We lived in Las Vegas for 4 New Years Eves. We never went down to the strip to join the hundreds of thousands of people who flock there to ring in the new year in "sin city". At the end of 2012, we found ourselves in another destination city. Matt said, "We don't know how long we will be here. It would be a shame to be here and miss all the fun just because we don't want the hassle." So we started thinking about how to participate with a minimum of hassle. We tried out the metro as mentioned in a previous entry. Due to the false info, we didn't pursue that course, which was good because from what I heard, it was CRAZY trying to use it to leave downtown. We knew parking would be the biggest issue, so we just opted to go early. Matt had to work (he took off for Christmas, single guys get priority for New Years), but we were hoping he could join us later....um that didn't work out.
This is how the day ended up. I got up early to go on a run. When I got back the kids got up and we had breakfast. I had them do a couple lessons for school (mean mom!) and then we packed up the car. I had everyone bring a sweatshirt, pillow, blanket, and something to read. We also brought the Bean Game--a fun game we learned about from Sicily Troy.
We got to the Dubai Mall around 2pm and carefully picked a parking spot for ease of departure. It was very busy, but not packed. When I first parked and started to get out, Jess was disappointed. She thought we were going to put the seats down and make cozy spots right then. Nope, that was for later.
For the next two hours we wandered around laughing at ALL the signs, banners and bright yellow pillar wraps directing traffic to the fireworks from every corner of the mall. They all led to a single point--seemed a little crazy to me. We went outside as close to the fountain as we could. They had closed all doors to the outside except one and had metal crowd control barriers set up all over to corral the people into lines.... Seemed an ominous sign. We could see a lot of activity going on on the water. A guard told us that the fountain show would start at 8, as usual, but have fire added. Plus there was a live orchestra on hand. Also during that time, we ate lunch slowly while taking a reading break. If we wanted to stay by the water, we should have stayed from that point on. I don't think I could have lasted that long.
We had a lot of time to kill still, so we decided to follow Matt's suggestion to go see Life of Pi. It was wonderfully comfortable in the theater and we all voted that the movie was good, interesting. But before going into the theater, we went to the car for sweatshirts--it's always cold in there. It was about 5 o'clock and the parking lot was PACKED. I had to tell dozens of cars slowly trolling the lanes, "Sorry, we aren't leaving," using words and/or hand signals.
After the movie, (7:15) we grabbed a quick bite and then started to head outside. We quickly learned that where we had hoped to be was completely packed. In an effort to shorten this narrative, we ended up father than we hoped, but with a good view of the Burj Khalifa. And for the next 4 hours we tried to entertain ourselves. We played the Bean Game, we read, the girls made up a "blend in with the crowd" game, we people watched, we watched an endless stream of people jumping over a wall....
Eventually midnight came. The fireworks were completely unique off the Burj. There were also more traditional bursts being shot off the mall, The Address hotel, and around the fountain show. It was very cool, but over in 5-6 minutes. I included a link to one YouTube video showing pretty much what we saw. There are many, many more videos (much better) on there that show a compilation of shots from ground and helicopter and include the music (which we couldn't really hear). We have watched several and they are very cool. I'm including some pictures we took.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU7u4Xsszzs
Then we packed up and quickly walked back into the mall for a bathroom break. Good thing we were fast because on our way out the line was loooong. We were amazed to see every single store, kiosk and restaurant open. Matt and I have been at the mall after a midnight movie from when I visited him 2 summers ago, but it's always been dead afterwards. Not for New Years. It's all open for business. Several dozen kids were skating on the ice rink! We headed to the car. I was thinking maybe we didn't neen my plan of waiting out the traffic after all if everyone was staying to shop. Everyone was not staying to shop. When we got to the car, there was already a solid line of cars in front of us and they weren't moving. So we laid down the seats, got cozy and took naps. Every so often I would open my eyes to look out, but it wasn't until after 2:30 am that the line was gone. We started for home. Right before leaving the parking lot, we drove by the line of people waiting for taxis--I couldn't see the end of it. Poor people. Driving home was busy, but not packed. I am sooooo glad we waited for the worst to be over. I hate inching along. And I appreciated the nap.
Since then we have learned that Dubai was at 100% occupancy for New Years. Over 1 million people go to the area around the Khalifa. That is a LOT of people. Also the fireworks at the Burj al Arab last for 20 minutes, and you can hang out on the beach with far fewer people, AND you can see them going off at Atlantis on the Palm too. Next year?
This is how the day ended up. I got up early to go on a run. When I got back the kids got up and we had breakfast. I had them do a couple lessons for school (mean mom!) and then we packed up the car. I had everyone bring a sweatshirt, pillow, blanket, and something to read. We also brought the Bean Game--a fun game we learned about from Sicily Troy.
We got to the Dubai Mall around 2pm and carefully picked a parking spot for ease of departure. It was very busy, but not packed. When I first parked and started to get out, Jess was disappointed. She thought we were going to put the seats down and make cozy spots right then. Nope, that was for later.
For the next two hours we wandered around laughing at ALL the signs, banners and bright yellow pillar wraps directing traffic to the fireworks from every corner of the mall. They all led to a single point--seemed a little crazy to me. We went outside as close to the fountain as we could. They had closed all doors to the outside except one and had metal crowd control barriers set up all over to corral the people into lines.... Seemed an ominous sign. We could see a lot of activity going on on the water. A guard told us that the fountain show would start at 8, as usual, but have fire added. Plus there was a live orchestra on hand. Also during that time, we ate lunch slowly while taking a reading break. If we wanted to stay by the water, we should have stayed from that point on. I don't think I could have lasted that long.
We had a lot of time to kill still, so we decided to follow Matt's suggestion to go see Life of Pi. It was wonderfully comfortable in the theater and we all voted that the movie was good, interesting. But before going into the theater, we went to the car for sweatshirts--it's always cold in there. It was about 5 o'clock and the parking lot was PACKED. I had to tell dozens of cars slowly trolling the lanes, "Sorry, we aren't leaving," using words and/or hand signals.
After the movie, (7:15) we grabbed a quick bite and then started to head outside. We quickly learned that where we had hoped to be was completely packed. In an effort to shorten this narrative, we ended up father than we hoped, but with a good view of the Burj Khalifa. And for the next 4 hours we tried to entertain ourselves. We played the Bean Game, we read, the girls made up a "blend in with the crowd" game, we people watched, we watched an endless stream of people jumping over a wall....
Eventually midnight came. The fireworks were completely unique off the Burj. There were also more traditional bursts being shot off the mall, The Address hotel, and around the fountain show. It was very cool, but over in 5-6 minutes. I included a link to one YouTube video showing pretty much what we saw. There are many, many more videos (much better) on there that show a compilation of shots from ground and helicopter and include the music (which we couldn't really hear). We have watched several and they are very cool. I'm including some pictures we took.
I pilfered Isaac's sweatshirt because between Las Vegas and Dubai, I am now a cold blooded desert rat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU7u4Xsszzs
Then we packed up and quickly walked back into the mall for a bathroom break. Good thing we were fast because on our way out the line was loooong. We were amazed to see every single store, kiosk and restaurant open. Matt and I have been at the mall after a midnight movie from when I visited him 2 summers ago, but it's always been dead afterwards. Not for New Years. It's all open for business. Several dozen kids were skating on the ice rink! We headed to the car. I was thinking maybe we didn't neen my plan of waiting out the traffic after all if everyone was staying to shop. Everyone was not staying to shop. When we got to the car, there was already a solid line of cars in front of us and they weren't moving. So we laid down the seats, got cozy and took naps. Every so often I would open my eyes to look out, but it wasn't until after 2:30 am that the line was gone. We started for home. Right before leaving the parking lot, we drove by the line of people waiting for taxis--I couldn't see the end of it. Poor people. Driving home was busy, but not packed. I am sooooo glad we waited for the worst to be over. I hate inching along. And I appreciated the nap.
Since then we have learned that Dubai was at 100% occupancy for New Years. Over 1 million people go to the area around the Khalifa. That is a LOT of people. Also the fireworks at the Burj al Arab last for 20 minutes, and you can hang out on the beach with far fewer people, AND you can see them going off at Atlantis on the Palm too. Next year?
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