Bring on Auld Rain Syne!
New Year’s Eve revelers crammed into Times Square on Monday — bracing for a soggy send-off to 2018.
With umbrellas banned from the festivities for security reasons, partiers packed their ponchos and taped plastic bags to their bodies as they staked out their spots in the Crossroads of the World as early as 7:30 a.m.
“This is my dream come true!” gushed Kana Furuhashi, a Japanese native studying at Lehman College.
Undaunted by the gloomy forecast to usher in 2019 — with AccuWeather predicting up to an inch of rain through the night — Furuhashi and a friend arrived equipped with clear plastic ponchos and a determined spirit for their first Times Square ball drop.
“I feel like [Times Square] is the center of the world,” said Furuhashi, 20. “It’s the most famous countdown!”
Others crowded in the pen for the long haul had different liquid concerns.
“I bought a Shewee,” Australian tourist Rachael Hill revealed sheepishly, referring to a longish, hollow device designed to catch urine.
“It’s a lot easier for a guy to whip it out and go in a bottle,” said Hill, 22, even as she questioned whether she’d have the guts to use the covert urinary aid in close quarters despite arriving in Times Square at 7:30 a.m. “I don’t know if I’d have the courage to use it, but it’s there.
“It’s more dignified than a [diaper], I feel.”
Maryam Sanchez, who trekked from Mexico City to ring in the New Year, prepped on both fronts.
“I just had a little bit of water and a little bit of coffee and a small, teeny-tiny breakfast,” said Sanchez, 25, wearing an “I Love New York” poncho for which she plunked down $8.
“I’m going to stay” even when the rain comes, Sanchez proclaimed. “I’ve been waiting for this all my life and I’m not going to miss it.”