Are there any suggestions for watching the college football playoffs on New Year's Eve? If our team is in it, we can't miss. I wouldn't think ESPN would be that busy on that particular evening. Anyone else watch last year?
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I never heard of any college playoffs on New Years Eve. The Rose Bowl always plays on New Years Day. In fact, many teams play on New Years Day.
Everywhere will be terribly crowded on New Years Eve or New Years Day. Don't bother unless you want to deal with crowds and it is unlikely you'll finish watching an entire game that runs 3 hours.
" I never heard of any college playoffs on New Years Eve. The Rose Bowl always plays on New Years Day. In fact, many teams play on New Years Day."
This is the second year of the College Football Playoff, a 4-team single elimination tournament to determine the National Champion. The semi-finals this year are being played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl on December 31, 2015 with the Championship game on January 11, 2015 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. There are a number of bowl games happening on New Year's Day, but are not part of the CFP this year (Rose, Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Cotton Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl rotate as semi-final locations, while the championship game goes through a bidding process like the Super Bowl- Last year's title game was in Arlington/Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium).
Personally, I would probably stay away from both CityWalk and Disney Springs on NYE, even if you want to deal with the crowds. I would look for a sports bar (like Buffalo Wild Wings), or find a cozy hotel lobby if you're really interested in watching the games while in Orlando. The ESPN Club at the Boardwalk might be viable, but that's probably the only place on Disney property I would recommend.
I just happen to be a huge collegiate football fan, so I have a lot of Intel on this kinda stuff.
To watch, I suggest you watch from your living room, for convince sake. If you want to go out to watch it, a sports bar or a hotel lobby would be a wise desicion, as the theme park crowds on New Years Eve will be HUGE..
ESPN on the Boardwalk usually fills up fast for regular game days. I would think it would be especially full that night. People can only take so much of the crowd at Epcot(and the other parks) giving up and leaving to watch the games is something a lot of people will decide to do. If you are staying on property and don't want to watch the game in your room, I'd try the Ale house on 535 near hotel plaza.blvd. it's pretty huge. There's also a Buffalo Wild Wings across 535. They are sorta walkable from the Disney Springs Marketplace. Keep an eye on Disney news also. They haven't announced and probably aren't planning this yet, but I know they opened up the Wonders of life pavilion for people to watch the recent World Cup. It would be smart for them to do the same for these playoffs, just to help with crowd control if nothing else. If enough people inquire about a place to watch ahead of time, maybe they'll do this. If you include all of the tourists, the population of the Orlando Metro area is at its peak this week, and especially this night. Expect everyplace to be packed, including all of the roadways that lead you to them.
Now that I think back, I think the World Cup viewing at Wonders of Life was just for cast members, but they did open something for guests as well. Odysee maybe? Only other place I can think of that isn't normally used.
If you have a car, Ale House right outside of WDW is a good option.
Then again, they should be showing most bowl games in the room since they are on basic stations.
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It's not at Disney, but I would think NBC Grill & Brew at Universal CityWalk would be epic that night.