don’t normally order fries because many
places give you the frozen kind. These
are hand made. Compared to most of the
prices in the area, it is quite inexpensive.
Even during the rush, it is not a long wait for a table. Not fine dining nor cafeteria style. Clean, good food, and excellent service.
