<p>I am planning to go to Times Square to see the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. It’s something that I have been wanting to do for years. I have read all the relevant web sites, but I was wondering if someone or someone’s children have a personal experience with going.</p>
<p>How early do you have to get there? The sites say early afternoon, but that’s a little vague. What’s the best viewing spot so you can actually see the ball and not have to see it on the screen?</p>
<p>It says that you can’t save a spot for someone, but what if that person just leaves for a very short amount of time, is it possible to make your way back through the crowd if there is someone waiting for you?</p>
<p>Any other tips, experiences, suggestions would be very appreciated!</p>
<p>I work in Times Square and I think you’re out of you mind if you come here. The crowds are already lining up, the police presence is massive, and the good viewing spots are given over for celebrities and camera crews. There are no bathrooms and unless you’re willing and able to step out of the crowd (and lose your place) to purchase meals in the ridiculously expensive restaurants in the neighborhood, you better have a very strong bladder. You will be in a truly massive crowd – a breathing, pulsating mass of humanity that will strip you of your ability to move independently. As it moves, you get sucked along. Oh, and once you enter the security zone (that’s where the early afternoon reference comes in – you enter the security zone then but you have to be there much earlier to even get to that point), you can’t leave and the police aren’t going to cut you slack because you’re a nice person or are adorable. The security is a very, very serious thing. To answer your question: you generally can’t see the ball personally anymore unless you’re one of the aforementioned celebrities. The viewing patterns have changed in the last two years and particularly the last year because of construction. My advice is to stay home and be comfortable and safe, but if you do go, be very prepared and very patient – and don’t bring any bags or backpacks. Good luck and please let me know that you have arrived home safely afterward. I’m one of those worriers!</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply, zoosermom. Other than the discomforts (no food, bathrooms, etc.), do you feel that it’s actually unsafe and why. I realize that being part of a big crowd is always somewhat unsafe because of a possibility of panic, but are there other reasons? Are the people in the crowd a problem? Do a lot of them drink beforehand? Are they rude or offensive?</p>
<p>I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I live within walking distance of Times Square (I am not a college student any more as my name indicates - I graduated earlier this year), so I wouldn’t have trouble getting home afterwards.</p>
<p>Personally, I do think it’s unsafe but you have to understand that I’m less than five feet tall and just over a hundred pounds. All it takes is one jerk to cause a stampede and I don’t see any good reason for the risk in light of the limited viewing. If you’re a larger person (my face is exactly at the level of people’s elbows and I have trouble breathing) and don’t go alone, you should be fine as long as nothing happens, but remember that once in that crowd you’re trapped. There are so many people here even now that when I left work last night I couldn’t get to my bus stop because the crowds at each corner are enormous. I guess as an old hag I don’t see the enjoyment, but if you do go, please be careful and please do report in afterward. Whatever you do, have a wonderful time and a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!</p>
<p>zooersmom,
I’m with you. Watch it in your pjs with a nice adult beverage. I’ve never been to Times Square on NY but years ago I went to the last large stadium concert I’ve ever attended. When they opened the doors to let us in, people were swept up in the crowd, losing shoes, pushing shoving, I was very freaked out about the whole thing. Luckily no one was seriously hurt. And this was a show where we all had marked seats!</p>
<p>My sister, 5 feet tall, 95 pounds, went only once. She said, “never again”. Didn’t like being cold, pushed and shoved, vomited on, dealing with the drunks.</p>
<p>Oh my goodness. Am glad my sister isn’t reading this. She called last night to say my nephew and his friends were heading up from MD (they’re already on the way). She wasn’t thrilled, but they thought it was a great idea for a road trip. Maybe they’ll be satisfied with just making it to NYC in general. Don’t know where they’ll go - they’re not old enough for bars.
I’ve never been in. Hate crowds. The view from the den is good enough for me.</p>
<p>On New Years Eve 1974, I was in Bonita Springs Florida watching the Times Square celebration on tv with my roommate – and they had a full face shot of our RA! He looked like he was having fun … but he was a wild and crazy guy!</p>
<p>To make tomorrow evening even more delightful, it is supposed to be in the single digits with the wind chill. :rolleyes: I had a very difficult time yesterday just driving through the Times Square area. It was already mobbed with tourists. Everyone was looking up…and not paying any attention to the traffic lights.</p>
<p>3 or 4 years ago we took a family trip to NYC for a few days. We were staying in a hotel not too far away and S1 and S2 (19 and almost 17 at the time), were bound and determined that they were going to to to Times Square for New Year’s Eve. Did not appeal to H, D and I in the slightest! On Dec. 30 when we could barely walk thru Times Square due to the huge crowds they started to rethink their plans. When they finally understood that they would have to be there SO far ahead, be crushed and frozen, not be able to move, much less go to the bathroom or get something to eat they had a change of heart. A few slight hints from H and me, but they had to think they made the decision themselves! Instead we found a fun Italian restaurant over on 9th Ave. and had a pretty good walking through the “crush” experience- all the way up at the south end of Central Park. It was wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder people all the way from Times Square to the Park. That seemed to appease them and we were back at the hotel at 6th ave and 54th in time to watch the ball drop from the comfort of our room.</p>
<p>ZMom, I’m a pretty good size myself – 5’2" and 115 pounds! – but the one time I went to Times Square for New Year’s Eve, back in 1974 or so (when I probably weighed 10 or 15 pounds less than I do now), I hated it for exactly the same reasons you mention. Plus, it was raining. Never again.</p>
<p>We should have lunch sometime; my office is at 46th and 5th, and I walk through Times Square pretty much every morning and evening (except when I take the subway or bus crosstown) on my way from, and back to, Port Authority.</p>
<p>I went ONCE only, back around 1987 or so. I was miserable, cold, and had to go to the bathroom. Walking back to my hotel, somebody through ice out of a window from high up, and it cut my head. Nothing says never again like blond hair matted with blood. :(</p>
<p>A friend of mine who has done the NYC-Times Square-on-New-Years thing several times also cautions that anyone doing it not bring a pocketbook, wallet, etc and keep any money or keys, etc. in zippered pockets, because the crowds are so close and intense that stuff “walks away.” His friends were basically robbed of everything, from their watches to their phones and wallets.</p>