2pm show b4 12/30 8pm JFK flight?

[Terracentric]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 2:06am

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone's seen a matinee show on a Friday before an evening flight. (Update: domestic flight on JetBlue) I'll be in NYC 12/26-12/30 and have tickets to one evening show each of the first 4 days: Dear Evan Hansen, The Humans, Front Page and The Present. I'm thinking of catching a 2pm show on Friday, 12/30, pick up my stored bag at CBH luggage storage and take the subway to JFK at 5pm for an 8pm flight. Another alternative is to see a matinee on Mon, 12/26, or Wed, 12/28. I've never seen two shows in one day so I'm not sure if I'd want to do that. I'm interested in seeing The Color Purple, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Waitress, Something Rotten, or something yet TBA. I'll see Hamilton on tour so I don't think I have to see it in NYC. Any thoughts? Should I just keep my flight day free of shows? Thanks!

Updated On: 9/5/16 at 02:06 AM

[Dave13]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 2:26am

Les Mis final performance was on 9/4, so I doubt you will see in December...As for a 2pm Matinee, and then catch a flight at 8pm from JFK. It can be done as I have done it before. Plan on arriving at JFK 2 hours a head of time, so be there by 6pm. Also, it helps if you are PreCheck to avoid the long lines through security. If you are Precheck, then I would plan on being there 6:30pm-7pm depending on how close you want to push it. I catch a cab to the airport which is about a 45 minute trip to JFK just for the extra piece of mind. 

If you haven't purchased your tickets, I would move The Human's to your Friday matinee. It is 95 minutes, so you can be on your way by about 3:40pm with plenty of time to spare. Front Page is probably shorter than the musicals, so that could be your other option to schedule as your Friday matinee. If not, you should be fine with another show, but you always run the risk of getting stuck in traffic and etc. Good luck. 

 

Updated On: 9/5/16 at 02:26 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 2:34am

Also, be careful to actually check which shows HAVE Friday matinees. Not all the shows you mentioned do. Regarding the matinees on Wednesday and/or Monday (again - check to see if any shows have Monday matinees. Most do not), seeing 2 shows in one day can be tiring, but it's very doable. I've done it tons of times. Just take a breather in between shows, and get coffee if you need. It's also worth mentioning that seeing a show the same day that you fly will also be very tiring - probably more tiring than seeing 2 shows in one day. 

[Justin D]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 10:07am

Id be more concerned with getting to the airport on time, last time I took subway to JFK from that area it tool almost 3 hours.

Then you have to clear security which takes another hour on a good day, and depending on weather your flight is domestic or international, you have to be there by a certain time otherwise they wont let you board.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 10:33am

although there is always the possibility of delays, no matter how you get to the airport, in general it should take 1 hour to get there and I would allow 1 hour to get through security and to the gate etc. (Assuming a domestic flight.) I cannot imagine leaving home earlier than 5 for an 8pm flight so you should be fine.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 10:34am

Seriously?   You just answered your own question.  You've done this routine before.  What are you looking for?  Someone to tell you otherwise?   

[Andy51]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 10:53am

When you factor in time getting out of the theatre after the show, moving through the Times Square crowds to get to your baggage, the wait to get your baggage, the slog through Times Square with your baggage to the subway (or time finding a taxi), even if you get to Kennedy in an hour, that's seriously pushing it for an 8pm flight (assuming you're going to a typical 2hr 45 minute musical).  I would not do it - if you do, you'll probably (rightly) be anxious throughout the show about making your flight.

[Terracentric]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 11:00am

@BrodyFosse123, No I haven't done this routine before. I'm not from New York. I don't know what it's like to go to JFK on a Friday on Dec. 30 when there could be winter or mechanical trouble. That's why I'm asking. (And no, I didn't answer my own question.) I think there are others like me who wish to make the most of our theater trip without missing our flight and sanity. What about you? Have you had an 8pm flight after seeing a matinee?

Updated On: 9/5/16 at 11:00 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 11:11am

I would never do this. There are way too many variables here.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 11:13am

I don't know on earth it could have taken someone 3 hours to get from midtown to JFK. Figure about an hour via subway, a little shorter if you take a taxi or the LIRR from Penn station to Jamaica and the timing works out.

2 hours in advance should be sufficient at JFK. Even if the show you see lets out at 4:45, it's still perfectly simple to make it to JFK by 6. I don't think I have ever left from midtown more than 3 hours before a domestic flight at JFK and I'm still here to tell the tales.

[Tag]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 11:15am

I'd say only do it if you can see a short show/intermissionless show.  You don't want the whole day and experience of seeing a show, clouded with the worry of making the flight on time.

[Anakela]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 11:17am

Domestic or international flight?

if you're only here for four/five days can you travel with a smaller bag, one that you can bag check at the theatre? Skipping that having to travel thru it's almost New Year's Eve Time Square tourists crowds to take the extra step of getting your bag before starting to travel to JFK would be helpful. 

Personally I would take LIRR to AirTran to JFK over taking the subway.  

See a short Fri matinee and I think your plan is totally doable. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 11:39am

I live in the city now but back in the day when I came monthly to NYC to see shows, I took a towncar to the airport if I was seeing a show the same day I was flying out.  Even today as a New Yorker, I don't take the subway.  

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 12:17pm

Terracentric said: "@BrodyFosse123, No I haven't done this routine before. I'm not from New York. I don't know what it's like to go to JFK on a Friday on Dec. 30 when there could be winter or mechanical trouble. That's why I'm asking. (And no, I didn't answer my own question.) I think there are others like me who wish to make the most of our theater trip without missing our flight and sanity. What about you? Have you had an 8pm flight after seeing a matinee?"

No one, here or anywhere, can predict the weather on 12/30/16, or whether the subway will have mechanical trouble. We also cannot predict if you will be hit by a drunk driver enroute to the subway, suffer from food poisoning from your pre-theatre lunch that makes it impossible to fly or whether the flight will be delayed or cancelled. But none of that alters the fact that 3 hours is more than reasonable to get to JFK, and this is coming from someone who has gone to JFK on a Friday afternoon by subway more times than I can count and someone who has traveled on the weekend between Christmas and New Years. I assume, by the way, that you meant what you said, which is that 5PM is accounting for slogging though Times Square to your luggage storage and presenting yourself at the turnstile. BTW, from that luggage place, I'd take the F and transfer to the E in Queens rather than braving the Times Square gauntlet (not to mention the elements) to get to the E. 

[Notreallysilent 2]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 12:31pm

I know you want to maximize as many shows as you can see, but I wouldn't risk it. Obviously it's up to you in the end and what you think, but in the likelihood of you missing the plane I imagine it'll be pretty hard to get another flight since it's during the holidays. I've had some bad traffic going to JFK before during the holidays (Im talking like 2-4 hours from NJ so probably 1-3 hours from midtown). The security check can also get very long. I just wouldn't risk it since as other people have said you'll be thinking about it throughout the show, and that'll ruin your experience. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 2:51pm

Notreallysilent 2 said: "I know you want to maximize as many shows as you can see, but I wouldn't risk it. Obviously it's up to you in the end and what you think, but in the likelihood of you missing the plane I imagine it'll be pretty hard to get another flight since it's during the holidays. I've had some bad traffic going to JFK before during the holidays (Im talking like 2-4 hours from NJ so probably 1-3 hours from midtown). The security check can also get very long. I just wouldn't risk it since as other people have said you'll be thinking about it throughout the show, and that'll ruin your experience. "

I am curious at what time you people are proposing that the OP leave midtown to go to the airport. It really is laughable that anyone would leave before 5 at the earliest. Oh and there is no traffic, bad or otherwise,  on the subway. 

[Andy51]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 3:07pm

HogansHero said: 

I am curious at what time you people are proposing that the OP leave midtown to go to the airport. It really is laughable that anyone would leave before 5 at the earliest. Oh and there is no traffic, bad or otherwise,  on the subway. 

The concerns I raised were grounded in what I take to have been the OPs false assumption that she could be at the subway at 5pm.  I believe all of the shows the OP mentions are 2 1/2 + hours.  And as shows typically start 10 minutes late, she's not likely to get out of the theatre until closer to 5pm.   With all of the other steps required (getting to baggage, waiting for it, getting to the subway, all in Times Square congestion), I think it's pretty clear that it is in fact a risky proposition.

 

"

 

[ArtMan]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 3:28pm

Terracentric,  I normally take the subway to JFK.  Most of the time, it takes at the most 75 to 90 minutes including Air Tran part.  However, last May, I took the subway from Chelsea at 4:30 am for a 8 am flight.  I thought I had plenty of time.  The train stopped for several minutes, twice, for malfunctions, and I lost about 40 minutes.  I finally ran to JetBlue counter and encountered the longest line I have ever seen for just bag drop off.  I was sweating the whole time.  Thankfully, the lines for security was not bad.  I got through and it was 7:20 am.  Remember, I left for the trip at 4:30.  It can be done in a shorter time.  But be prepared that unexpected stuff could happen.  I would pick a short play for that day.  Get TSA precheck, if you can, like someone mentioned.  Carry a small bag so you don't have to check it.  Good Luck.

[Olivia11]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 3:44pm

I did exactly what OP is asking on a Sunday in June, when the schedule had just changed from most shows having 2:00 pm matinees to the summer schedule of 3:00 pm matinees. My flight out of JFK was 7:45 pm.

 

I chose The Color Purple as it was one of the shorter shows, clocking in at 2 hours 15 minutes.  Prior to the show, I shipped my luggage home via FedEx ground (approx $60 because I had been in the City on business, after coming from Miami on business, so I had a large, heavy suitcase). 

 

Between the show starting a few minutes late and time to get out of the theatre (I was on the far side of the orchestra section, furthest from the doors - you might want to consider that in seat selection), I was out on 45th street at 5:40 pm. I walked out towards 8th looking for a taxi, and caught one at approx 5:45 pm or so (basically 2 hours from my flight departure). We hit some traffic and it took approx 65 mins.

 

I ended up with TSA pre-check and no one was in line. I got to my Delta gate at 7:05 for 7:45 pm flight  

 

After all that rushing (and yes, I was continually checking the flight status), my flight was delayed two hours.

 

With a 2:00 pm curtain (vs 3:00 pm), it will be easier but I would still: 1) select a show with shorter running time; 2) ship luggage home -- even coat checking it at the theatre will take precious post-show time; 3) consider exit strategies when selecting seats; and 4) select your method of transport to JFK carefully.

 

FYI, I've landed at JFK many times around 4:00 on a Friday in the past year and been in rush hour traffic going into the City  it has never taken me more than an hour or so.  Your mileage may vary.

 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 5:42pm

Andy51 said: "The concerns I raised were grounded in what I take to have been the OPs false assumption that she could be at the subway at 5pm.  I believe all of the shows the OP mentions are 2 1/2 + hours.  And as shows typically start 10 minutes late, she's not likely to get out of the theatre until closer to 5pm.   With all of the other steps required (getting to baggage, waiting for it, getting to the subway, all in Times Square congestion), I think it's pretty clear that it is in fact a risky proposition."

Respectfully, I think you sound like Chicken Little. Having gone from the Times Square area to JFK literally hundreds of times, and being a risk averse person, I would never leave before 5:30 for an 8:00 flight. All of the intervening chores you mention could not possibly consume 15 minutes so the OP would be under way at worst by 5:15. But feel free to degrade your visit so you can sit in the airport and stare at the cute flight attendants. 
 

 

"

 

[BroadwayBilly]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 6:05pm

Hogan is absolutely right.  I make the trip all the time from TS by subway and the AirTran to the JetBlue Terminal... I always enter the subway 2.5 hours before the flight time... I would avoid the expressway by taxi or town car on a Friday eve....

[Notreallysilent 2]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 6:37pm

If you do end up going this I definitely would reccomend seeing waitress on that day. Both times I went they had a extra long intermission To accommodate for the bathroom line. I think your best bet though will be to do a two show day on Wednesday or Monday. Maybe even do both days a two show day. It's not really that bad doing a two show day you can just rest in your hotel. As I said before I really wouldn't recommend seeing a matinee the day you fly because you never know what will happen day of. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 9:14pm

Notreallysilent 2 said: "If you do end up going this I definitely would reccomend seeing waitress on that day. Both times I went they had a extra long intermission To accommodate for the bathroom line. I think your best bet though will be to do a two show day on Wednesday or Monday. Maybe even do both days a two show day. It's not really that bad doing a two show day you can just rest in your hotel. As I said before I really wouldn't recommend seeing a matinee the day you fly because you never know what will happen day of. "

You are not focusing Chicken Little: there is no reason to go to the airport by train before 5:30 for a domestic flight. 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 9:34pm

HogansHero said: "there is no reason to go to the airport by train before 5:30 for a domestic flight. "

There is a reason, but only one: lounge access.

[Andy51]

Posted: 9/5/16 at 9:53pm

HogansHero said: 

"Respectfully, I think you sound like Chicken Little."

"You are not focusing Chicken Little: there is no reason to go to the airport by train before 5:30 for a domestic flight."

I'm happy to defer to your recommendation, given your considerable experience with this.  However, it would be nice if your grasp of the concept of respect matched your mastery of airport commutes. 

 

 

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