Skating at the Rockefeller Center rink is a quintessential New York experience, but the line‑up can feel almost dangerous when patience starts to thin.
A new report finds that this holiday hotspot is not only the city’s favorite, it’s also the most crowded spot on the planet. According to the research, the prospect of such a crowded destination is bound to irk the city’s ardent defenders.
Holafly, a provider of e‑SIMs, combed through TripAdvisor reviews from November, December and January. They were looking for key words like “overcrowded,” “busy,” “packed,” “long wait,” and “chaotic.” The results were clear: many visitors praised the festive vibe but warned about the sheer number of skaters.
In fact, 41% of comments fed into the analysis flagged crowd problems around the rink, making it the top spot for a packed holiday experience.
Capital complaints included long waiting periods, reduced ice space, and a continuous stream of on‑lookers bumping against the edges.
Below the iconic Christmas tree – illuminated on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving and taken down mid‑January – lies the skating arena. Roughly 125 million Americans stop to admire the tree during its six‑week run.
While locals love to grip the sense of festivity in Midtown, they take offense when tourists cast a negative light on the city.
It was the sole American site caught up in Holafly’s list of overcrowded attractions.
Even across the Atlantic, the UK’s Winter Wonderland scored at number two, with 37% of TripAdvisor users posting complaints about crowds around the Hyde Park fairground’s rides, stalls, ice rink, and shows.
Germany’s Nuremberg Christmas Market completed the top‑three shortlist, with 34% of reviewers frustrated by the volume of visitors.
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