A Day On Top Of The World

One of the great things about being unemployed in New York City is that you spend so much time sitting on your ass, scouring the depths of the internet and aimlessly browsing through Facebook while simultaneously watching netflix, that it sometimes leads you to cool free stuff...like an exclusive preview of the new World Trade Center Observation Deck, the day before it officially opens to the public. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about checking this out this morning. Don't get me wrong, despite a near crippling fear of heights, I do love observation decks, and I love craning my neck upwards when I'm downtown to get a view of the towering, shiny new WTC building. But every time I have seen a picture from inside the new building which shows these incredible views, I get kind of sad thinking about how that same view, was the last thing so many people saw back in 2001. I know it's morbid to think that way, so I tried to push that to the back of my head as I waited in line out the front of the World Trade Center.

Tickets are timed, and I got there a little early, so there was maybe a 10 minute wait outside in the shade of the building, before entering and decending downstairs to where you must go through security. A few people seemed a little miffed about the security measures, but in all honesty, there's hardly a tourist attraction in NYC that doesn't require you to go through a metal detector, and at least it wasn't full body scan and shoes off, airport style security.

After passing through metal detectors, you walk through a wide, dark, glassy corridor. The glass reminds me of the shiny, reflecting glass the building is made of, and displays videos as you pass. The videos talk to the building of the World Trade Center and feature people involved such as construction workers, engineers and project managers. They talk about what it meant to them to be involved, and what this building represents for them. This room really leaves you with the feeling that the World Trade Center is a new symbol of America, a new symbol of hope and a sign of resilience and strength. Forward and Upwards! Leading you to the short queue for elevators is a corridor of bedrock, paying homage to the foundation of the World Trade Center and the bedrock 'bathtub' that separates the WTC complex and the Hudson River. Already super impressed so far, I was blown away with the elevator ride. The walls of the elevator are all screens, projecting the changing landscape of lower Manhattan over time as you ascend to the 102nd Floor. I hate long, swift elevator rides so this was a welcome distraction from the knowledge that I was being propelled 100 floors to the sky in a metal box. I took a video of my own, but I missed the part with all the rapid development, so it's kind of redundant. Here is the full official video though, it's pretty damn cool.

Out of the elevator you are ushered into the "See Forever Theater"...a long darkened room with a neatly designed projecting wall, which, as I expect it was meant to, reminded me of a city skyline. The film is a montage of the city and perfectly captures what draws people to New York. That heaving, bustling pulse which the city emanates as if it were a live, living breathing organism of it's own. Here's a quick snippet from the start...

The video builds to a crescendo, and as it hits it's peak, the projecting wall slides up, to reveal windows that look out over the south east of Manhattan...it was truly a breathtaking reveal...the whole room was taken aback at just how amazing an experience they've managed to create here. You are then free to roam the 3 floors of floor to high cieling windows which offer incredible views over lower Manhattan, down to midtown, out to Brooklyn and Queens and across to Staten Island & New Jersey. Unfortuantely it was a little foggy today, so visibility wasn't great - but it didn't matter, it was still an amazing experience, and an incredible view which is crazy to think, hasn't been enjoyed for almost 14 years.

(Looking North towards Midtown)

(Brooklyn & Manhattan Bridges)

(9/11 Memorial...it was moving to finally be in this strong new tower and to look down on the footprints of what stood here before it)

The discovery level (floor 100), features two "City Pulse Rings", which are essentially an interactive wheel of screens which highlight the many facets of New York life and are animatedly presented by knowledgable and personable staff. I stuck around and watched a few quick presentations on hot dogs in the city, transport and sports...all of which were quite interesting, and added an extra layer to the standard 'Here's the View...and that's it' package that you get at most observation decks.

(Did you know, that by law - Hot Dog vendors are required to display pricing? Beware the $30 hotdog!)

Finally, there was also a "Sky Portal", which was a round platform with screens you can stand on showing the aerial view of streets below. There wasn't any signage here, but I am assuming that the footage is actually a live video stream of the streets below. It reminded me of the glass floor at the CN Tower in Toronto, only without the dizzying vertigo and overwhelming need to hug the nearest wall.

Finally, you exit through the gift shop (as always), taking the elevator back down the 100 floors. Again, the walls are animated providing a nice backdrop to your popping ears. The video for this one disorients you, as to give the illusion of almost gliding back to the ground, which was pretty neat. Again - here's a quick video.

To top off my day on top of the world (well, New York) - once we exited the elevators, some Century 21 promo girls handed everybody a little red C21 bag containing a 'mystery gift card' which could be anything from $5 to $1000. Woo! Free observation deck and free C21 money...life is very good. Also - note to self...browsing C21 when you don't have a job, whilst a good time killer, is also mildly depressing... ...So many cute Kate Spade bags, so much unemployment!

#Tourist #NewYorkCity #WorldTradeCenter #iloveny #Skyscrapers