Ever wondered what it’s like to relive Kevin McCallister’s epic trip to New York in Home Alone 2? 30 years on, we did just that-Rishma Dosani-Entertainment – Metro

Home Alone 2, released in 1992, is officially 30 years old (Picture: 20th Century)

Mariah Carey might be the Queen of Christmas but let’s be honest, Macaulay Culkin is the true King of the festive period after helming the two most popular holiday movies around.

The first Home Alone film might be a firm favorite with most but the Lost in New York sequel has a special place in our hearts as Kevin McCallister found himself separated from his family once again, and unwittingly reunited with those fresh-from-jail bandits, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern).

It hit the big screen in 1992 and – for the most part – showed the youngster truly living his best life. Minus the burglars and booby traps, of course.

Ever since then, many have been dreaming of following in his footsteps and recreating his trip to the Big Apple. Thanks to Disney+, we were whisked away for a luxurious getaway to the Plaza for an experience of dreams to celebrate the 30-year anniversary, and we didn’t even need to win the Celebrity Ding Dang Dong for the stay.

After packing up our Talkboy recorder and checking we had enough turtle doves to hand out in Central Park, we set sail for the Plaza with the sole intention of living as he Kevin would do – before Harry and Mary ruined his vacation, that is. WWKMD, basically.

It turns out that a nine-year-old has some pretty cool ways to get lost in New York.

The film was a sequel to the 1990 original Home Alone (Picture: 20th Century)

‘The world-renowned Plaza Hotel, New York’s most exciting hotel experience’

Despite not even reaching double digits in age, the first film proved that Kevin knew exactly what he wanted and wasn’t afraid of asking for it, and his impromptu visit to the Big Apple two years later only solidified this. After a less-than-pleasant stroll through Central Park, he made a beeline to a stunning five-star hotel to relax in style.

‘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,’ he requested, and who were we to question his choices?

The Plaza played home to Kevin McCallister and his wild antics (Picture: Getty)

Kevin made a beeline for the most prestigious hotel in New York (Picture: Disney+)

Sadly, those mini-fridges that can only be opened with keys are a thing of the past but there would be plenty more to keep him entertained nowadays.

In the spirit of living as Kevin did, we had to go all out and truly treat ourselves, ordering a huge ice cream sundae dessert with all the trimmings.

Kevin demanded three scoops of ice cream for dessert… (Picture: Disney+)

…So we had to follow suit! (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

Right on cue, a huge tray was wheeled in with a huge bowl, complete with more ice cream and whipped cream than we knew what to do with – if all that wasn’t enough, cherries, M&Ms, sprinkles and chocolate balls were on the side, and a selection of sauces.

Two scoops? Make it three. We weren’t driving.

‘A limousine and a pizza’

Kevin had the right idea about travelling around New York, shunning the subway for his very own limo (Picture: Disney+)

Early in his vacation, Kevin had a bizarre encounter in a traditional yellow taxi, learning the hard way that cabs weren’t for him. Most normal folks would have made do with the subway or given walking a go but when you’re nine years old with a (basically) unlimited credit card, the world is your oyster.

After an awkward moment the night before, the concierge – aka Tim Curry – led him to a white stretch limousine and a cheese pizza.

In the spirit of WWKMD, we also shunned public transport for something a lot fancier and spent much of the day stretching out on the back seat of our own limo with a giant pizza and a champagne flute full of Coca-Cola. 

Even 30 years on, we’ve got to hand it to him, this is definitely an incredible way to travel. 

Having now followed in his footsteps, we can’t say we blame him (Picture: Disney+)

Taking in the New York skyline by the Statue of Liberty

Holidays are an ideal time for a spot of sight-seeing and, luckily for Kevin, New York happens to be packed full of iconic tourist spots.

In between setting up wild – and mildly horrifying – traps for the sticky bandits, our Christmas hero managed to see a bunch of them.

A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment showed him checking out the famous skyline through the lens of a viewfinder, with the Statue of Liberty standing regally in front of him.

If you squint a little, it’s like nothing has really changed in three decades (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

We took a slightly different route on our sight-seeing extravaganza, instead ferrying across to see the statue up close and checking out the view of all the skyscrapers from across the water.

Another Kevin-approved excursion down and no bandits on our tail, it was time to hunt down the bird lady…

Central Park strolls and Wollman Ice Rink

According to Marv, kids are scared of the park when they’re alone. Kevin was anxious at the very beginning, and who could blame him? But he quickly set his fears aside to become friends with the legendary pigeon woman (Brenda Fricker).

Together, they left the park to sneak into the warmth of Carnegie Hall for a heartfelt discussion on rollerblades, heartache and being lonely.

The bird lady stole the show in Home Alone 2 (Picture: Disney+)

Their chat ended with Kevin insisting that he wouldn’t forget her and he stuck to that promise, seeking his new pal out on Christmas Day to gift her a turtle dove.

Unfortunately, the bird lady was missing on our visit to the world famous park as she probably followed Kevin’s advice and branched out with her hobbies, but that didn’t stop us having a lovely wander around one of the most picturesque parts of the city, as well as people watching those brave enough to battle Wollman ice rink.

Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree

The film ended with Kevin and his mom reuniting in front of the famous tree (Picture: Disney+)

It’s still as spectacular today as it was then (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

Sadly there was also no spine-tingling reunion in front of the glorious Rockefeller Christmas tree with Catherine O’Hara, who was mostly probably a little busy living her own life, but we still made sure to head down for a gander to cap off a magical trip.

After a sensational night’s rest and thankfully no Sticky Bandits to contend with, it was time to check out – now just a matter of how we could get out of the room service bill.

Anyone got a spare $967.43 they can send over?

Home Alone 2 is available to stream on Disney+.

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