You know what’s frustrating?
Paying full price for something, only to find out you could’ve booked the exact same thing for less.
You know what’s even more frustrating?
Realizing you bought the wrong ticket because two experiences sounded almost identical.
When you’re planning a trip to New York City, where you can spend an alarming amount of money before you’ve even had lunch, those details matter.
That’s exactly why I started comparing ticket prices for One Times Square.
If you haven’t heard about it yet, One Times Square is home to the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop. And now, visitors can actually go inside the building for interactive experiences and access to a 360-degree observation deck overlooking Times Square.
Pretty damn cool, right?
Here’s where things get a little confusing.
There are different ticket options, different attractions included with each, and different prices depending on where you book.
When I compared prices for two adults, I found three different checkout totals for the exact same Times Travel Experience:
- Official One Times Square website: $95.80
- Travel Advantage Elite: $83.00
- GOVX: $71.86
That’s a $23.94 difference for the same experience, simply by changing where I booked.
From the official One Times Square website at full price
From my travel savings club website
The official One Times Square website with the 25% GOVX discount applied
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Before we get into how I saved the money, let’s talk about the tickets themselves.
One Times Square: Times Travel Experience vs. Skywalk
This is the first thing you need to understand before buying tickets.
One Times Square offers two different ways to experience the attraction, and they are not interchangeable.
One includes the interactive time-travel attractions AND the observation deck.
The other focuses solely on the observation deck.
Here’s the difference.
Times Travel Experience: The Full Experience
This is the ticket I purchased.
The Times Travel Experience combines interactive attractions that take you through different periods of New York City’s history with access to the observation deck.
The experience includes:
- The Times Machine glass elevator
- A virtual journey aboard a 1930s airship
- An interactive time-traveling taxi
- A journey back to Times Square in 1903
- Access to the 360-degree Skywalk observation deck
I have to tell you…I’m glad I chose this one.
There’s a lot more to it than simply riding an elevator to the top of a building.
You get the interactive attractions, the history, the immersive experiences, and then the observation deck.
When I checked the official website for our October 12, 2026 visit, tickets were $44 per adult.
For two adults, that came to $88 before tax and $95.80 at checkout.
That’s not what I ended up paying.
More on that in a minute.
Skywalk Only: For People Who Just Want the Views
Now, if your main goal is to get above Times Square and enjoy the views, you don’t necessarily need the full Times Travel Experience.
There’s a less expensive Skywalk-only ticket.
That option includes:
- A glass elevator ride
- Access to the 360-degree observation deck
- The glass walkway overlooking Times Square, 19 floors above the street
- An optional Crystal Gift add-on
What it doesn’t include is the full interactive time-travel experience.
It also doesn’t include access to the New Year’s Eve Ball.
When I checked, the Skywalk-only ticket was advertised at $25 per person, plus a $5 booking fee per ticket.
Here’s what the checkout looked like for two adults:
| Charge | Total |
|---|---|
| Two tickets and booking fees | $60.00 |
| Sales tax | $5.32 |
| Final total | $65.32 |
That’s $30.48 less than the official website’s full Times Travel Experience total.
Remember, you’re not comparing identical tickets.
You’re paying less because you’re getting a different experience.
If you’re only interested in the observation deck, the Skywalk ticket may be exactly what you need, but if you want the interactive attractions too, you’ll want the full Times Travel Experience.
Personally, I’m glad I went with the full experience.
If you’re curious about what those attractions are actually like, I walk through our entire visit in my post linked below.
Read: Is One Times Square Worth Visiting? My Honest Review of the New NYC Attraction.
One Times Square Ticket Price Comparison: Where Was It Cheapest?
Once I knew which ticket I wanted, I started comparing prices.
I checked three different booking options for the same Times Travel Experience, for two adults, on October 12, 2026.
Here’s what I found.
| Booking option | Total for two adults | Savings vs. official website |
|---|---|---|
| Official One Times Square website | $95.80 | — |
| Travel Advantage Elite | $83.00 | $12.80 |
| GOVX | $71.86 | $23.94 |
Same attraction.
Same ticket type.
Same date.
Three different totals.
That’s why I always compare before booking.
Booking Directly Through One Times Square
The official website listed the Times Travel Experience at $44 per adult.
For two people, that was:
| Charge | Total |
|---|---|
| Two adult tickets | $88.00 |
| Sales tax | $7.80 |
| Final total | $95.80 |
There’s nothing wrong with booking directly, but I wanted to know whether that was my best option.
In this case, it wasn’t.
Booking Through Travel Advantage Elite
Next, I checked Travel Advantage.
If you’re familiar with my blog, you already know I use Travel Advantage as one of my travel-booking platforms.
It’s a paid travel membership that gives members access to travel pricing and additional benefits, and I love checking it when I’m planning trips because I never know what I’m going to find.
For the same Times Travel Experience, the Elite member price came to $83.00 for two adults.
That’s $12.80 less than booking directly through the attraction’s website.
Not a life-changing amount of money, but $12.80 is still $12.80 and I would earn travel credits from booking on the platform. Travel credits are like a Kohl’s cash back situation.
If I’m booking several attractions during a trip, those differences are worth knowing about.
Plus, the membership isn’t limited to attraction tickets. I also use it to research hotels, cruises, excursions, and other travel options.
If you’re curious about how the membership works, I explain the platform, pricing, loyalty points, and additional benefits in my post below.
Read: The Travel Membership, Explained
For this particular One Times Square booking, I had one more place to check, and I’m glad I did.
How I Saved $23.94 Using GOVX
Being a military spouse, I was eligible to check GOVX for discounted tickets.
If you’re unfamiliar with GOVX, it’s a platform offering eligible military, first-responder, and other qualifying communities access to discounted products and experiences.
If you’re eligible, definitely sign up for an account. You’ll need to complete the required verification process before you’re approved, but this isn’t the first time GOVX came in clutch with a discount.
$71.86 for two adults.
Here’s the breakdown from my checkout:
| Charge | Total |
|---|---|
| Two tickets at $33.01 each | $66.02 |
| Sales tax | $5.84 |
| Mobile ticket delivery | Free |
| Final total | $71.86 |
Compared with the official website’s $95.80 total, I saved $23.94.
Compared with the $83.00 Travel Advantage member price, GOVX was another $11.14 cheaper.
So guess which one I booked?
Exactly.
GOVX won this round.
The One Times Square website also advertised a 25% GOVX-related discount when I researched the attraction, although the exact eligible ticket types and promotional conditions should be confirmed before booking.
What If You Don’t Qualify for GOVX?
This is where I want to point something out.
Just because GOVX was the cheapest option for me doesn’t mean this article is only useful if you qualify for a military or first-responder discount.
The bigger lesson is that different booking platforms can offer different prices for the same attraction.
In my comparison, Travel Advantage Elite was still $12.80 less than the official website.
That’s a real difference for the same ticket, and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy having access to the membership.
I can check pricing through a platform I already use before assuming the public price is my only option.
Of course, Travel Advantage is a paid membership with its own costs and benefits. I wouldn’t evaluate the entire membership based on one attraction ticket, but I do think this comparison demonstrates something worth knowing.
If you’re already a member, check your platform.
If you’re eligible for GOVX, check that too.
If neither applies to you, there may still be other promotions or booking options worth comparing.
Price comparisons ran between the official One Times Square website and Travel Advantage on October 11, 2026 at 2:36 PM.
Another Discount Worth Knowing About
When I rechecked the official One Times Square website on October 29, 2026, I noticed another offer.
A New York City residents discount.
At the time, eligible NYC residents could receive $5 off a Skywalk ticket using a New York City billing address.
New York City residents. Not everyone who lives in New York State.
It’s also a different offer from the GOVX discount I used.
So if you live in NYC, that may be another option worth checking.
Just make sure the discount still exists and that you meet the current eligibility requirements before purchasing.
Five Things I’d Check Before Buying One Times Square Tickets
If you’re planning to visit, here’s what I’d recommend doing before you hit the purchase button.
1. Decide Which Experience You Want
This is the biggest one.
Do you only want the observation deck, or do you want the full interactive Times Travel Experience?
Those are two different tickets.
I would hate for someone to buy the cheaper option thinking they’re getting all the immersive attractions, only to find out they’re not included.
2. Compare the Final Checkout Price
Don’t stop at the advertised ticket price.
Taxes and booking fees can change the final total.
The Skywalk-only ticket, for example, was advertised at $25 per person.
After booking fees and tax, the total for two adults was $65.32.
That’s why I compare the amount I’d actually pay at checkout and not just the number that initially caught my attention.
3. Check Discounts You’re Eligible For
GOVX saved me $23.94 on this booking.
That doesn’t mean it’s the only possible discount.
Check the attraction’s website for current promotions, see whether your existing memberships offer a different price, and look into any discounts you’re eligible to use.
Just make sure you’re comparing the same ticket.
4. Pay Attention to Your Date and Time
Our visit was Monday, October 12, 2026, at 7:30 PM.
We’d had dinner at the Blue Box Cafe beforehand, so the timing worked well with the rest of our evening.
Seeing Times Square illuminated at night was part of the appeal for me.
When you’re planning a trip with multiple reservations, make sure you leave enough time to get from one place to another.
Especially in New York City.
5. Read the Ticket Policies
When I researched the Times Travel Experience, the tickets were listed as non-refundable.
The official booking information also indicated that children five and under were admitted free and that orders could include one to nine tickets.
Those are details worth checking before you pay.
Policies, pricing, and availability can change, so always confirm the current terms for your specific reservation.
Is One Times Square Actually Worth Visiting?
Okay, so we’ve established that you don’t necessarily have to pay the first price you see for One Times Square tickets.
Here’s the other question.
Is the experience actually worth your time?
Saving money on something that ends up being disappointing isn’t exactly a win either.
Well, we did the full Times Travel Experience, and let me tell you.
It was fucking cool.
I’m talking interactive time travel, a simulated New York City taxi ride, writing a wish on confetti intended for the New Year’s Eve celebration, and a simulated ball drop and that’s before you even get to the Skywalk.
We spent almost two hours there, and I genuinely had so much fun.
I even had an employee named Sophie help me work through my fear of walking across the glass observation deck.
Seriously, the staff were fantastic.
I’m not going to turn this price comparison into an entire attraction review, because I’ve already written one.
In that article, I walk you through the experience, what surprised me, and why I thought the whole thing was worth doing.
If you’re still deciding whether to visit, I’d read that one next.
Read: Is One Times Square Worth Visiting? My Honest Review of the New NYC Attraction
So, Where Should You Buy One Times Square Tickets?
For my October 12, 2026 visit, GOVX was the winner.
I paid $71.86 for two adults instead of the $95.80 I would’ve paid through the official One Times Square website.
That’s $23.94 saved without changing the ticket or giving up the included attractions.
While I love finding a good deal, there’s something I want you to take away from this comparison.
Don’t assume booking directly is always the cheapest option and don’t assume a cheaper ticket includes the same experience.
I’d rather spend a few extra minutes comparing prices than find out afterward that I paid more for the exact same thing.
If you’re planning other attractions in New York City, you might also want to read my comparison of NYC observation deck prices.
NYC Observation Decks: Viator vs. My Travel Membership
The more options you know about, the better decisions you can make.
That’s what I want you to get out of these comparisons.
Until next time,
