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Visiting World Trade Center Memorial - ques.
So this week, DH and I are going to NYC and are meeting some friends there. We want to go to both the WTC memorial and Ellis Island before lunch on Friday if we can manage. For the past WEEK I was trying to get a response from our friends on what time in the morning they wanted to go so I could reserve the visitors passes for the WTC memorial and finally heard from them this morning.....and all the reserved passes for the morning are gone. We could go in the afternoon, but were hoping to have the afternoon free to explore and shop at our own leisure. No biggie, just frustrating.
On the WTC memorial site it says that they have a limited number of passes that you can pick up in the morning without a reservation. Do these cost anything or are they free as well? Has anyone gone this route instead of reserving the passes? What time do we need to get in line to try to get some? (They start handing them out at 9 am).
Also, about how long should we plan for spending at each the WTC memorial and Ellis Island, if we were able to see both before noon? (We have lunch reservations, that's why the time crunch). If it's not feasible to spend a good amount of time at both before lunch then we won't....just looking for some advice I guess. 
Thanks!
Re: Visiting World Trade Center Memorial - ques.
I was just at the site 2 weeks ago. It is free to enter. They just want to control how many people can go in at one time. You also have to go through security, similar to the airport, but much faster to see it. It is still a construction site so they want to herd people in the right direction.
Dh and I walked down to the site late Saturday afternoon and they told us they didn't have anymore tickets that day and to either go online or come early the next morning. The guide said they have a lot of tickets at the gate.We looked at the online site but it was sold out. We showed up at 8ish Sunday morning. We got our tickets quickly and were lined up to see the memorial at 9 am. They start handing out tickets about 30 minutes before opening the gates.
We spent about an hour at the memorial, waiting and walking around. It isn't very big and the museum isn't open so it doesn't take up a large portion of your day.
I haven't been to Ellis Island but did do the tour to see the Statue of Liberty on another trip to NYC. It can take a bit longer to get to the islands and you are relying on the ferries to take you there and back. The morning we went to see the statue of liberty we waited in a significantly long line to catch a ferry. So I'm not sure if you could do both at the same time and not feel super rushed.
I'm not sure where you are staying but if you are in the West Village/Chelsea area check out the High line, It is a really fun walk through the city on an old El track turned garden.
I've been the Ellis Island and the amount of time you need is totally up to you. The ferry ride round trip is probably 30 minutes....if you didn't want to get off at either stop....Statue or Ellis Island. One time we went to the island, we got off just to take a few photos and got on before the next ferry. The other time, we actually looked at the museum, took photos, and went to their computer section to research some things. I would guess we were there about 2 hours total. Keep in mind, there is security BEFORE the first ferry. Also, ferry boat rides leave every 15 minutes or so. It's not a constant run. Happy travels!