Originally Posted by
michellemck99
Since you have a four year old with you, and since you have concerns about the mobility of the older folks in your group, you might consider a visit to a playground in Central Park. I was in Manhattan over Memorial Day with my two year old toddler and my seventy year old inlaws...we took the 6 subway to 96th street, got pizza at Zorbas near the corner of 93rd and Lexington, and then walked over to the 96th Street playground (just inside Central Park at 96th Street on the East Side). We hung out and ate New York pizza, my kid got to run around a toddler-sized play structure (and later run through the fountains), and we all had fun.
I found the location and description of the playground within Frommer's kid-oriented travel guide.
There are lots of great things to do in Central Park. Rather than go all the way to the park at 96th Street, there's a much nicer playground (the Heckscher Playground) just inside the 7th Avenue entrance to the park. It also is walking distance to the Carousel, the Zoo (including the Childrens Zoo) and the amusement park that operates in Wollman Rink in the summer. Details at
www.centralpark.org.