We bought express tickets so a total of $90 for 2 people.. it was a good thing to do cuase when we got there the line was 3 hours wait. Luckely we were able to skip the line and went straight up. Great pictures we took and it was a very romantic place..

You don't need to pay extra to go to the second observation deck. It's not that much better.

I don't know how long the lines are elsewhere, but we went midmorning on Sunday, and it was a 90 minute parade thru corrals. Actually hated it, except the view was very nice. Family of 6 was way over $100, for 20 minutes of fighting people and ornery preteens (mine). Won't do it again.

Massive queue and a long trek up several flights of stairs to see a good view, but not a great view

we went after our evening cruise. there wasnt a line up-the city by night was beautiful with the lights, but hard to identify some of the buildings.

Yes, you wait in line.. a lot, but it's definitely worth it, The feeling that you get when you're on top... priceless.

We drove 2.5 hours to NYC with a small 5th grade class trip. Went to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty earlier in the day, then to the Empire State building in the afternoon (4pm). It took us 1.5 hours just to drive from the Holland Tunnel to ESB. You get nowhere in NYC fast. We had purchased our tickets... More

Massive, a tourist must. The building's marble details inside are beautiful. The extra fee for passage to the 102nd floor seemed silly, and then we got to the top....wow, you're in the clouds and the whole city plus more is in view.

I don't care that this building is no longer even in the top ten tallest buildings. As this article says, the Empire State Building is still the most iconic building in the world, with the best views, and you simply must visit it. http://blog.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/2012/05/the-empire-state-building-forever-the-most-iconic-building-in-the-world/