The Ride, NYC

After visiting NYC in Christmas 2016 and standing in Times Square at night waiting to cross one of their manic crossings, something caught my eye. It was a bus, but not just any bus, it had floor to ceiling windows and the people in that bus were sat in tiered rows like that of a cinema, facing outwards. There was music and flashing lights, and you could hear what was being said inside this magical bus. But what really caught my eye was how everyone on that bus looked like they were having the times of their lives. It was then that I knew I needed to be on that bus. I remembered the huge logo on the side of the bus as it whizzed by, jotted it down on my phone and that was that.

source - google images
 

Fast forward a few months and we were back in England booking yet another trip to NYC. I 100% knew that 'The Ride NYC' was going to be on my itinerary. As the trip drew closer I ordered an attraction pass that enabled us to choose 5 'activities' from the list. Low and behold, the magical bus was included in that list. Win.

I deliberately left this 'activity' till our last night in NY (save the best till last 'n all that...). We were advised to get to the meeting point 15 minutes before the scheduled departure, which we did, however when we arrived, we were already at the back of the queue. There was only one other couple that joined after us. I immediately thought this was going to scupper our chances of getting a 'good seat', however I was glad that it actually worked in our favour, and we were sat on the top row.

As we were passing through Times Square

The ballerina Duet

There are 2 entertainers on the bus, one at either side. They interact with the audience via microphones and are telling jokes throughout the 90 minutes of your journey. As the bus rides through Times Square and famous NY streets, it stops at random points and gives the illusion that random passer-bys outside are extremely talented and we 'just by chance' found them. Obviously these are actors positioned in certain points throughout the streets that work in conjunction with 'The Ride' - you get to witness live music performances, break dancing, etc. Everyone outside can hear what is being said in the microphone inside the bus, so occasionally the entertainers would try and wind strangers up as they were minding their own business, probably trying to get home for the night! Some would be cooperative and interact back, and do what the entertainers were asking, whereas others looked mortified and continued walking. This added a lot of humour to the tour!

Yes, we celebrated New Year in the middle of September.. When in New York...

As the bus approached The Pulitzer fountain (situated near the famous Plaza Hotel from Home Alone), a ballet dancer appears with her tutu all lit up. She performs a duet with a suave looking guy and this looks truly magical with the fountains as a back-drop.

The 90 minutes flew by and I was actually sad that it was over so quickly. I was glad we left it till the last night because that combined with a late night trip to the Empire State (which we did after departing the bus!) really helped us to end NYC on a high.

I think this song will now always bring back memories of our time in NYC... such a goose bump moment!

 

This is definitely an experience that I would completely recommend to others!