Times Square Visitors Center

Yesterday my son & I went into the city (NYC) to go to an event for New York Comic-con at and spend some more cash when I stumbled upon the hidden jewel known as t MidTown Comics. It was very cool we wound up winning passes for NYCC which was AWESOME! We were going into Manhattan that evening to see Ghost on Broadway so decided to go earlier and try to score some passes. The event was at noon and ended at 1 PM, Ghost did not start until 7 PM. We had 6 hrs to kill with a small budget to do it on.  I don't know if you have ever been to Times Square but it is two things you need to know.... 1. Extremely crowded  2. EXPENSIVE! not to mention...NO BATHROOMS. It is very hard to find a bathroom in Times Square. We first went to Starbucks and could use the facility w/ a purchase. So we bought a cold brew tea (ewww) I don't recommend the passion fruit tea w/ lemonade. It was weak tasting and not very cold for $3.50 plus tax.  So after the drink had kicked in and needed to use the facilities again we were going to go to McDonald's and spend some more cash when I stumbled upon the hidden jewel know as The Times Square Visitors Center.  I had been to Times Square many many times and had never noticed this before.
     Upon entering you experience the glitzy neon lights that spell out welcome, as you walk down toward the exhibit center you pass beautiful costumes from shows like Evita, Phantom, Joseph & the Technicolor Dreamcoat etc. Then the bathrooms which are very clean! The main room it filled with wonderful FREE things to do as well as a gift shop (fair prices for Times Square) You can take pictures (with your camera) of you with a replica of the New Years Eve ball that is all lit up in multi-color fashion. There is even a very sweet public safety officer who will be more than happy to take the photo for you. There is a starbucks cart for coffee. a broadway show ticket agent there, and the best thing I thought was the newsreel. Every ten minutes they show the history of Times Square from 1904 til present. It was a very unexpected delight  to be treated so nicely by all the employees and a much needed reprieve from the heat and noise of Times Square. It was rejuvenating to sit in the air conditioning and cool down while learning some interesting things about Times Square.
      So......If you find yourself in Times Square and need a break for no cost go and check out The Times Square Visitor Center Entrance is located at 7th Ave between 46th & 47th Streets
They are open 7 days a week from 8am-8pm.