2015 and 2016 in the USA (New York City)
On December 29, 2015, I took a coach bus with a travel agency to New York City. I wanted to experience New Year's Eve at Times Square. My 4th visit to New York City and the 1st since 2004, I spent 3 days and 3 nights in the city.
Sightseeing
Instead of going up the over-visited Empire State Building, I went up the Rockfeller Center to get a view of the new city. At the time, the television series 30 Rock (2006-2013) was still fresh in my mind.
Also fresh in everyone's mind was newly built One World Trade Center, which had just opened the year before. I visited the buildings and felt quite amazed at how different everything looked compared to my 2004 and 2001 visits.
New Year's Eve in New York City
On New Year's Eve in 2015, I started waiting near Times Square at about 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Yes, everyone standing there had to wait 8 hours just to countdown without food or drinks! It was getting tough, despite it being one of the milder New Year's Eve with temperatures around 8-10°C (46-50°F). The winds picked up and so it felt cold even dressed warmly.
At about 7 or 8 p.m. I caved in by going into a delicatessen. I needed hot food, water, beer and a restroom! Thank the heavens for this place - it saved me from wanting to give up and watch the countdown from my hotel room! When I came out, I felt refreshed and ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.
Practice countdowns occurred every hour, probably to give people a taste of the experience in case they could not hold out until midnight.
The hours went by very quickly, thanks to the meal and beer. Before I knew it, it was 11:59 p.m. I caught the countdown on video from my phone. Midnight stuck and it was magical. People laughed and danced with each other on Broadway to usher in 2016!
Reflection
So, I crossed this item off the bucket list. I felt relieved to have made it to midnight because I don't think I will ever do this again. The long 8-hour wait alone would kill me. The lack of champagne (or even anything) to drink and food to eat on the streets would be excruciating. I was lucky not to have gone on a bitterly cold New Year's Eve. I was also lucky to find a restaurant with hot food and alcohol and still come out of it to count down to midnight.
New Year's Eve at Times Square is a thing to do once, but perhaps only once in a lifetime.