New Years Eve in Las Vegas

We currently live in Las Vegas  and we could not resist going out for New Year's Eve. We heard all the horror stories of how they block off the strip and close all the exits off of I-15 and you get stuck in traffic forever. Despite this we headed down there. We actually got down there quickly, but it took a while to get into a parking garage. We finally ended up in the Caesar's parking lot. They have a huge parking garage and we should have just gone there to begin with. We walked through Caesar's on the way to the Bellagio and they had random ice bars set up throughout. The ice bars were elaborate.
It didn't take us long to make it to the Bellagio, but we did stop out front to watch the water show.  Around 10:30 PM we went back out and watched another show.  This time it was a very long one, the longest I have seen there.  I assume they did this because it was New Years eve.
This is us inside the Bellagio. We did a tiny bit of gambling and of course lost!  It was very crowded and hard to get drinks, so be sure to start gambling near the area the waitresses come out of.
Here we are in front of the lounge we went to called Caramel inside the Bellagio. It was fun. They turned it into a kind of night club with a dj. They had a few party favors and covered the ceiling with balloons. It was so dark we couldn't get picture inside. The tickets were over priced and the drinks were insanely over priced. Although we had fun, we would not go again and would not recommend it. Their staff was incredibly rude. I watched some of the interactions the staff had with guests and I saw people get yelled at for no reason. I understand there are a lot of people out and the workers are probably uptight, but they were still awful especially when you factor how much money you are spending in there.

About twenty minutes til midnight we started to make our way outside for the count down and fireworks.
We could see fireworks going off at six different casinos.

How to celebrate New Year's eve at Disney World for FREE!

How to celebrate New Year's eve at Disney World for FREE!

For New Years eve we made no plans even though we knew we would be in Orlando for my husband's work trip. At the last minute we decided to go out to the Boardwalk Resort at Disney World. This is an area where Disney put in a man made lake and built multiple resorts, restaurants, clubs, stores, a boardwalk,
and a beach around it. You can walk completely around the area. Other than the parking situation we had an awesome time. Parking is free and then you just walk through one of the resorts and begin your fun.

We started the evening by getting ourselves on the waiting list right away at the Greek restaurant there, Kouzzine by Cat Cora. We didn't make reservations in advance and were not sure if we could get in to eat anywhere. The wait turned out to be only 45 minutes! So to kill time we walked around and enjoyed a juggler performance
and a magician. Both were very good, because they only have the best at Disney. As the magician was finishing up, the first set of fireworks went off over in Epcot. We had a perfect view of them.

At almost exactly 45 minutes we were sat down to a delicious dinner. Our chef was a fellow Red Raider!! Our kids had a three course dinner complete with ice cream sundaes for only 8.99!  They were wonderful when it came to dealing with my daughter's food allergies. Every single restaurant on Disney property is set up to handle allergy issues.
By the time we had finished dinner there was a DJ set up on the lawn right in front of the Boardwalk Inn. He was playing lots of fun clean music and leading everyone is different dance motions. He had motions to every song he played! Our kids danced like crazy.

Overall it was an awesome evening that I will remember forever.

If we could have made it until midnight we would have had quite the view of the fireworks but our two year old just couldn't make it, so at 11 we caught a bus to try to get back to our car. By midnight we were in downtown Disney. From where we were at near Disney Quest facing the parking lot we could see fireworks going off at two of the parks and behind us at a third park. They went on forever! Icing on the already perfect evening.

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