Is This $1,000 Per Person New Years Eve Package At The Applebee’s In Times Square…Actually A Pretty Good Deal?

Eatin' good in the neighborhood for New Years Eve. We're less than a week away from 2025, and at least here in Nashville, a lot of places have already sold out of tickets for their New Years Eve parties. A lot of the bars on Broadway, which are usually free to enter, charge big bucks to get into their New Years Eve party, with bars like Kid Rock's, Tootsie's and Honky Tonk Central even offering a "fast pass" for $100 to help you avoid the long lines. But if you don't already have plans to ring in the new year, it's not too late to buy tickets to...Applebee's in Times Square. Who doesn't want to spend New Years Eve eating some Bourbon Street steak and riblets? The package includes reserved indoor seating, an open bar from 7pm to midnight, a private escort out to the street to watch the famous ball drop, and a dinner buffet and passed appetizers. But it's also a little pricey: If you want a table for two, it's going to cost you $849 each, plus fees that bring the grand total up to $2,061 - so over $1,000 per person to spend New Years Eve at Applebee's. https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicagolich/video/7452937758500244767?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7079551662505215534 Of course, this seems pretty outrageous to drop $2,000 for a couple for a night at Applebee's. And there are obviously a lot of people making fun of the package. But one of the big perks seems to have a lot of people convinced it's worth it - and it's not the open bar or the buffet, but...the bathrooms. I'm not proud to admit that I've been one of the idiots who spent New Years Eve in Times Square (I even made it onto the broadcast one year, the video's still out there on YouTube somewhere). I've actually done it three times, and each time I swore I would never do it again (but now I'm too old and will definitely never be doing it again). And when I tell people that I've done it, the first question is always the same: How did you go to the bathroom? Well for me and my group, the answer is we didn't. We planned it out to stop drinking anything early enough that we could get to our spot around 11am and post up there for the day without having to go to the bathroom, because if we left we would have lost our spot. I know some people say they wear diapers, and I'm sure there are people who are peeing in bottles, but it's much easier just to hold it for the whole day. Of course that also means we were stone cold sober the entire time too. Can't risk having to break the seal with an hour left before the ball drops. But that means that you're standing there in the cold (and one year, the rain), packed in like sardines, not able to move for 12 hours as your body and spirit slowly wear down, and you're not even able to drink to make it slightly less miserable. Unless you go to Applebee's. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think that for the price it actually sounds like a pretty sweet deal. You get an open bar all night, and let's be honest, with NYC drink prices, it wouldn't be hard to get your money's worth just from the booze. But not only that, you get a buffet (sure it's Applebee's, but it beats the stale Domino's pizza that we managed to score one year while we were standing out in the crowd) and most importantly...a restroom. You're basically getting to experience the ball drop without having to make any of the sacrifices that the idiots outside are making, and you don't have to make yourself miserable to do it. I know it's a lot of money, but if you're going to NYC, you know you're going to be dropping quite a bit anyway. There are obviously cheaper options if you want a budget-friendly New Years Eve, but honestly, if I were going to go back to NYC for NYE (which, to be clear, I'm never doing again), the Applebee's actually sounds like a pretty good deal. It would be worth it to not go into the New Year with a bladder that's ready to burst.