Stranded on New Year's Eve? You're Not Alone

Dec. 31, 2010— -- Thousands of stranded travelers are going to have an unusual New Year's Eve thanks to winter storms in the Rockies, the Midwest and the fallout from last weekend's Northeast blizzard.

Kelly Brady and her husband were supposed to be at a party she is organizing at The Eldridge in New York. Instead, she has been stranded in a tiny bed at her in-laws' Chicago home and will be ringing in the new year with her husband's high school friends, including his first girlfriend.

"I'm sending out Facebook and Twitter messages to see who else is here and we will make the best of it," she told ABC News.

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Further west, Meredith Klein and her family were supposed to fly home to New York Thursday morning from a ski vacation in Durango, Colo. But that mountain resort town got hit with nearly two feet of snow, delaying her 6 a.m. flight to Denver. The flight eventually took off but Klein was told she would never make her connection in Denver. Because of a backlog of people trying to get to New York, there would be no room on a later flight for her and her family.

"We're here until Saturday now," Klein said.

She was supposed to have 15 friends over for New Year's Eve at her house. Now "we're pretty much pulling ideas out of hat," she said.

Her in-laws made it out of Durango earlier in the week, only to be stranded in Denver because of troubles at their destination in England.

"The snow is pretty when you don't have to travel in it," Klein added.

Blizzard warnings are in effect today for portions of Wyoming, Nebraska, Minnesota and the Dakotas, according to the National Weather Service.

Parts of the Rockies and the Midwest are under some sort of winter storm watches and warnings this morning.

It's a similar story across the country as airlines rebooked stranded passengers on flights after the New Year. Don't expect masses sleeping on airport cots. Instead, most people have been told that they are stuck, and like Brady and Klein, have sought out alternative plans. But not after trying everything else first.

Brady and her husband -- who is a platinum elite member of American Airlines' frequent flier program -- were originally supposed to fly home Monday. They preemptively changed their flight to Tuesday.

"We checked the flight all morning and it said on time so we packed our 10 bags -- full of presents from Christmas -- and our 15 pound dog and we headed to the airport," Brady said. "We called the airlines while in the car and again we were assured all was on time and ready to go. We get to the first class check-in desk to be told in a cheery voice: 'Your flight was cancelled.'"

After eight nights on a "very small full bed" at the in-laws, they went on Priceline and got a hotel in downtown Chicago for $50.

"It wasn't until today that I realized that I was stuck here for New Year's," Brady said yesterday.

Polly Blitzer and her husband also had plans in New York with some friends but are now stranded in Boca Raton, Fla. until Jan. 2.

"The only local New Year's Eve attraction is a Beach Boys cover band at 'the club,' Blitzer said.

"So we decided to indulge in a different kind of bubbly," she said. "We bought dozens of bottles of bubbles and are going to have a bubble party in my in-laws back yard."

Those flying on New Year's Eve night shouldn't expect anything special. While Southwest encourages its flight attendants to have fun on New Year's Eve and wear hats and have noise makers, other airlines told ABC News they were simply focusing on getting everybody home. At least those on Virgin America's red eye and evening flights will get free drinks, according to spokeswoman Abby Lunardini.

Airports aren't doing much for travelers either. In fact, most will have limited retail options.

For instance, the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport will only have a McDonald's and Subway open when the clock strikes midnight. It will be a similar story in Denver where most of the airports concourses will be closed.

At least one hotel is throwing in something special for stranded travelers. New York's Buckingham Hotel is offereing people with flight delays of four hours or more the cost of their airport taxi ride (up to $50) taken off the current available room rate.