Time Square

[MGZ06]

Well it looks like I'll be watching the ball drop in time square this year. . My girlfriend decided to make a last minute plan to go to New York. I really havent ever thought about going but now that i'll be there. . . im pumped to go. Has anyone ever been there for new years? What should I expect? I heard to be there at around 3pm or so to get a good spot.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I wouldn't drink anything... no bathrooms to use (I guess unless you're a patron of a place that has bathrooms to use - but don't count on any). Be prepared to stand for a long time. I hear that the NYPD make sure it's kept orderly and the place clears out pretty quickly after the ball drops. Be careful; watch your wallet and any other valuables (you'll be rubbing up against people all night). Watch the weather and dress accordingly. And for the record, no I've never been there myself - not crazy enough I guess. Several friends went without me about 8-10 years ago and I've kept their advice, just in case I do go crazy enough and decide to finally go myself. Though this year with Chevy/GM doing what they are, I'd like to go :P

[sciguy_0504]

How did you get a hotel room (if you did) at such late notice? Usually the whole place is booked solid for New Years.

[Northstar]

Sounds cool, you should try to check out the new Tahoe that will be there while you are waiting.

[Bizz]

Well it looks like I'll be watching the ball drop in time square this year. .  My girlfriend decided to make a last minute plan to go to New York. I really havent ever thought about going but now that i'll be there. . .  im pumped to go.
  Has anyone ever been there for new years? What should I expect? I heard to be there at around 3pm or so to get a good spot.

[post="64069"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

i drove up there by myself (friends chickened out) in 99 for the "millenium". expect to be herded like cattle. feel free to moo, people seem to like that. the year i went, people in the buildings surrounding wherever i was had their stereo speakers in their windows. most were blasting "its the end of the world as we know it" by REM and other such themed songs. it was cool.

being there alone, it was kinda boring until i went into a bar called McGee's Pub. i started getting hammered and met a couple of women. i am fairly certain they were hot.

anyway, i ended up having a really, really good time. dont carry a wallet or let your GF carry her purse. keep money, CCs and valuables in your front jean pockets and usecommon sense. i had no incidents nor did i see anything too bad.

when i was there, they had a large area around the square cordoned off into sections. each setion being basicaly a city block. and, they would put up saw horses behind you when the section was full. while in your pen, you can patronize any of the open businesses. expect to pay a cover charge anywhere you go.

be nice to the cops there. they are the gatekeepers and hold all the keys. :D i bullshitted with one for 10minutes and he let the three of us into an adjoining section because it had an open restaurant. now that i think about it, perhaps it was not my charm that got us in. but, you are brining a date and not sourcing one locally, so you shoud be ok. :lol:

How did you get a hotel room (if you did) at such late notice? Usually the whole place is booked solid for New Years.

i drove up the night before. i got lucky i guess, as i passed NYC and stopped in stamford, CT. there was a hotel there right near the commuter train. i had no problem getting a room in stamford.

[knightfan26917]

Sounds fun!!!! Enjoy your time there!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!


*sighs*

As for me, it looks (as of now, anyway) like I'll be spending my New Year's Eve alone ... in a hospital bed....


Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker
MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html
chdQB = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/quilt.html
"I ain't up to being strong now" ... Wynonna ... 'Is It Over Yet'

[MGZ06]

How did you get a hotel room (if you did) at such late notice? Usually the whole place is booked solid for New Years.

I'll be staying at the Best Western at Newark Airport. . . the hotel has a 24 hr shuttle to theAmtrak rail station which takes us to Penn Station. The cost for the hotel is $160(not bad) and the train is $10 round trip.


It's goin to be a 10 hour drive, Im not taking the Sierra because of it's brutal fuel mileage. . . it's still only has 2,500Kms. My GF's Sunfire will be easier on the wallet.

Thanks for all your advice,

[usonia]

Well, for what it's worth, I'll bet that once you do it, you'll never do it again. That was the way I felt when I went. It is an experience I must say, but not something worth repeating for me. You end up standing in a sea of people and can barely move. As the crowd moves, so do you. At one point, I was being crushed into a fence and trying to prevent this little kid beside me from being smooshed because the crowd shifted and there was nothing I could do to get away from it. People were throwing fireworks up into the air that came back down and exploded way too close for comfort because, again, you can't move to get away. Then there was the champagne being squirted up into the air, which also came back down on top of the crowd. It was cold and it was loud. After standing there for hours doing basically nothing, the big moment arrives. The ball starts to drop. People start counting backwards and the new year arrives. Then, everybody runs for the subways and that was it. Never again!

[GMTruckGuy74]

usonia, that's just about how my friends described their visit. They said once was good enough for them. :P

[trinacriabob]

Sounds like a neat thing to do. I have never been fond of crowds, so I would skip it. For those of you who can handle crowds and noise, enjoy.

I have been very ambivalent about going to NY since 9/11. An uncle on my Mom's side lives right over the GW Bridge in Northern NJ. (In fact, we lived in that same community for a year when I was young). Without fail when I would go visit him as an adult, I would always take my rental car out to the Promenade on Blvd East at night, right south of the GW Bridge, and watch the lights of the WTC twinkle. No more. I think that knowing I can't replicate that experience keeps me out of the NY area for the time being.

By the way, it's TimeS Square. I don't know how it got its name, but there you have it.

[MGZ06]

Well, I made it back. . . it was one crazy party! I must say it is a once in a lifetime thing to do, seeing Dick Clark walking around was cool. The crowd wasnt that bad but standing for 7 hours. . . well let me just say Im glad I workout and keep active so it wasnt to bad for me but my girlfriend wasnt to crazy about it. I had an up close view of the Tahoe. . . What nice SUV, The interior is amazing. There was a Chevrolet Revolution display with a covered car/compact SUV not the HHR but im not sure what it was, im sure it's on the net by now. Overall Im glad I went to experiance this event.