We decided to get the C3 pass to gain entry to Empire State, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space and 9/11 Museum. We already had Statue of Liberty advanced crown tickets and as we have been to NYC before, we decided to prioritise our favourite places and places we hadn’t visited. I had looked into the different passes a lot before travelling and knew that they didn’t provide skip the line into the attractions and museums, but decided that as it would save about £50 between 4 of us it would be worth it, especially if we tried to avoid the busiest times.
Empire State - visited Christmas Day at around 8:30am - minimal queues - couldn’t skip the line as such, but didn’t have to queue to exchange for an entry ticket, we were able to just scan mobile ticket at the entry barrier. Empire State is for 86th Floor, but you can upgrade to 102nd floor when you get there.
Intrepid Sea, Air and Space - visited Christmas Eve early morning - minimal queues - couldn’t skip the line as such, but we were in a different queue to the people buying tickets, so was quicker than buying ticket on the day. Our mobile tickets were scanned and exchanged for entry tickets.
9/11 - visited 23rd Dec in the afternoon about 3pm - minimal queues - couldn’t skip the line as such, but we were in a different queue to the people buying tickets and we didn’t have to exchange for an entry ticket, we were able to just scan mobile ticket at the entry barrier.
Even people with pre-purchased entry tickets at all 3 attractions we visited had to join the same queues as us CityPASS ticket holders. Only people who had paid extra to skip the lines were able to get in before everyone else. So I think if you’re not able to afford the considerable add on for skip the line tickets and
the CityPASS will save you money on the attractions you want to visit, then it can be worth it. For us, we were lucky with the times we went. We saw much longer queues on our way out of places, so it is definitely worth going to attractions very early in the day. We didn’t go to Top of the Rock as we have been before and wanted to see the new Empire State exhibition, but at TofR you can go online and secure timed ticket entry.