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Madame Tussauds New York Wax Museum

By , About.com Guide

Madame Tussauds New York Wax Museum

Madame Tussauds New York

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About Madame Tussauds New York:

Children and celebrity fans will enjoy the surprisingly realistic wax figures at Madame Tussauds New York. From Tony Bennett and Shakira to Benjamin Franklin and Marie Antoinette, Madame Tussauds offers visitors a chance to "meet" historical figures, as well as today's hottest stars. For over 200 years, Madame Tussauds has been creating life-like wax figures and Madame Tussauds New York has been entertaining guests since 2000.

Interactive Experiences at Madame Tussauds New York:

Guests are encouraged to touch, pose with and even talk to the various celebrities and historical figures throughout Madame Tussauds. Some of the interactive experiences for guests include:
  • have a makeover and walk the red carpet with Jennifer Aniston
  • make music with Usher
  • whisper in Jennifer Lopez's ear and make her blush
  • sing alongside American Idol stars
  • ride along Lance Armstrong in a Tour de France time trial

Madame Tussauds New York Details:

Address: 234 West 42nd Street (7th & 8th Avenues)
Phone: 866-841-3505
Subways: A/C/E, 7, S, 1/2/3 to Times Square/42nd Street
Hours: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily; last ticket sold at 10 p.m.
Official Website: http://www.nycwax.com

Madame Tussauds New York Admission Price:

How Long Should I Plan To Visit Madame Tussauds?:

In order to avoid feeling rushed and enjoy the interactive activities at Madame Tussauds New York, visitors should allow 1.5-2 hours for their visit.

More About Madame Tussauds:

From the first moments of entering the Opening Night Gallery, I was surprised by how life-like the wax figures were. Out of the corner of my eye, I would catch someone "watching" me, only to discover it was another wax figure with it's eyes directed at some far-off target. Visitors posed with the various figures, whether they wanted their photo shot with Madonna or wanted to try to make Jennifer Lopez blush by whispering in her ear, guests were encouraged to interact and even embrace the figures -- quite unlike most museum's "please do not touch" policies. In fact, the museum encourages interaction, despite the expense and effort required to maintain the attractions -- including washing the hair(yes, they have real human hair!) and clothes of the figures.

In addition to circulating among the rich and famous in the various galleries, Madame Tussauds offers a number of interactive exhibits, from music mixing with Usher to having a makeover and walking down the red carpet with Jennifer Aniston. These are great fun for older children, as well as adults, and successfully separate Madame Tussauds from most stuffy museum experiences.

This is a great attraction for families, as well as celebrity-junkies. It's a great choice if you're looking for a rainy-day activity, want to escape the heat or cold, or are looking for a night-time attraction to check out -- since they're open until 10 p.m. it can be a good post-dinner choice for the whole family.

Madame Tussauds tends to be the least crowded on Mondays and Tuesdays in the morning/early afternoon, and is predictably the busiest on weekends (though mid-week school groups are a big portion of their visitors). Despite the line winding out front, the wait to buy a ticket and enter the museum tends to be less than 10 minutes, even when it's quite busy.

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