New Year’s Eve in New York City!

Tom and I checked a biggie off our bucket list last week: New Year’s Eve in New York City. And we were blessed to do it in the most amazing way possible!

Tom’s hotel in the desert is part of Marriott’s Convention & Resort Network (CRN). Each year, CRN invites several top Marriott customers to a VIP New Year’s Eve in NYC experience. They also invite a few executives with Marriott to join the customers. This year WE were chosen! So last Monday morning we boarded a plane to the Big Apple to experience an unforgettable week.

This post is part one of a two-part story about our trip to NYC. Today I will tell you specifically about our New Year’s Eve in New York City experience. (Part two of the story is here.) I want to tell you about other things we did while in NYC so you’ll have some tips on theatre and restaurants next time you visit!

The New York Marriott Marquis was the host of this fabulous CRN event. Located right on Times Square, it’s a hip hub of activity! It’s also home to the most amazing glass elevators and fitness center I’ve ever seen.

Fabulous fitness center on the 23rd floor. One side overlooks NYC, while the other side views the atrium and bank of glass elevators. Photo c/o New York Marriott Marquis.

The hotel was all decked out in Christmas splendor… beautiful everywhere I looked. It’s impossible to have a bad view from this hotel that attracts visitors from all around the world. The friendly staff made our whole group feel so welcome and special. (Note: this is not a sponsored post. I just loved this place and want to share with you!)

New Year’s Eve in New York City is just crazy. We were told that if we ventured out during the day, we better be back by 2:00 p.m. or it may be impossible to even get back! I only ventured one block to find a pair of ear muffs to keep my ears warm that night. Everywhere I looked were revelers. And police. Lots of them, which I liked! People started lining up in the pens lining Times Square early in the morning of NYE. Once they are in, they cannot leave until after midnight! As a result, rumor has it that many people wear diapers. I could have gone without hearing that fact!

With Tom in a tux and me in a blingy dress, we headed to the Presidential Suite on the 43rd floor at 6:00 p.m. for pictures, hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Next up was our first of two police-escorted visits out to Times Square. (Note: the NY Marquis generously feeds all New York’s finest on the job on NYE. The police presence is considerable, so this is not small feat). Hats and glasses were passed to everyone. We were all so excited!

Next thing we knew, we were being led to the very center of Times Square in front of the throngs of people who had been there since early morning! It was truly surreal. We were there to witness the 8:00 p.m. “ball drop rehearsal.” Who knew there was a rehearsal?

Ball drop rehearsal, complete with fireworks!

The folks who had been there all day looked us over carefully, trying to figure out who we were. They assumed we were famous or something, with the police escorting us out to the middle! Nope, just some hoteliers, meeting planners, and their spouses.

Caption: Who are these people and why are they in front of me after I’ve been here all day?

Fans excitedly waiting for the evening’s headliner.

I took several pics of police. Most of the images show them with serious faces but they were grinning ear to ear after I thanked them for keeping NYC safe on NYE!

He gave me a big ole smile after I snapped this.

Love this pic! NYC’s finest for sure.

Even a NYC Police Colonel smiled and posed with me!

Though it was quite frigid, we had so much adrenaline we weren’t even cold!

After 30 minutes or so, we headed back into the Marquis NYC to a grand party in the Broadway Lounge. Open to the public for no small chunk of change, it was simply spectacular! An amazing spread of food. Festive decorations. Open bar.

Entertainment started with the Forte Tenors, who won fourth place at last summer’s America’s Got Talent. They have unbelievable talent.

Their performance was followed by a great d.j. and lots of dancing. My honey had quite the moves! We had a blast dancing the night away.

Before we knew it, midnight was approaching, and it was time for our second visit to Times Square. Once again we bundled up! The excitement as we waited was electric. This time we were led to an empty pen right in front of the Marquis. It was an amazing location to celebrate, take in the scene, and watch the ball drop. Confetti started to fall at about 20 seconds before midnight.

Finally the count down began!

The ball dropped… and then he kissed me!

I’ve never experienced anything like it. Never been in the midst of a MILLION people! Never witnessed such fireworks! Never seen so much confetti! Want to see a video of what it’s like to be RIGHT THERE? Check it out on the Tabler Party Of Two Facebook Page. (You can even LIKE my page while you’re there!)

A night to remember forever.

xoxo,

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We used this hashtag all evening, and the hotel posted everyone’s pics on monitors in the ballroom!

All smiles from America’s finest.

I know… it’s fuzzy. But had to show you Tom’s pic with Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond.

I snapped this shot of Jenny McCarthy on our first jaunt out to Times Square.

I’m just glad he didn’t take any of ME dancing!

#unforgettable

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