Here's what it's like to spend the day like Kevin McCallister on a ‘Home Alone' trip in NYC

I'd like a hotel room, please...

...with an extra-large bed, a TV, and one of those little refrigerators you have to open with a key.

And I’d also like a limousine, a pizza and a 16-scoop ice cream sundae.

Each of these requests can be accommodated at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, just as they were for Kevin McCallister more than 30 years ago.

The iconic venue’s “Home Alone: Fun in New York” package offers guests the opportunity to spend a day in the life of Kevin — the family-vacation dodging, booby-trap setting, burglar-stopping 9-year-old who once fictionally checked in there.

Available year-round for hotel guests to add to their visit, the special experience is also often requested for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Of course, it takes on an extra special feel at Christmastime.

When given the chance to experience a version of this, I took it.

I literally followed in Kevin McCallister's footsteps, entering the very lobby he walked through, repeating the very lines he said, wearing the very outfit he wore: a green jacket, khaki pants and a pom-pom beanie. There was a backpack over my shoulders, a Talkboy in my hand and an overwhelming desire to recreate movie scenes racing through my mind.

A Hollywood fantasy was about to become my reality. To fully capitalize on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I needed advice from someone who had already experienced it.

So, I asked Macaulay Culkin.

The beloved actor who played Kevin happened to be in the tri-state area around the time of my stay for his nostalgic “Home Alone” movie screening tour that included Q&A sessions and meet-and-greets.

His advice to me on everything from pizza to ice cream will remain between the real Kevin McCallister and fake (see: myself). But both have now stayed at the Plaza Hotel, and both have said…

Now this is a vacation.

THE RESERVATION: ‘Howdy do’

First, I needed to buy a cassette tape and batteries for the Talkboy.

I then learned that unlike in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” – scenes of which were filmed at the Plaza – it’s not so simple to reserve a room using Kevin’s tape-recording, voice-altering 1990s toy.

I know because I tried.   

After I called the hotel and pressed play, despite the agent’s best effort to assist, the pre-recorded message by “Peter McCallister, the father,” did not provide the adequate information needed to secure a room at the world-renowned luxury hotel.

Online booking didn’t exist in Kevin’s day – nor did smartphones and their power-outage-immune alarm clocks, mobile boarding passes or location-tracking apps that would have derailed the plot of the movie. But, nowadays, it’s the most convenient and preferred method to reserve a room. And guess what’s typically required to do so?

Credit card? You got it.

THE CHECK IN: 'Reservation for McCallister'

Bellmen on the steps outside of the Fifth Avenue lobby greeted guests as they made their way inside. I entered through the iconic revolving door that leads into the majestic hotel lobby, with Christmas trees and holiday décor beneath a glistening crystal chandelier.

Towering arched doorways opened to The Palm Court, a popular setting for afternoon tea that’s adjacent to the corridor where Kevin asked a future president for directions to the lobby.  

I walked past the concierge desk – there was no sign of Cedric counting his tips in public, and Mr. Hector must have been somewhere investigating a stolen credit card or inflatable clown – and over to the elevators that led to the suite. I considered doing a running slide across the marble floor and through the elevator door but didn’t because I wouldn’t slide nearly as far as Kevin McCallister. Plus, I didn’t want to get into mischief.

And ma’am, sometimes I do get into mischief. We all do!  

THE SUITE: ‘This is one of our finest suites, sir’

A private elevator took me up to the Royal Suite – the Plaza Hotel’s most extraordinary offering.

The “Home Alone” package can be added to any of the hotel’s guestroom or suites year-round, with a starting price of $2,160 plus tax.

This palatial suite — priced at more than $40,000 per night — is fit for royalty, celebrities and guests of “The New Celebrity Ding-Dang-Dong.” But on this day, it was host to some guy dressed as a kid from a 1990s movie.

The 4,500-square-foot room includes three bedrooms and four bathrooms. An entrance gallery led into a living room with a grand piano and a dining room with a table that seats 12.

Forget about a little refrigerator you have to open with a key, this suite has a full chef’s kitchen – as well as a library and a fully-equipped gym.

The primary bedroom not only has an extra-large bed ideal for jumping on, but also a fireplace, picture windows overlooking Fifth Avenue, and a dressing area with leather and wood-paneled closets.

That leads into the primary bathroom, where plush bath robes await, including a tiny one for your dog. Yes, even pups get pampered at the Plaza.

I stared in the mirror, situated above double sinks featuring 24-carat gold-plated fixtures. I contemplated shaving my beard for the occasion until I remembered how loudly Kevin screamed after being burned by after-shave lotion.  

I stood on the bathroom’s heated floor, surrounded by private water closets and an antique tub that on this day was filled with bottles of champagne on ice.

Luxurious … and spacious.  

THE LIMO: ‘A limousine and a pizza, compliments of the Plaza Hotel'

I exited the lobby, walked down the stairs, and approached a stretch limousine that was waiting for me in the very spot where it once picked up Kevin.

Waiting inside my chariot were eight slices of pure New York heaven.

Mr. McCallister, here’s your very own cheese pizza.

I stretched my legs on the back seat while enjoying a slice, and I washed it down with a can of Coca-Cola that I poured into a champagne glass.

You can dine like Kevin while the limo drives around New York City for four hours, stopping at landmark filming locations from the movie like Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and Central Park.

The latter is just across the street from the Plaza, so I went for a stroll in the park. I didn’t see the Pigeon Lady, but I did see her pigeons. They were right by the bridge where Kevin gave her the turtle dove on Christmas morning. And, by the way, Kevin…you couldn’t invite her into your huge suite at the Plaza for a warm meal instead of giving her an ornament?! Anyway…

I made my way to Rockefeller Center and stood in the very spot where Kevin was reunited with his mother.

I looked at the tree in amazement while others looked at me in confusion, wondering why they were seeing a grown man dressed as Kevin McCallister.

One person even shouted, “KEVIN!!!”

THE STAFF: ‘Your drawers, sir'

My bag was packed with movie props -- no, I did not bring a rope soaked in kerosene or any other booby trap supplies.

I did bring a copy of the New York Times with mugshots of Harry and Marv on the cover, a VHS copy of the fictional movie Kevin watches in the suite titled “Angels With Even Filthier Souls,” and a pair of freshly pressed boxer shorts on a hanger.  

And yes, I asked Plaza staff members to play a role in scene recreations. Evan knocked on my suite door while holding the hanger and said, “Your drawers, sir.” Eddie graciously allowed me to tip him with sticks of gum, and I told him there’s plenty more where that came from.

The Plaza staff has recreated far more meaningful scenes from the movie while partnering with the Make-a-Wish foundation.    

The hotel welcomes Wish Children throughout the holiday season to experience the “Home Alone” package. One child dreamt of being chased through the hotel by the Sticky Bandits. So, Daniel Brigano, the hotel’s guest experience director, and Benjamin Beraha, the food and beverage manager, dressed up as Harry and Marv and reenacted scenes in the lobby to make that wish come true.

Hi ya, pal!

THE HOME ALONE SUNDAE: ‘Two scoops, sir?’

Two? Make it three…or four…or 16. I’m not driving.    

The cherry on top of my stay at the Plaza Hotel was rolled into my suite on a cart by a butler wearing white gloves.

He placed in front of me a decadent sterling silver platter, at the center of which was 16 scoops of ice cream topped with whipped cream. It was surrounded by an assortment of toppings, including M&M’s, rainbow sprinkles, brownie bits and maraschino cherries. An array of sauces -- chocolate, caramel and raspberry – were available for drizzling.

I sat, alone, eating an ice cream sundae in one of the world’s most renowned hotels. I wondered if I spent $967 on room service, I waited for an invasion by the Sticky Bandits that never came, I reflected on my day as Kevin at the Plaza.

From the lobby to the limo, the pizza to the Plaza staff, and the suite to the sundae, all I could say was….     

Now this is a vacation.   

---

Mike Gavin is a multi-platform content producer and editor for NBC Local based out of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. He previously worked for Newsday on Long Island and ESPN Radio.