START THE PARTY

By CHRIS BUNTING

December 18, 2007 -- BEFORE you shred through the shrink-wrap of that Babes of Borgata ‘08 calendar like some rabid badger, first thing’s first: getting drunk and randomly hooking up at a New Year’s Eve party!

Sure, 2008 will bring a new president (orgasmic emoticon redacted — we’re fair and balanced), the Beijing Summer Olympics and "Indiana Jones 4" to theaters (read: pirated on YouTube a month prior). But 2007 had its moments and deserves a proper burial.

To wit: you could travel somewhere, if only for the last night of ’07 (that’d be Dec. 31) to see, say, what it is people outside NYC drop instead of a ball to celebrate. You’d be surprised — a conch shell in Key West! An onion in Bermuda! A baby in New Orleans! We don’t even want to know what they drop in Dildo, Newfoundland.

Or, use the holiday as an excuse to visit a far away land for the first time. New Year’s is when Europe’s on its best behavior. Whatever the gimmick may be, the point is to party. Hardzo. Whether you’re looking for kiddie-safe fun or the softest sand to pass out drunk on, resolve yourself to check out one of these New Year’s Eve blowouts.

TAKE THE KIDS

Disneyland, Anaheim, CA

Spend New Year’s with a genuine dumb blonde from the O.C. — but we don’t mean one you’ve seen on MTV. We’re talking Pluto, as in Mickey’s half-witted yellow mutt, along with the rest of Disney’s critters. A capacity crowd, noisemakers in tow, will be treated to DJs in front of It’s A Small World and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, a performance by Grammy-nom’d “Lisa Haley and the Zydecats”, and multiple fireworks shows (with a special finale at 12:05 am). 

Local tradition: Disneyland’s cosplay won’t stop at the usual midnight hour – come NYE, the park stays open until 2 a.m.! Nearby California Adventures has extended hours, too, until 1.

Stay: Good luck getting a room at the Disneyland hotel. Instead, try the Anabella Hotel, a Spanish-mission lookalike (12/31 stays from $165; anabellahotel.com).

More info: disneyland.disney.go.com

IT’S TRADITION!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Hogmanay is the Scots’ 4-day New Year’s seasonally public display of seasonal affected disorder – er, their Winter Festival -- running Dec. 29 - Jan. 1. Inspired by ancient Viking and Gaelic shenanigans, expect lots of pyromania (torch processions, juniper set on fire) and random acts of face sucking. You know that tune you’ve never heard sung soberly (nor coherently), "Auld Lang Syne"? It was written here by ancient Scots and still proudly sung on NYE to this day. Odds are, though, not any more soberly or coherently.

Local tradition: Too many to count, each crazier than the next: First-footing (not dirty: it’s visiting a neighbor with a gift), fireball swinging and/or a group leap into the frosty Firth of Forth river. Who are these people?

Stay: Novotel Edinburgh Centre is close to the Castle (12/31 stays from $444 via kayak.com)

More info: hogmanay.net

FOR OLD TIMES SAKE

New Orleans

Resist bee-lining it for Bourbon Street. Not that it won’t be hopping (and the areolae-4-beads exchange will be in effect, weather-regardless), but you’ve probably already been there, done that. Instead, why not take in a Buddy Guy concert at the House of Blues (how does he play that guitar with those drumsticks?). For $125/pp, there’s dinner and dancing at City Park in The Pavillion of Two Sisters. Or, flip the script a whole 180 degrees and catch the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and New Orleans Opera Chorus at the Opera House. Whatever you do, try not getting in any drunken brawls with anyone playing at the Sugar Bowl New Year’s Day (it’s Hawaii v. Georgia this time around) -- they tend to win.

Local tradition: Head to Jackson Square where the baby Bacchus drops atop Jax Brewery.

Stay: The Omni Royal Crescent Hotel is Quarter adjacent (12/31 stays from $229; omnihotels.com)

More info: neworleanscvb.com

FEEL THE HISTORY

Prague, Czechoslovakia

Don’t let those "Hostel" flicks skeeve you out about the Eastern bloc – it’s where the party’s at come New Year’s. If you want to catch the fireworks, the best seat in the house is anywhere overlooking the Vltava river, be it on Petrin Hill or on the Charles Bridge. Being aboard the Jazz Cruise or Party Boat works even better! The philharmonic and state opera are putting on special performances, as well.

Local tradition: The Czechs are second only to Mexicans when it comes to a love of firecrackers. Head for Old Town Square at midnight where everyone’s lighting ‘em up and (hopefully) flinging them before any fingers fail to greet ‘08.

Stay: The close-to-everything Hilton Prague Old Town (12/31 stay starts at $403; hilton.com)

More info: czechtourism.com

SMALL TOWN EXTRAVAGENCE

Monterey, CA

First Night Santa Cruz may have been snuffed out by the local bacon-in-blue, but its next door neighbor has picked up the slack. While there are hundreds of two-bit towns around the world that host First Nights, but Monterey goes to town and then some — the first half of the day is all very rated-G: magic shows and puppetry, hat and bracelet-making, concluding with the Twilight Parade at 5:30 p.m. The second half is devoted to performance art – there are over 75 artists doing something at over 30 venues all over Monterey’s downtown (the Black Irish Band has a country-Celtic sound, Jonah and the Whale Watchers brings the reggae). Too much to do in a day? Probably, but fun to try.

Local tradition: Monterey’s FN theme changes every year – this time it’s "Passport to the Arts". Buy a button (helps pay for the artists), get a passport, and hit an art trail, where you get stamps along the way. Rip out a page of your passport at the end of the trail and enter yourself into a raffle for plane tickets and other prizes.

Stay: Stay at Portola Plaza, walk to the Aquarium (12/31 stays from $199; portolaplazahotel.com)

More info: firstnightmonterey.org

ON ISLAND TIME

Bermuda

You don’t need the WASP version of NASCAR (a.k.a. a golf cart) to do Bermuda right. The Atlantic’s answer to the Caribbean has a rockin’ New Year’s party in St. George’s Parish. Fireworks, food, dancing, live music, fireworks over the beach. On New Year’s Day, visitors are told to keep an eye out for the Gombeys – snare drum-loving costumed dancers inspired by the rhythms and traditions of West Africa – who take to the streets.

Local tradition: The dropping of the Bermuda onion!

Stay: The Fairmont Hamilton Princess, overlooking the capital’s surprisingly busy harbor (12/31 stays from $299; fairmont.com)

More info: bermudatourism.com

THE SOPHISTICATED ONE

Madrid

For some reason, Madrilenians wear red underwear for New Year’s, so be thankful they don’t also run the bulls. Instead, you’ll be safely asked to head for Puerta del Sol Square to watch the famous tower clock chimes 12 times at midnight.

Local tradition: With each chime, you eat a grape, 12 in all, to insure prosperity in each month of the New Year. Chase each grape with champagne for good measure.

Stay: The Husa Paseo del Arte, next to 3 major museums (12/31 stays from $146; hotelhusapaseodelarte.com)

More info: esmadrid.com

COLD, BUT IT SURE BEATS BOSTON

Toronto

There’s not 80,000, not a mere 90,000, but 100,000 lights that illuminate Nathan Phillips Square as part of Toronto’s 41st annual Cavalcade of Lights come New Year’s Eve. If you go blind from all that wattage, live stage music will feed your newly-enhanced sense of hearing. Expects 1,000s of visitors dancing and singing along. Just remember, Canada is passport territory now.

Local tradition: Fireworks over Lake Ontario – a postcard.¤.¤.come alive.

Stay: Sutton Place is luxury on ice (12/31 stays from $144; toronto.suttonplace.com)

More info: toronto.ca

DRINK YOURSELF SILLY

Key West, Fla

The Conch Republic seceded from the Union back in the ‘80s and no one seemed to give a damn. But come New Year’s and all of a sudden people want to visit its Confederate soil. If you do come, be warned, unless you're superpositional, you’ll have to choose what to watch drop. There’s the conch shell drop (duh) at Sloppy Joe’s Bar on Duval Street. There’s also a red high heel (carrying a drag queen, no less) drop at the Bourbon Street Pub/New Orleans House complex (also on Duval). Plus, a pirate wench drop from Liberty Clipper’s mast at the Historic Seaport! Oh lord, help guide me toward the right path!

Local tradition: Solving the trilemma (see above).

Stay: Comfort Inn Key West lives up to its brand name (12/31 stays from $319; choicehotels.com)

More info: keywest.com

NICE CITIES FINISH LAST

Honolulu

Enlist in the Second Annual Quest for Father Time, starting at 7:00 p.m. on NYE. It’s basically a "DaVinci Code"-inspired scavenger hunt through Chinatown and downtown Honolulu, only you solve riddles and puzzles CSI-style, using gizmos like black lights (the better to see invisible ink, my dear) to win.

Local tradition: Not so much into thinking? Lay back, let the Mai Tais take your mind’s helm, and watch the fireworks over America’s prettiest state capital until you fade to black.

Stay: The beachfront Wyland Waikiki Hotel – you can almost see your friends and family flipping you off back in New York (12/31 stays from $249; outrigger.com)

More info: ravenchase.com