NDK NYE Ball 2019/2020

Even though I have been to this event in the past it was my first time attending it at the Denver Marriott South.

The Event:

                Over all I was disappointed in the event and will not be going back for a few years. In the past I had spent most of my time in the casino room, but they had gotten rid of that feature. They did have a board game room that also had a Nerf shooting range, but that only held my attention for a short time. They did also have a panel room, where I did get to see Queen D’s decade in review panel. I find Queen D very amusing, but she seemed very unprepared for her panel. Josh had to keep giving her topics from the back of the room to keep the panel going. After this panel they closed up this room which seemed like a waste. They should have kept panels going the whole time. I know that there was also a make and take, but mouse ears did not seem as interesting as other crafts that NDK has hosted in the past.

                They did have a few other things to do like the Japanese fishing game, but most of the activities you could get through in about 2 hours (if you really took your time). One of the group games I took part in was the Cards Against Humanities game which they bumped up to 11pm instead of waiting for the after midnight adult gaming. The sign said that you had to be 17+ but they did not card any of the players and we were playing in the general game room where everyone could hear when the cards were read out loud.

                With the limited things to do I see only 2 or 3 ways that this event could be fun. One, you come with a large group of friends so you have more people to interact with. Two, you just love dancing and keep doing it all night long. Three, you get so wasted that you really don’t care how bored you are. There were actually several people I saw taking this last option, including a Sebastian that had joined in on the Cards Against humanities game.

The Hotel:

                As to be expected the prices for food and drinks were high. I saw many people actually bringing in outside food to avoid the prices. They also had a very limited menu. From what I saw of the public areas it was a clean hotel.

This event just used to be so much better. I know that I am getting older, but I still like to have things to keep me engaged. I’ll give it 2.5 stars out of 5 or a C-.

Top picture is from: https://ndknye.org/ .

This was the dance floor in the main ball area.

This shows a bit of the photo area they had set up in the back corner of the ball area.

Picture of the game area. In the back by the windows was where the NERF area had been. They tore it down around 11pm.