The skyline of New York City would be dismal without the Empire State Building. This iconic building can be seen from street level and is a beacon. With changing colour themes, the ESB lights up the sky and honours various agencies daily.
We enjoyed the Empire State Building, utilized the CityPass for admission, with both day and night views. The ESB is unlike Top of The Rock which allocates timed entry. The ESB is a first come, first served venue. Line up and everyone is passed through security and ticket vending machines deal with tickets. FYI the QR (quick response) codes on cell phones are not easily read by the machine. Utilizing the QR code ticket held up the lines and attendants were required to proceed. They were not quick.
We ascended to the top twice on the same day. We arrived at 11:30am and at 9pm. The procedure is identical at all hours and the time through was basically 2 hours round trip in mid-April. It's a well run machine.
The views from the observation deck are amazing. This is a highly sought after venue and visitors are overflowing, day or night. We found all visitors courteous and happy. The night skyline twinkled and viewing the city from above was magical. We were in NYC!
If you are expecting an empty deck, like in Sleepless in Seattle, arrive extra early or in off season. That's not happening this time of year!
Highly recommend purchasing the day and night ticket. A different feel during both visits. If you are time pressed, go up during the night. It's AMAZING!