The Times Square Ball is an iconic and prominent part of the New Year celebration all over the world. As a Canadian, I grew up watching Dick Clarke’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve on TV (and it was even an hour later than where I am!) They even made a movie where the lead up to the ball drop was the main plot. As a kid, I REALLY wanted to see this in person someday. But, then as an adult I found out how much it kind of sucks if you don’t have any kind of VIP access. Which I was sure I would never get.
Until I found out about this…
But first, if you didn’t grow up watching this on TV, let’s learn a little history of what makes this little ball so special.
You can actually see the ball at any time of year, it’s always located on the top of One Times Square, and is at the bottom of its post. I say little ball, because it is pretty little and can be hard to spot. I’m sure if you’re right next to it, it’s a pretty big ball!
History
The ball has been dropping for over 100 years, with its first descent down the flagpole happening in 1908. Back then, there wasn’t all the pomp and circumstance, A-list performances, and glitz that it has today though.
The then owner of The New York Times, Adolph Ochs, wanted to increase the number of people coming to Times Square for their New Year’s Eve celebration. The current firework show was only drawing about 200,000 people. They decided to do something bigger, and the first ball drop was inspired by one that used to be used near the Trinity Church in NYC.
To ring in 1908, a 5 foot wide, 700 lb wood and iron ball was built and attached to a 70 foot flagpole. The ball dropped 10 seconds before midnight and was controlled by six men and a rope. By 1913, the New York Times had moved locations, but still maintained this tradition, which by now was drawing large crowds.
Since 1908 there have been 6 different balls used, the first was replaced in 1920 by a lighter, all iron one, coming in at 400 lbs. The third ball was introduced in 1956 that was a little wider at 6 feet, and made from aluminum so it was only 150 lbs. The fourth debuted for the millennium in the year 2000 and seemed to favor a more ‘futuristic look’ made from crystal and lights, which made it a LOT heavier at 1,070 lbs!
For the 100th anniversary of the ball drop in 2008 a new ball was introduced as well, this time it was also made from heavy crystal, but for the first time relied on technology for lighting, and could change lightning patterns using LED lights and computers. This ball was only used for 1 year and is now on display in the Times Square Visitors Centre. The current ball being used today is very similar to this one, but is double the diameter at 12 feet wide and it weighs a whopping 11,875 lbs. Good thing they don’t rely on men and a rope for this one! This one is also weatherproof, and is why the ball is now on display to be seen above Times Square year round.
Timeline
Times Square is closed to traffic starting in the afternoon on New Years Eve. Then, ‘pens’ are created to hold spectators on a first come arrival. You can’t bring backpacks, or chairs, or even an umbrella!
Current celebration timeline included the raising of the ball in the early evening, then sponsored swag gets distributed, such as hats, balloons, and noisemakers. Then there are performances that begin, and commentators, and a lot of other stuff you can barely see in person. The televised event has become the main focus, while people on the street are left in their pens that they can’t leave to wait until 11:59pm when the ball begins its descent into the next year.
There is confetti (3000 lbs of it!) and fireworks that accompany 12:00am and then the event is pretty much over. Then the cleanup team moves in, and everything is more or less back to normal by morning. Some confetti can still be found as it comes loose from the edges of buildings.
Weather
Weather in NYC during winter can be pretty unpredictable. They have had super cold nights, snowy nights, rainy nights, and even unseasonably warm nights on New Year’s Eve. I mentioned you aren’t able to bring an umbrella with you, so I think rain would probably be the worst one to have to stand for hours in, with extreme cold being a close second!
We had unseasonably warm, but rainy weather when we were there. However, for our time down on the street in the VIP section, we were allowed to bring an umbrella. We also didn’t stay outside that long. Enough to walk through and have a look at everything, which was enough for me. I also had a few drinks by that point and the rain didn’t bother me much.
Check the forecast 2-3 days before, and if you are packing as part of a longer trip, make sure you have what you need to be outside for as long as required. If you follow my lead described below, that will only be 20-30 minutes twice during the evening!
The Best Way to See the Ball Drop in New York City on New Years Eve
There may be better ways to watch the ball drop, but it’s going to involve thousands and thousands of dollars, or some kind of special VIP access that I, as a regular girl, do not have. So I am going to tell you a relatively affordable VIP-esque way to see the ball drop COMFORTABLY on New Year’s Eve…
…and that is by staying at the #3 ranked hotel in NYC according to Tripadvisor – Casablanca Hotel!
There is a dedicated New Year’s Eve Package at the Casablanca Hotel in Times Square. Four thousand dollars is not cheap or budget, I understand that. I will also be transparent and tell you that we didn’t spend quite that much. When we went to ring in 2023 the hotel industry was still slowly recovering from the pandemic and the current 3 night minimum stay was only 2 nights at the time. We arrived December 30th, 2022 and checked out January 1st, 2023.
Currently, there is a 3 night minimum stay and these are the per night rates for the following dates:
The rate for the 31st is a lot higher because the NYE’s package includes the following:
- Dinner Party for 2 on New Year’s Eve at our on-property restaurant Tony’s Di Napoli
- Dinner Party includes Open Bar and fabulous live Broadway entertainment
- After-dinner party in Rick’s Café
- NYC Ball Drop Viewing with a toast on the roof of the Casablanca Hotel Times Square
- Breakfast/Brunch on New Year’s Day at the Brooklyn Diner (8am-11: 30 am)
- Complimentary bottle of Bubbly and Belgian chocolate in room
I truly believe this was the best way to have this bucket-list experience. We had so much fun, we wanted to book again for the next year that night! You can book this experience here (I am not affiliated with this hotel at all, I make nothing from you using this link).
I will go into details about our experience at the hotel and the evening below if you are interested!
Our Experience at Casablanca Hotel for New Year’s Eve 2022/23
We made our reservation on December 1, 2023. I would recommend booking a bit earlier than this, as it is more likely to sell out. However, as I said above, travel was still getting its wings back after the pandemic so things were not “normal”. Our total was $1,891.16 USD for two nights, and that included everything that I mentioned above.
When we first arrived, we weren’t able to get checked in right away as it was still early. They did take our bags though, and we went out exploring. NYC is still pretty decked out with all things Christmas at this time of year so we went to Bryant Park, 5th Avenue, Central Park, McGee’s Pub, The Plaza, the NYPL, and got some food. Then we checked in, and the hotel staff was so great. I can really see how this hotel is ranked so highly, the staff is next level.
We were then able to check in and get settled in our room, which was clean and of a decent enough size. It was still small, but probably twice the size of the last hotel room I had in NYC! The hotel is not brand new, but it has a lot of charm and we were very happy with it.
That evening we had tickets to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall (more about that here, as well as other great things to do in NYC at Christmas) and beforehand we went to Toloache for dinner. After the show we visited 30 Rockefeller to see the tree, and we also watched the Saks 5th Avenue light show. Even this late at night, it was still BUSY!
The next day, before heading out for some activities, we were provided with a pass from the hotel to be able to get back into the area. The NYPD began closing down the streets around Times Square that morning, so without this pass we would not be able to get back to our hotel. We had our passes regularly checked, and they seemed to take security in the area pretty seriously!
For today, we didn’t do too much, we are naturally early risers so we wanted to make sure we had a chance to relax before the evening started. My husband went to the gym, and I did a little shopping, then we got dressed up for the fun night ahead!
The evening starts with dinner next door at Tony’s Di Napoli. You are seated at large tables with other people, and everything is served family style. Drinks are included, and they keep them flowing! I started with some sangria, and there was a new glass at the table before the last one was gone. I inquired about switching to a margarita for my next round, and it arrived right away, I had 3 drinks going at once! At first, everyone was a bit shy, but eventually you get talking to the people at your table, and everyone was really nice. Then we had a singer and pianist start belting out some Broadway tunes. I really feel like this is the point in the evening where you can choose to think it’s lame, or you can choose to have fun. We were a bit hesitant, but after about 3 songs, we chose fun!
The food was really delicious, the drinks were non-stop, the entertainment was fun, and the people were great. There is another party going on upstairs at Tony’s as well, we were in the lower level for ours.
Then a hotel employee takes us out in small groups to the street to walk around in the VIP section to see what everyone else is waiting in. I don’t have many opportunities in my life to feel like a celebrity, but this was one of them. Seeing everyone outside waiting in gated off sections, in rain ponchos really reinforced my decision that this is the best way to have this experience. There is music and stuff playing, but to be honest there is nothing to really see out there. We spent about 20 minutes walking around and having a look, taking some photos, but I was more then ready to go back to my party after that!
The party moves from Tony’s back to the hotel, in the main common area of the hotel, Rick’s Cafe. Here there is another open bar and they are playing some dance music. Then when it’s nearing midnight, they take you up to the rooftop where you can see the ball. The hotel is not the tallest building around, so the view is between two buildings. We didn’t pay 10’s of thousands of dollars after all. But you can see the ball with your own eyes (not on a screen) and that was what I was after.
Up on the rooftop, there are glasses of champagne handed out, and then the countdown happens, the confetti falls (you get some on the rooftop, but just a little bit), and then it’s all over. The weather didn’t give us the greatest photos, the cloudiness mixed with the fireworks made everything hazy, but in real life you didn’t notice as much. It was exactly what I was hoping for.
Then we went to bed, because as I mentioned we are early risers and I was tired! We had such a fun night. We don’t go out often, so it was a special treat on top of a special occasion,
The next morning, on the other side of the hotel is a place called the Brooklyn Diner where you also get breakfast as part of the package booked though the hotel. We had to pack up, and then go to breakfast as we had a pretty early flight that we needed to catch as well.
Overall, this was a perfect NYE for me. I think it was more than worth what we paid, and I would be happy to pay what the current rate is and stay an extra night. Maybe someday in the future!
Let me know in the comments if this sounds like it would be worth it to you!
