The Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project is a hugely ambitious and stunning project that has transformed a huge wasted chunk of Manhattan Real Estate into an ultra-modern state-of-the-art business, retail, and entertainment complex. The Center Piece of this complex is 30 Hudson Yards, the Sixth Tallest building in the City. Atop this is the cherry on top of the whole Development, The Edge: New Yorks Newest, and Highest Observation Deck.
We take a look at the latest way to get up and above everything in New York and find out if Edge is worth your time with so many other, more iconic observation decks in the City, Is the Edge any good, are the “Gimmicks” worth it and should you spend your money and time here or stick with the more vanilla Observation Deck experience. Find out EVERYTHING you need to know about the Edge Observation Deck
- Height: 100th Floor – 1,131 Feet – Tallest Outdoor Deck in the Western Hemisphere
- Cost: Adults: $42 – Child $36 – Senior $39
- Location: New, Hudson Yards Development MAP
- Prominent Landmarks: All Of Manhattan!
- Indoor or out: Both
*all Prices include Taxes and Fees
What is The Edge?
The Edge is an All-new Observation deck for New York City. This mind-blowing feat of engineering sees the deck actually stick out of the side of the colossal 30 Hudson Yards Tower. Positioned hair-raisingingly on the 100th floor some 1132 feet above the streets the Observation deck is the Highest Open Air Deck in the Northern Hemisphere (The One World Observatory and 102nd floor Empire state building are both higher but both enclosed).
The Triangle Shaped deck is surrounded by glass giving the impression of being fully exposed to the incredible heights and views all around. There is a Glass Floor, the Eastern Point where you can be alone with the skyline, Angled glass, and a Champagne Bar.
It all points to being an incredible, high-tech, and mind-blowing experience offering potentially the BEST views in the City, there are drawbacks however and we are still to be convinced this will be able to beat the Empire State and the Top Of The Rock.
Hudson Yards Development
Manhattan is one of the most highly contested real estate spaces in the world. Every Square foot is worth nearly $2000. Any wasted real estate is literally losing billions of dollars. So when checking the maps for real estate space, a huge area of land (over 26 Acres) right by the Hudson River was being used to store empty railway carriages!
This clearly a really poor use of such a huge piece of prime real estate but the Metropolitan Transport Authority was completely unwilling to give up the space as the Storage of the Long Island Railway Carriages was necessary. This was not to stop the canny real estate investors however and a $25billion dollar project was launched to erect a giant platform above the yards and build onto that!
The Project was not going to be Subtle with 5 huge skyscrapers, including 3 of the 25 tallest buildings in the City and the huge 30 Hudson Yards, the sixth Tallest Building in New York upon which the Edge resides.
As well as these there is the humongous 7-story Mall, the Shedd, and the Vessel along with extensive Greenspace. It is a phenomenal redevelopment and has quickly become a Must-See in any New York itinerary. The Highlight of which is the Edge.
30 Hudson Yards
30 Hudson Yards is the Sixth Tallest Buiding in Manhattan. The Tower forms the highest part of the new Hudson Developments Supercluster of buildings rising high out of a sea of fairly (by New York standards) low-rise buildings. The Cluster adds a further lift to an already constantly rising Skyline. The big exception to this is the terribly placed 1 Manhattan West!
When does the Edge Open?
Tickets are available now. The Edge opened in 2020 after a delayed start due to the pandemic but is now up and running. The limited numbers actually make the experience a little better.
How to Get Edge Tickets
There are two main tickets available, a Timed Ticket or a Flex Anytime Ticket. The Timed slots are 1 Hour arrival time slots and a Flex Pass means you can arrive anytime on a given day. Whichever Ticket you choose, once up there you are free to stay as long as you like.
Buy Tickets Direct from Tiqets.com
- Adults – $36 Timed – $56 Flex
- Child – $31 Timed – $51 Flex
- Seniors – $34 Timed – $54 Flex
For Over 21’s there is also Champagne Admission, this is a regular Flex Ticket with a Glass of Champagne to sip during your visit. At $16 a glass we have drunk more expensive champagne in New York, but it’s not cheap.
- Adults – $52
- Seniors – $50
Premium Admission – Flex Admission with a Glass of Champagne and a personalized Photobook. Really we think this is pretty expensive at nearly 3 times the price of the Timed Entry and in the world of Smartphones and Selfies do you really need a photo book?
- Adults – $90
- Seniors – $88
As it stands unless you are hideously disorganized, we definitely think the Timed entry is the best bet. $36 is not too much considering the incredible views you are getting. Then you can simply decide if you want to add a $16 glass of champagne on, but even if not, the Champagne Bar is open to everyone, and while the Menu has not been released yet we imagine a glass will be about the same $16 it will be pre-booked. Also, there are cocktails and other drinks available so it might be worth just bagging admission and paying as you go with drinks.
Attraction Passes
If you want to Save Even more while Visiting the Edge and New york then an attraction Pass might be a great option. There are several available in New York and most of them include the Edge now. So check out our Comparison Page for the best Pass for your trip.
Missed Slots?
The Policy regarding Missed Time slots is a little concerning. They state if you miss your slot then the team may be able to re-book you for a different time slot. This is a bit vague and seems to suggest you may lose your visit. We think, in reality, this will work similarly to the Top Of The Rock where all timed slots can simply be rearranged, but we are not sure and will have to wait and see what happens. We suspect the Edge feels the same and is kind of waiting to see how many people turn up late for the slots!
Inclement Weather
We are not too keen on their Bad Weather Policy. As there is an indoor and outdoor deck, even in poor weather they do not shut the viewing deck. Only in really bad weather will you be offered a refund or exchange, by which we assume serious storms, not just a bit iffy. The big risk here is high winds and low clouds. If it’s windy you will still be allowed up, but the outdoor deck will be closed, which will be very disappointing. And in low cloud, a fairly regular occurrence in New York, you might as well not bother as any view will be completely obscured.
With the Top Of the Rock and Empire State Building, this is not usually an issue. With the Top Of the Rock, you can Rearrange your ticket, and the Empire State you get the full day to use it (If Pre-Booked) so it normally improves at some point during the day.
Edge Experience
The whole experience is really unlike any other observation deck in New York. The whole deck has been designed from concept to blow the competition out the water, but are the gimmicks enough to seal the deal, and is the view better or worse than the current offering?
Journey to the Top
The Edge team is keen to make you aware the experience is far more than just the deck, and the whole journey is an experience in itself. The High-Speed elevators whisk you up the 100floors in under 60 seconds and there are exhibits and displays in the enclosed observations deck that provide 360 Degree Views of the City.
Champagne Bar
We love the fact they have added an indoor Champagne bar, the lack of a toast has always been a downside to the other decks and we love the sophistication of having a glass of bubbles as we enjoy the staggering views.
The Deck
The star of the show is always going to be the outdoor deck. The highest anywhere in the western hemisphere and actually jutting out over the city giving a real sense of exposure.
Angled Glass
The Glass walls are all angles outwards. Only by a few degrees, but is enough you can lean up against them and get the most terrifying view 1000ft down to the street below, angle it right and you get the ultimate death-defying selfie, but in reality, it’s 100% safe!
The Eastern Point
The Whole deck is wedge-shaped and as it juts out over the skyline it naturally comes to a point, here you have nothing but thin glass and Air on either side of you, and the feeling you are flying over the City, expect to have your heart in your mouth and the Titanic theme tune in your head as you are completely alone high above the Manhattan skyline!
The Edge is a highly desirable part of the deck and it is not going to work as a free for all so there will be a Queue system in place for you to wait your turn for a few moments on top of the city. Reports are coming in that at busy times this can be upwards of two hours!
Glass Floor
Another cool feature is the Glass floor portion. This small Triangular portion of the deck is made from glass and allows you to step out over the 1000ft drop below. It’s one of these things that you know is perfectly safe but that primitive part of your brain is just not so sure, it’s exhilarating, to say the least!
Skyline Steps
The Steps are the connection between the upper-level viewing deck and the Main Outdoor deck. A staircase is not the most obvious attraction but from here you get up above the glass partition and find a full and unobstructed view of the city, A must for the photographers!
The View
All the Gimmicks in the world are pretty futile unless the view is worth seeing. This is the letdown of the One World Observatory and the Coup De Gras of the Top Of the Rock. The View from the Edge is nothing short of spectacular. The Whole City Skyline is visible from Central Park to the left through Midtown, right to downtown, and the Hudson Bay, with the Statue of Liberty in the distance. Everything that is New York visible from one single vantage point, almost…
Overall
This could have been by far and away, the best observation deck in New York, everything about it is a plus, its higher, more fun, has a bar, stunning views across the city, everything, but, as we have alluded to, there is just one huge stinking great let-down that almost ruins the experience…
1 Manhattan West!
Who the $$$$ put that there!!!
Seriously, what were they thinking? Right Smack bang in the middle of the view is the sodding great lump that is 1 Manhattan West. This all but obscures the view of the Empire State Building (only the most iconic building in the world), breaks up the panoramic view, and completely spoils the experience.
You can even see from all the Promotional photos and videos, they completely cut out the 1 Manhattan West Tower with clever angles and crops. It is a tragedy, without it, the view would have been mindblowing, the Eastern point would have felt like a helicopter flight up the Hudson, the whole skyline in one glorious panorama.
With it, you just feel like you are looking at a building! Everything that makes the Top of the Rock so great, when really it is a sub-par experience, way down on the 70th floor, has been ignored by the Edge planners. In Altitude, Prominence is everything, and 1 Manhattan West just kills the Edge’s Prominence.
This could have been the Best Deck in the City, but this one factor kills it. And we will stick to the Rock and Empire State…That said the Champagne bar definitely shoots up our Best Rooftop Bars in New York List!
Other Observations Decks
There is no shortage of other options in New York so if the Edge is not your cup of tea consider the other options!
Empire State Building
The Original and Still the best. There is just something so utterly iconic about the Experience everyone heading to New York should go up. You just haven’t seen New York until you have seen it from up here.
Top Of The Rock
Inferior to every deck in every way, except one. And that one thing makes it king. The view is just unparalleled in the City (well with your feet still on the ground). The staggering all-around view makes it technically the best in the City, but there is just that legendary feeling of the Empire State that won’t go away.
One World Observatory
Well, at least the Edge stays off the bottom rung. The fully enclosed nature of the One World observatory just makes it feel sterile. Yes, it is the highest accessible point in the city but you just feel like you are in an office block. It just isn’t quite there and we skip it every time.
Have Your Say?
Are you looking forward to the New Observation Deck? Let us know in the comments below. Are you planning on some bubbles at the top or just heading up to take in the view? If you have already been up? How bad was the view impaired by 1 Manhattan West? was it a complete letdown or just a mild eyesore? Let us know in the comments below and also fire away if you have any questions.
What does the personalized hand book consist of ? Someone taking a professional picture ?
Hi,
Yeah don’t expect too much from the Photobook, it tends just to be a single photo (Taken at the Edge corner) in a cardboard Cover. It’s a nice touch but you will take SO many photos up there it’s not the be-all and end-all.
Steve
I paid $38 for this place and waited in line for about 2 hours. Yet I was still unable to get the photos I wanted. I don’t know whether it was because we were a group of 8 or because my other 7 friends were hijabis but this place treated us terribly. We waited in line for so long and not even 2 minutes in a staff member came up to us with the worst attitude telling us to stop holding up the line and to leave. After her rude behavior people behind us started clapping and telling us to leave. Although people were being rude I don’t blame them but I do blame the terrible staff this place has because if you’re waiting in line in the back clueless about how long we’ve also waited or how big of a group we are you could easily assume we’re holding up the line. Their manager didn’t do anything either, she acted like she cared even though we could tell she didn’t care. If they really cared about the amount of time people are taking they would manage it better by putting a photographer there to take everyones pictures or place a security guard to time each and every person. Btw I forgot to mention that in total we only took up 10 minutes which is sad considering the amount of wait time and money we spent at this terrible place. The view wasn’t even as nice as people make it seem and tbh it really isn’t worth it. There are so many better places in nyc that aren’t as poorly managed as this place so I really would recommend that people think twice before they waste their money and time at this place. Also if you buy your tickets online you have to download the ticket from your email because they were annoying about that as well. I was very disappointed because on the phone they were very kind but once we got there for some reason the staff acted like we owed them something. Like I paid money to be here and to take pictures I deserve to take good pictures considering the amount of time I had to wait. Ohh and I almost forgot to mention that someone proposed at the edge and they didn’t say anything even though they took up so much time and there was a different girl in a green dress that kept coming back and cutting people to take her pictures and they didn’t yell at her but for some reason they assumed they had the right to rudely yell at us. Honestly not worth your time or money. Very disappointing experience.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your experience, seems really disappointing for you. We assume the 2 Hours queue was for the Eastern Point?
We can defiantly see how for people behind seeing one group take 10 mins just for themselves may be frustrating but if you were 4 groups of 2 taking 2-3 mins each it’s understandable, so as you say, It’s down to the staff to understand the composition of groups and adjust accordingly. Still, you did have a full 10mins for your group which is a fair amount of time! But there is never a need to be rude in asking you to move along.
We were always concerned about how this very limited viewpoint would operate under really busy conditions, so thanks for sharing your experience.
Steve