Our first glimpse of New York City is through the window of LaGuardia Airport. Kevin gets separated from his family at O'Hare, digging through his dad's carry-on for batteries. (Those were for his super-blocky Talkboy tape recorder.) When he looks up, he'd lost them, and follows another man in a tan coat onto a plane bound for LGA rather than MIA. Kevin asks an airport staffer, "This is an emergency. What city is that over there?" The answer: "That's New York, sir." Kevin: "Yikes, I did it again."

At the airport, Kevin looks out at Long Island City's Pepsi-Cola sign and the East River skyline, and the screen flashes to and from various cityscape shots. We get a sense of the enormity of the place and the tiny-ness of this child. At first, Kevin says nervously, "Oh no, my family's in Florida and I'm in New York." Then he smiles. "My family's in Florida. I'm in New York." Eyebrow raise. It's go time.

Kevin still has his dad's carry-on, and in it, a credit card and an envelope of cash. Obviously, that means a yellow cab into the city, via the Queensboro Bridge. Grinning, Kevin leans out the rear window in his striped winter hat, and you get the feeling that his Ferris Bueller's Day Off is about to begin.

Somehow, Kevin moseys by the Empire Diner in Chelsea—which is still around, 25 years later—and picks up a flier from a Santa on stilts.

At this store on Mott Street in Chinatown (which is now closed), Kevin picks up two packs of firecrackers. Pro tip: when unexpectedly left unsupervised, it's a great idea to buy something explosive.

Then it's down to Battery Park, where Kevin gazes out at the harbor through those old-school binoculars.

Kevin marches up the steps to the old World Trade Center complex, nine years before it would be no more. He goes to the observation deck of the south tower and photographs the vistas from it. You get the sense, again, that this is a smart-yet-naive Midwestern kid having a fun day out but at the same time getting a little bit awed by the big city even from so many stories up.

At the Miami airport, security tells Kevin's parents it's unlikely he'll be anywhere but still stuck in Chicago. The camera pans to the South Street Seaport's erstwhile Fulton Fish Market (which moved to Hunts Point in 2005). A backpack-toting Kevin crosses the street; meanwhile a white truck makes a turn, honks at him, and rolls up the back to reveal Harry and Marv. They're recently out of prison and stowing away with a shipment of seafood on ice.

Harry and Marv evade the dead fish and find their way to Midtown via the N/Q subway line, discussing their plan to get some cash in order to procure fake passports and flee to South America. Marv supports changing their nickname from the Wet Bandits (so called because they used to leave the water on in houses they robbed) to the Sticky Bandits. He plunges a tape-covered hand into a streetside Salvation Army bucket. Counters Harry: "You bust out of jail to rob 14 cents from a Santy Claus?"

Kevin is coming from the park, headed to his accommodation for the night. The statue at Grand Army Plaza points the way across the street to the hotel. Crossing the busy intersection here, at 59th Street, is where Marv and Harry first (literally) bump into Kevin.

Before leaving Chicago, Kevin had heard a commercial touting "the world-renowned Plaza Hotel, New York's most exciting hotel experience." Naturally, he heads there, with his dad's credit card in hand. With some conniving he's able to get a sweet suite (No. 411, for anyone keeping track). The kid gets a giant bed and bathroom, orders an ice cream sundae bar via room service, and does cannonballs into the hotel pool, all while trying to convince hotel staff that his dad is actually with him. It's in the suite where he watches a parody of the James Cagney/Humphrey Bogart movie Angels With Dirty Faces, in which this signature line appears: "Merry Christmas, you filthy animal. And a Happy New Year."

Harry and Marv are by Wollman Rink, at the southern end of Central Park. Marv is skating (and falling) while Harry is reading the paper and plotting how to get some cash. During the holidays, Harry says, "the only stores that are going to have cash on hand are those that deal in moderate priced goods." He points to a full-page ad for Duncan's Toy Chest. "There's nobody dumb enough to knock off a toy store on Christmas Eve," Harry jibes. Marv answers, "Oh, yes there is," and gestures to both of them.

Kevin springs by the Van Cleef and Arpels store on Fifth Avenue, and hurriedly stops to buy a few necklaces off a street vendor. He rips them apart, so Harry and Marv trip on the beads.

Kevin tries to escape to the Plaza, but the staff has caught on that the credit card he used to pay for the room was stolen and want to kick him out. Harry and Marv are waiting by the loading dock when Kevin flees the hotel. Marv lets their plan about the toy store and South America slip. After Kevin wriggles away from the Wet Bandits, the duo chases Kevin to Bethesda Fountain in Central Park—a long way to run, mind you. When they lose him, Marv reassures Harry: "This time, he doesn't have a house full of dangerous goodies to get us with. He's in the park. He's alone. Kids are scared of the park." (Remember, it was the ’90s.) Harry responds: "Yeah, grown men come into the park and don't leave alive. Good luck, little fella."

The Pigeon Lady (we never do learn her real name) takes Kevin to some secret rooftop spot at Carnegie Hall, full of disused instruments, mannequins, and old chandeliers, and they hear a rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful." The two of them bond over being invisible to the world; her because she's homeless, and him because he is the youngest. She reminds him that good deeds can replace bad ones, and that he can make up for running away but, basically, saving the day.

Kevin's uncle Rob and aunt Georgette have a townhouse on 95th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. He finds the address in his dad's contacts, which were in the backpack, but after seeking refuge there earlier, realizes that no one is home and the house is undergoing a gut renovation. This brownstone is where Kevin leads Harry and Marv the night of the toy store robbery in order to test the limits of physical comedy for a PG movie by enacting all kinds of bodily harm upon the hapless villains.

Kevin makes a 911 call from an Upper West Side phone booth and tells the dispatcher that the thieves who robbed Duncan's Toy Chest will be in the park at 95th Street. "Look for fireworks. They've got a gun." Then he slips on ice, and the dastardly duo walks him into the park. Ultimately, the Pigeon Lady throws feed onto the very sticky Sticky Bandits, swarms of pigeons peck away, and Kevin is able to set off fireworks to alert the police to their presence. In the bag of stolen money, he leaves Polaroids of the guys at the toy store as well as the tape recording of Marv explaining the plan. The money is delivered to the hospital as intended, and Mr. Duncan finds out Kevin was responsible.

By this point, all the McAllisters are in New York. The Plaza feels so guilty that its staffers scared Kevin off because of the credit card fraud that they give the family a free penthouse suite (No. 1765). Kevin's mom, played by Catherine O'Hara, hopped a taxi to Times Square after first checking the uncle's house, right before Kevin arrived to give the Sticky Bandits what for. Mom says to strangers, "I'm looking for my son," showing photos of him and knocking on the door of a police car. The officer advises: "Put yourself in your kids' shoes. Where would you go? What would you do?" Kate says: "Dear God, I know where he is. I need to get to Rockefeller Center." The NYPD officer: "Hop in."