Taking our kids on a trip when they turn 10 and our oldest chose NYC. We will go beginning of October for 3 nights.

Looking for suggestions on hotels and/or any other tips as we have never been before!

Her bucket list is: Statue of Liberty, a show, Central Park, and lots of pizza.

I took my family to NYC during Thanksgiving 2018.

We stayed at the Moxy Times Square which had a good central location and had a couple bars for my wife and I to hang out at when we needed an escape from the kids. The accommodations were a little funky as that hotel is really set up for a guys/girls weekend in The City. We had two bunk beds in our room.
https://moxytimessquare.com/

For lunch pizza, we grabbed a slice from a local lunch spot for less than $10 for 2 people - cash.

For dinner pizza I wanted a coal fired New York style so we went to this place near Central Park:
https://angelospizzany.com/

Two things that I thoroughly enjoyed were the 9/11 Memorial and the USS Intrepid Musuem.
https://intrepidmuseum.org/

We were lucky enough to join the local NYC Texas A&M Club for the 7 OT win vs. LSU which was an unforgettable part of our trip - along with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

So fun! Take the Staten Island ferry (free) to see the Statue of Liberty. Consider going to Serendipity 3 for the frozen hot chocolate. There is usually a few kid friendly Broadway shows playing (like Lion King, Frozen or Aladdin). Central Park could include a visit to the Central Park Zoo. I always like to visit Chelsea Market and walk on the high line, especially if you have good weather.

We took our son when he was about 10. He loved going to the crown of the Statue of Liberty. Get reservations way ahead of time for that. The earlier in the day the better, as it can get crowded.

He also enjoyed seeing Van Gogh's Starry Night at Moma as well as the ancient art at the Met. Another museum he liked was the Museum of Natural History.

And carriage rides thru the park were cool.

Edit: forgot to add Top of the Rock at sunset.

I love New York and I'm always excited for families to take trips there. Museum wise, I think Natural History probably works best for that age, but there is cool stuff at the Met, Mona, Whitney, and Guggenheim, depending on the age.

For food recs, check out The Infatuation https://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york?ifsb=yes
You can search by neighborhood, cuisine, price, etc. I'm not crazy about Serendipity, but your kids might like it. Clinton Street Baking Co would be my tourist recommendation.

For Central Park, there are some cool playgrounds dotted around the park if your kids are still playground age. Otherwise, walk the trails, hit the reservoir, people watch etc. I look spending hours exploring. Unfortunately I think the Great Lawn and Sheep's Meadow are probably closed for the season at that point.

Oh and take the subway when you're there - it's the best way to get around. My 5 & 8 yr olds love it.

Thanks for the tips! Any hotel suggestions?

10 year old would love the Plaza Hotel Kevin McAlister experience inspired by Home Alone 2.

My wife and I took our 14-year-old daughter in April last year and had a blast. We stayed at the Motto (Hilton) at Times Square. The location was fantastic, but the hotel room itself was VERY small. It was just barely larger than a cruise ship cabin. If going again, I would choose same area, but try to find a hotel with larger rooms.

Keep an eye on your belongings, but don't be afraid take the subway. It truly is the best way to get around town and simple to use once you figure it out.

The things my daughter liked the most:

• Broadway (we saw Hamilton)
• 911 museum
• Statue of Liberty
• Rockefeller Center
• Empire State Building
• Museum of Natural History

We saved a lot of money by purchasing a City Pass, which gave discounted entry to most of the things listed above.

We stayed at Hotel Beacon on the UWS last year and it worked well. Not fancy but not bad at all. Plus it was walking distance to Central Park and right by the 72nd Street subway station.

Angelo's is awesome

So much to do. My kids a have been several times. Bronx zoo is excellent. Lego and Harry Potter stores. All the museums and shows. Hang around in the park. I haven't been but my family likes governor's island.

I have a current 10yo daughter and we see a lot of musicals when they come to Denver and these are some of her favorites. She's seen almost 40 now and these are a few that are playing today in NYC

Hadestown (might be a little above her age for mythology, but it's an incredible show)
Hamilton
Six (lots of innuendo but it will go over their head). Really pop music show
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
MJ (this was a fave for a long time and I don't know why. It's OK, but not groundbreaking, good music though)
Wicked

We are seeing "& Juliet" this summer and she's already listening to the music

A couple I see a lot of buzz about but haven't personally seen are Maybe Happy Ending and Operation Mincemeat. I saw someone say Maybe Happy Ending is like if Pixar designed a musical.

We are going next spring and I'm already saving for all the theater stuff we will have to do...

My kids always enjoyed Ellen's Stardust Diner.

Great American / diner food and most of the waitstaff works on Broadway and perform songs throughout the meal.

https://www.ellensstardustdiner.com

A lot of people hit a lot of the highlights, but I'll add a few

Go to a Mets or Yankees game at night (We did Mets), and take the train. After the game, you will be packed into the cars with all of the New Yorkers singing and celebrating (if they win). My son was 10 at the time and he still talks about it. They also played Piano Man during the 7th inning stretch. Everyone put their arms around the people next to them and sang at the top of their lungs. It was awesome.

We got sandwiches at Liberty Bagel and took it into Central Park and had a picnic. Was a lot of fun. We also rented scooters and took a lap around Central Park (caution though...we only rented for an hour and we had to book it to make it back in time).

Also, a heads up on Serendipity...you can't just go for the frozen hot chocolate. There is like a $100 minimum there. I may be off on the number, but they make it so you pretty much have to have a meal.

My kids loved the subway. They would play a game of who can spot the rat on the tracks while waiting for a train.

There is also a Harry Potter store that is really cool if one of your kids is into that.