SUMMIT One Vanderbilt with Kids: What to Know Before You Go
If you’re visiting SUMMIT One Vanderbilt on your upcoming trip to NYC, or trying to decide if it’s the right fit for you, keep reading!
I recently took my daughter to NYC for her 13th birthday, and I wanted to show her all of the classic NYC sights and landmarks. We saw a Broadway Show, visited the Statue of Liberty, saw Times Square, and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. We also knew we wanted to visit an observation deck, and after doing some research and watching some TikTok and Instagram videos, we settled on SUMMIT One Vanderbilt.
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is part observation deck, part immersive art experience, which is what really set it apart from the other observation decks in NYC. I think the interactive experiences made it much more appealing to the teen and tween crowd.
My 11- and 13-year-old really enjoyed this whole experience, and I’m so glad we included it in our New York City itinerary.
ere’s everything you need to know before visiting SUMMIT One Vanderbilt with kids, including what to wear, what to expect, and a few tips to make the most of your experience.
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Tips for Visiting SUMMIT One Vanderbilt with Kids
Book your SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Tickets in Advance
I would recommend booking your SUMMIT One Vanderbilt tickets in advance on the official website or on GetYourGuide so you can reserve the date and time slot that works best for your itinerary, as popular time slots can sell out quickly!
When booking your tickets online, you’ll select your preferred date and an entry time, with time slots available every 30 minutes. You have the option to purchase General Admission tickets, the SUMMIT Signature Experience tickets which include a signature cocktail or mocktail, the SUMMIT Ascent which includes a ride 12 stories higher in the world’s largest all-glass elevator, or the Ultimate SUMMIT which includes everything. We booked General Admission, but in retrospect I think the SUMMIT Ascent would have been a really unique experience with the kids!
We booked our tickets about a week in advance, and I was hoping to get a time slot close to sunset, but those were sold out. We visited at the end of July for reference.
Ultimately, we booked one of the earliest time slots of the day which was still a great experience. I was hoping we would beat the crowds that way, but it was still fairly crowded. I’ll share my favorite spot for getting photos without the crowds later in this article.
What to Wear to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
If you’re preparing for a visit to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, you need to know that the floors are mirrored for most of the experience, so consider wearing pants or shorts. If you are visiting in winter, and you’re wearing a dress or skirt, consider wearing opaque tights.
You’ll also want to wear comfortable shoes. You have to put on protective booties over your shoes (again, for the mirrored floors), so maybe skip the heels for this experience and choose tennis shoes or something similar.
Prepare for Sensory Overload
If your child is sensitive to light or gets overstimulated easily, consider bringing sunglasses! The mirrored walls, floors, and ceilings, especially in the Air: Transcendence rooms, reflect light in every direction, which can feel overwhelming when you first walk in.
Your eyes eventually adjust, but I know how difficult it can be when you’re traveling with kids who are overstimulated or sensitive to bright lights, crowds, and loud sounds. (We used to bring noise canceling headphones with us to Disney World when our kids were little).
The very first room is definitely the most overwhelming, but once you move past that room it’s a lot calmer.
Snacks and Strollers
I was traveling with teens and tweens on this trip, but I’m not too far removed from the toddler and preschool era! Strollers are allowed if they are foldable or collapsible, so avoid large strollers or wagons.
Outside food is also not permitted, and there is a cafe at the top. I would say if you happen to have snacks in your bag for your child for later, they’re probably not going to make a big deal about it. We had granola bars in my purse, and they didn’t make us throw them out, but we also didn’t take them out and eat them during our visit. I think if you leave them in your bag you should be fine, but just know that this is their policy on outside food, so I can’t guarantee anything.
What It's Like Inside SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is a one-way walk through experience covering 3 floors, so once you move up a level you can’t go back down. You’ll start in the lobby where you’ll go through security, get your wristbands, sunglasses, and shoe coverings.
Next you’ll take a high speed elevator up to the 91st floor where your experience begins.
The First Floor of SUMMIT (91st FLOOR):
Air: Transcendence
When you arrive on the 91st floor you’ll walk through a colorful hallway before emerging into the Air: Transcendence room. This is a gargantuan room with floor to ceiling windows and mirrored walls, floors, and ceilings.
It can be a bit disorienting when you first walk in, but once your eyes adjust you’ll be delighted by the views. You can see the Empire State Building from these windows, but everyone will be crowding around the windows waiting for a spot. You can certainly wait for a spot to open up to get some cool photos, but MOM TIP: there will be a less crowded version of this spot on the next floor.
This is the room where everyone starts their experience, so naturally it is the most crowded.
Reflect
As I mentioned, this is a one way experience, so spend as long as you would like in Air: Transcendence before moving on to the next room, which is Reflect. Reflect is a smaller room with art installations like Clouds by Yayoi Kusama, which is a series of cloud-like, mirrored sculptures on the floor.
It’s a much quieter room, so if you need a break from the chaos, spend some time here. We walked right through because my kids (ages 11 and 13), didn’t seem interested.
Air: Affinity - The Balloon Room
The Air: Affinity room is one of the most popular spots in SUMMIT One Vanderbilt to post on social media. It’s a room filled with giant silver reflective balloons!
It’s super fun, but also extremely chaotic right when you enter the room. Everyone seems to crowd right by the entrance, so my advice is to move further into the room right away and find a quieter corner to get your pictures and videos.
This is such a fun room for kids, teens, and tweens, so I would recommend spending some time in here letting them play and hang out. Be sure to take lots of pictures and videos, too!
The Second Floor of SUMMIT (92nd Floor):
Transcendence 2
After the balloon room you’ll take an escalator up to the 92nd floor. This is where you’ll find Transcendence 2, which is the same mirrored room as when you first entered the experience, but from a different perspective.
This room was all but empty when we walked in, and I’m assuming it’s because people felt like they got all of the pictures and videos they needed in the first room. But we really took our time here getting photos with the Empire State Building in the background, and didn’t have to wait for a spot at all!
If Air: Transcendence felt overwhelming, just know that you have Transcendence 2 to look forward to which is much calmer and quieter.
Levitation
After you exit Transcendence 2, you’ll enter the Levitation room where you can wait in line to sit in glass boxes extending over Madison Ave.
We waited, and the line only took about 10 minutes at that time. It was a super fun photo opportunity, and we loved zooming in with our camera on the street below while we waited in line.
Once you’re in the glass box, you have 30 seconds to take your own photos and videos, then they’ll take your photo for you, which you can download later.
If you have kids who are afraid of heights, this may not be the experience for them. They can wait in line with you and step off to the side when it’s time to get in the box, or if you have both adults there, one adult can hang back with them.
My kids loved this experience, though, and I would highly recommend it for teens and tweens!
Air: Unity
Air: Unity is a cloud themed room, and we kind of sped through this one because we didn’t really “get” what it was supposed to be. There’s a giant video screen on one of the walls displaying clouds floating past, and I think your photo is supposed to appear in the clouds? But we didn’t see it, so we just kind of skipped it. Maybe I missed something here.
The Third Floor of SUMMIT (93rd Floor):
Après Café
After Air: Unity you finally get to take the shoe coverings off, and you take the escalator up to the last floor. At the top you’ll ind the Apres Café, and it ended up being my favorite part of the experience (though my kids would not agree).
I got a latte and the kids got hot chocolate, and we just sat and enjoyed a view of the city after the crazy multi sensory experience that is SUMMIT One Vanderbilt.
SUMMIT Terrace
After the cafe you can walk outside to the open-air observation area with incredible Manhattan views. This is more like your traditional observation deck in NYC with all of the classic views and none of the crazy immersive art experiences.
You can get more photos here or just enjoy the sounds of the city below.
How Long Does SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Take?
The website says that the experience takes about 90 minutes, and I would agree with that assessment, I would plan for about 2 hours total to experience the entire thing, including a relaxing stop at Apres Cafe afterward.
Tips for Visiting SUMMIT One Vanderbilt with Teens and Tweens
Book tickets ahead of time.
Wear comfortable walking shoes.
Wear shorts or pants because of the mirrored floors.
Give your eyes a minute to adjust when you enter Transcendence.
Look for an Empire State Building photo spot.
Move away from the entrance in the balloon room.
Don't rush through Transcendence 2 - it may be less crowded.
Take a break at Après.
Plan around two hours.
Is SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Worth It?
For families with teens and tweens, yes, I think SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is worth it, particularly if you're only choosing one observation deck in NYC and want something that's an experience in addition to offering great views.
I think this is especially true if you have teens and tweens that want the fun photos and videos of the experience or who enjoy interactive experiences.
If you have kids who are more introverted, they may prefer a more traditional observation deck.
I’ll say that we really enjoyed our experience, and I think my 13-year-old daughter said this was her second-favorite activity of the trip (only after the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway Show!)
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Emily Krause is a Florida-based travel blogger who writes about exploring the world with kids. On A Mom Explores you’ll find best family travel destinations, Disney World tips, and how to make travel with babies and toddlers a little easier.
Emily believes that exploring starts in our own backyards, and adventure can happen anywhere with the right mindset.
