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Adventurous Types Head for Times Square

Roger Turner of Wilton "wouldn't go on a bet." But Jason Bonet, an 11-year-old from Norwalk, was looking forward to a new experience Friday night: seeing the ball drop in person for the first time.

Jason and his mom were among the people at the South Norwalk train station heading for Times Square on New Year's Eve. Turner was among those boarding trains who wouldn't think of visiting the mayhem.

"It's too crowded," Turner said. "It's like St. Patrick's Day. You can't get into a restaurant or a bar, it's just packed."

But Yalissa Sierra, 18, a lifelong Norwalker waiting for the train at the South Norwalk station, couldn't wait.

"I'm finally old enough," she said. My mother "didn't want to take us when we were little because it's too crowded. It's not a good place to take little kids."

Yalissa's mother was going, too. Yolanda Sierra said she was expecting "chaos." Yalissa was expecting it to be "big, very bright." They weren't worried. "We've seen it on TV all the time and the news," Yalissa said. "You gotta expect that, screaming and all of that."

Amanda Melser of Texas and her friend Jill Featherall traveled from Scranton, Pa., to catch the train in South Norwalk. Melser has been to Times Square once but not on New Year's Eve. "It's going to be an adventure," she said.

Sandy Bonet, Jason's mom, knew they were heading into chaos. "Just a lot of crowds," she said. "There's a lot of people, just trying to navigate to where they're going. So this will be interesting, we're going to Madame Tussauds wax museum. It's the first year that they're hosting a New Year's Eve event."

Madame Tussauds advertised a "celebrate in style" event above the crowds of Times Square where partiers could watch the ball drop from the windows.

Over at the Westport train station, Katie Cherico of Wilton expressed a common opinion. "I've heard Times Square is going to be crazy, and I'm going to try to avoid that if I can," she said. She was heading to a party at a friend's place at 46th and 10th in Manhattan. "It's a little too close to Times Square," she said. "I'm praying. ... I had to go through it last year and it's not fun, it's a scary madhouse."

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