Friday, December 27, 2013

Radio City Stage Door Tour- Midtown West- Plus Links to Carnegie, Other Tours - Yelp

I took a version of this tour years ago and it was particularly great then...sounds like it is as good today--of course, costs more than back when I took it, but that's NYC for you!!

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  • 1260 Avenue of the Americas
    51st street between 5th and 6th Avenues

    New York, NY 10020
    b/t 50th St & 51st St in Midtown West, Theater District
  • Get Directions
  • Phone number (212) 307-7171
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LaTiesha C. said "Its not fair for me to give this place 3 stars just because its way way (way) on the west side. I do hate that about it though. Otherwise its your typical concert venue. Though I do think its a little…" read more
  • 9/5/2013
    Taking the advice of my fellow Yelpers, I purchased this tour & loved it! Loved the history of this grand theater--seeing the costumes was amazing, the art deco architecture needs to be seen to be appreciated. Our tour guide was excellent, very knowledgeable. (I wish I could remember her name!)...we got to meet a Rockette at the end of the tour and took the obligatory photo --which I loved & purchased! The tour was right on time and lasted exactly an hour. My husband was disappointed that we were not allowed to step on stage--if they ever add that to the tour it would be awesome! I purchased our tickets about a week before our visit & would recommend pre-purchasing as they sell out quickly, tours are limited to about 12 people per tour. I don't know if I'd visit again as it would be difficult to recreate the 'magic' of seeing it for the first time but would highly recommend this-NOTE: There are a lot of stairs to climb--I think they have elevators? It would have been a bit diffult if my parents had come on the tour as they are elderly and would had a problem with the stairs.
  • 9/12/2013
    Pros: N/A

    Cons: Use your $ on the shows, not the tour. Tour guides weren't very informative. The Rockette had a snooty air about her.
  • 8/29/2011
    My overall best experience in New York City was Radio City Music Hall - both the behind the scenes tour as well as seeing a show in the world's most unbelievable theatre.

    The tour was funny, intriguing, enlightening, and entertaining. I believe this experience depends on who is your tour guide and ours was very good. I like that the tour takes you through many parts of the building and gives you the history without feeling overwhelmed with knowledge. You also get to meet a real live Rockette! There was no question that the guide didn't know the answer to and there a lots of opportunities to take photos along the way. Just note that no one is allowed to take photos in the theatre when there were rehearsals going on.

    If you are in New York I highly recommend taking this tour and seeing a show here if the opportunity arises.
  • 9/1/2009
    I found this tour to be extremely informative. Erik, our guide, kept it amusing while presenting all the facts. Tara, the Rockette who met us, was just a delight. It was the end of the day and I am sure they were both very tired, but they acted like we were the first tour of the day.

    Explanations were clear and I guess I never gave a thought as to how such a huge stage gets lifted and lowered.

    There are a LOT of stairs to climb and PLEASE be respectful of rules i.e. don't wander off, you will only hold up the rest of the group, keep quiet so that those who do want to hear the information, CAN. We had a number in our group who came close to ruining our tour.

    KEEP YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN AWAY. No one but you thinks their CONSTANT chatter is cute and your yelling after them as they run down restricted halls is also rather distracting.

    I realize great numbers of people have to get moved through in one day, but a few minutes to enjoy all the memorabilia would have been great.  The photos looked most interesting as we zipped past!
  • 10/10/2010
    Not-so-good:
    Nothing (maybe other tour guides won't be as good :-))

    Good:
    So many things we got to learn/see in an hour
    Get to see/meet a Rockette!
    The awesome tour of the elevator hydraulics
    The tour guide was incredible; spunky, knew everything, good talking pace/voice...

    Overall, this is a must-see.  I was skeptical going in, but the venue itself is unbelievably designed...every corner is a beautiful mix of 1930s design with 21st century technology.  Definitely worth the one hour tour.  [Don't know the cost...sister bought the tickets!]
    • 407 friends
    • 301 reviews
    11/16/2008
    First to Review
    I bought the "Rock Pass" which includes the NBC Studio Tour, Radio City Stage Door Tour (review available) and a visit to Top of the Rock observation deck (review available).  The best part is that the tickets are valid up to a year if you don't use them on the day of purchase. Nice!  The price for all three was $46.00 which is $15.30 per ticket... a bargain!

    The tour runs every 30 minutes and lasts up to 1 hour.  A word of advice, there is a lot of stairs climbing.  So be aware of any physical impairments.  If you do have one, let the personnel know when redeeming the ticket.

    Start with a great view of the lobby area and a brief history of the hall.  Then get a good workout while climbing up and down stairs and you get to see many parts of the hall, including a movie of the history of the hall and a 'meet and greet' with one of the Rockettes which you get to ask questions and take pictures with.

    The best part of the tour was when we were able to see a few minutes of the Christmas Spectacular Show through a viewing booth on the top floor.  It was really nice... never had the desire to see the show but now that I've seen some of it, I will make a trek to the city to see one for sure!  (A word of advice: plenty of tickets for it available at TKTS discount booth - review available).

    A tour worth doing for some backstage history of the Hall.  Pictures allowed to be taken at anytime.  Tour last an hour and no bathroom breaks during the tour.
  • 2/8/2009
    We'd walked by Radio City Music Hall so many times and not once did we manage to set foot inside.

    We decided to change that and play tourist; we signed up for the Radio City Stage Door Tour....while the tour was at times very hokey (meeting a Rockette and taking pictures with said Rockette) overall is was a wonderful tour and a great learning experience.  We really enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of Radio City and more about the history of the building, the people, and the shows held inside.  Don't miss this tour in you're at all interested in Radio City Music Hall.
  • 8/22/2010
    This was a fantastic tour lead by an engaging tour guide who had lots of facts you just wouldn't know about if you visited Radio City for an event. Plus we learned about how the Rockettes got started. I'd definitely do it again.

    What we saw:
    - the decor from floor to ceiling w/anecdotes from the tour guide
    - the balcony view of the stage, organs and platforms for performing on the perimeter
    - the special three-piece stage from backstage and a video showing it in action
    - lower level bathrooms (powder room, lounge and foot operated hand dryers)
    - glimpse of the practice rooms where young girls were being instructed by a few Rockettes
    - costumes
    - a real Rockette who took pictures w/us and answered questions
    - private quarters backstage.

    The stage is really big and if you've never been to Radio City before, it's really cool!  Buy your tickets at the gift shop, just left of the Radio City doors if your facing the main entrance.
  • 6/5/2012
    I'm a sucker for art deco!  2nd time on the Stage Door Tour was even better than the first.  Very informative and lots of beautiful things to snap pictures of.  Being there really does make you feel like a movie star.  If you can only do one tour in NYC, make it this one.
  • 4/12/2010
    Loved seeing and hearing the history behind Radio City Music--like the ceilings made of gold bricks!!!!--Our guide James was very informative and seemed to genuinely enjoy his job. I would have liked to been able to go down and see the theater from the seating area but there was a private party that evening and our tour was a bit restricted. The Rockette that talked to us was friendly and informative and was very nice while she took pictures and answered questions. They also give you 15% off your purchase in the gift shop after the tour which none of the other tours I did offered.
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