This seasonal ice skating rink in Central Park boasts a panoramic view of the city skyline.
At a glance
#9 of 10 Sports complexes in New York #6 of 8 Ice skating rinks in New YorkLocalGuideWorld score: 4.30
Rating breakdown
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5 ★59%
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4 ★24%
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3 ★8%
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2 ★3%
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1 ★6%
What reviewers talk about
Share of 16 recent reviews that mention each topic.
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Waiting & crowds63%
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Price & value31%
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View25%
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Location19%
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Service & staff19%
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Atmosphere19%
Quick facts
- What is the rating of Wollman Rink?
- Wollman Rink is rated 4.3 out of 5 based on 1,158 reviews.
- How does Wollman Rink rank in New York?
- Wollman Rink is #9 of 10 Sports complexes in New York by LocalGuideWorld score (rating weighted by number of reviews).
- Where is Wollman Rink located?
- 830 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065, United States — 0.8 km from the center of New York.
- What do visitors mention most about Wollman Rink?
- Most often: waiting & crowds, price & value, view (from 16 recent reviews).
- How can I contact Wollman Rink?
- Website: wollmanrinknyc.com
Best rink in NYC. I skate here in the winter with the academy. The rink is always really clean, the view is amazing. The photos attached are pictures I took for my school newspaper.
Wollman Rink is another special area in NYC to visit both in the summer or during winter, especially if you have little kids, particularly in the summertime, as they set up a small amusement park over the rink. During the winter, you get the most amazing backdrop while ice skating in Central Park. It really is an awesome experience!
Extremely popular ice skating rink that I enjoy going to every year to have fun with family and people all alike from around the city. In peak season lines are long but it moves down relatively fast and it’s worth it once you’re in. In low season there’s less of a wait and you can still have a lot of fun with the really big ice rink.
Great music! If you go on the weekend the evening session is less crowded but still a little packed. Wish they had a systen or slots/ schedules for skating time because everything was backed up leading to no lockers, crowding, etc. Nice views of buildings
Visiting during the holidays? Make sure you plan ahead and bring your patience - you'll need it.
This was my first time visiting this ice rink. (I attempted to get tickets for the Rockefeller Rink. One for me and partner, but people begin to book that one months in advance! It's smaller anyway.)
Definitely purchase your timed tickets online and expect to wait a little bit in line EVEN if you have a timed ticket. If your ticket is for 3:00pm, I recommend being there at 2:00pm. They will have lockers once you're in there which are $7. It will be a bit difficult to find one if it's packed, so a nice young lady was kind enough to give us the heads up that she was done with hers. Use your phone for the lockers, it'll be easier.
Other then that, nothing to it. It's a great time. Again, patience is key!
This was my first time visiting this ice rink. (I attempted to get tickets for the Rockefeller Rink. One for me and partner, but people begin to book that one months in advance! It's smaller anyway.)
Definitely purchase your timed tickets online and expect to wait a little bit in line EVEN if you have a timed ticket. If your ticket is for 3:00pm, I recommend being there at 2:00pm. They will have lockers once you're in there which are $7. It will be a bit difficult to find one if it's packed, so a nice young lady was kind enough to give us the heads up that she was done with hers. Use your phone for the lockers, it'll be easier.
Other then that, nothing to it. It's a great time. Again, patience is key!
I enjoyed skating here very much, I came during the week of Christmas so it was crowded but that was expected. Book tickets ahead if your gonna skate during the holidays, there was a long line.) The tickets were kind of pricey but reasonable for holiday tickets. Lockers weren’t expensive and getting my skates didn’t take long. Overall good place to go skating:)
I think this falls under tourist trap.
First, its not cheap! 45$ for a moment on the ice. They also completely overbook the thing. We had a reservation for 19h and arrived at 6h20 to see à HUGE row of people waiting. I'm talking about multiple hundreds. We could see many people resigning and just leaving after a while. (No refunds... obviously). We got on the ice at 19h45 after 1h25 of wait time. The ice surface is also quite small. The other important things is to expect MOST people to do ice skating for the first time. It is very dangerous ! Be carefull, people falling, and holding on to whatever they see... not fun. Do not expect to go there and do smooth circles, its a jungle and you have to stay focus to dodge any incoming threath. Being from Québec, I am good on ice skates, but i had multiple collisions during the hour over there.
We had fun skating but man... it comes with a lot of negatives.
First, its not cheap! 45$ for a moment on the ice. They also completely overbook the thing. We had a reservation for 19h and arrived at 6h20 to see à HUGE row of people waiting. I'm talking about multiple hundreds. We could see many people resigning and just leaving after a while. (No refunds... obviously). We got on the ice at 19h45 after 1h25 of wait time. The ice surface is also quite small. The other important things is to expect MOST people to do ice skating for the first time. It is very dangerous ! Be carefull, people falling, and holding on to whatever they see... not fun. Do not expect to go there and do smooth circles, its a jungle and you have to stay focus to dodge any incoming threath. Being from Québec, I am good on ice skates, but i had multiple collisions during the hour over there.
We had fun skating but man... it comes with a lot of negatives.
Totally mismanaged! The site allows you to prepay for a certain time. However, when you get to the rink, you will STILL be in a long line to get in! I had visitors from out of town - are they supposed to spend the few hours they have in NYC in line? So, I allowed them to play in Central Park while I waited in line. Then we got yelled at for doing that!
After finally waiting for so long and getting admonished, we waited for another 30 minutes for the Zamboni. Nobody left, so it was getting even more crowded! I heard there was a long line inside for skate rentals. The kids were spent, everyone was losing their patience, and it looked like we were in for more aggravation.
I should mention that this was between Christmas and New Years, which is peak time. Still, Wollman Rink should not have allowed all these tickets to be bought knowing it would be overcrowded! All the other rinks are completely booked, but I'm sure the people there are having a better experience.
We ended up bagging it, after waiting so long for the Zamboni. We never got inside, but they scanned our tickets, so I'm out $305!
Never going to Wollman again.
After finally waiting for so long and getting admonished, we waited for another 30 minutes for the Zamboni. Nobody left, so it was getting even more crowded! I heard there was a long line inside for skate rentals. The kids were spent, everyone was losing their patience, and it looked like we were in for more aggravation.
I should mention that this was between Christmas and New Years, which is peak time. Still, Wollman Rink should not have allowed all these tickets to be bought knowing it would be overcrowded! All the other rinks are completely booked, but I'm sure the people there are having a better experience.
We ended up bagging it, after waiting so long for the Zamboni. We never got inside, but they scanned our tickets, so I'm out $305!
Never going to Wollman again.
We went ice skating at the Wollman rink in Central Park on Christmas Day 2022. Although we did really enjoy, and it's a much bigger rink than that outside the Rockefeller centre (also cheaper), it was a bit chaotic getting inside and collecting pre-booked skates and then finding a locker to store shoes etc. Arguably it was probably also a little too busy, but hey, it was Christmas Day in Central Park! Lockers cost 7 dollars and it can be a bit tricky trying to find an empty one when it's busy, especially when trudging around in your skates! Worth noting, they clear the rink every couple of hours for 30 minutes or so to recut / smooth the ice...
really cool place to skate after dark. looked amazing with all the skyscrapers lit up around you. I found it bad tho that a member of staff was walking down the que before you got in saying she could get you straight in for cash and avoid queuing. the guy behind us paid her $50 to skip the que.
Summer is for disco skating! This is going on until October! Not sure if this is going to be an annual thing, but I sure hope so!
Great place to visit year round. Winter they have ice skating, summer they have rollerblading and great nightly “events or themes” with extremely well done lighting and music. Perfect place to go with friends, dates, kids or yourself for some laidback fun. It’s usually pretty packed but not overly concentrated where you can’t move. Employees working in every area are extremely friendly and helpful wanting to make sure you and guests have a good time. Highly recommend
If I could give them zero. I would. Booked over $200 a Christmas Day outing with my kids. Got to the rink…. 2 hour wait. Line up all the same for people with tickets and without. Until the ticket booth. Way over safe capacity. Ended up leaving at food in the oven. No refund and I’ve emailed them many times. Do not waste your money. Go to Bryant Park. Way better run. Have done the same thing many years and no problems.
Whenever I come to NYC in winters, I make sure I’ll come to skate here once a while. However it got very crowded due to Christmas & NewYear, so it’s better to pick date n time accordingly if you want to skate peacefully, or else enjoy w the crowd.
I highly recommend to come earlier than 2pm. Also make sure to buy tickets online because the line for tickets is huge!! Other than that, I definitely had a great time skating at this park with my kids. The views are stunning! The food inside is delicious, but they ask for the vaccine and PCR test so make sure to bring that with you :)🌇💫
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