Red Lobster has featured Millennium Margaritas for months. Walt Disney World (407/939-7784) launched its 15-month celebration in October, highlighted by a Millennium Village with international exhibits; a new "IllumiNations 2000: Reflections of Earth" laser and fireworks spectacular; a nightly "Tapestry of Nations" parade; and exciting eating in the high-end restaurants. Such stellar sites as Manuel's on the 28th in Orlando (390 N. Orange Ave.; 407/246-6580) are playing it cool, marking the occasion with no more fanfare or inflated prices than on previous year-end events. Here are some others going for the big bang:
Astor Place
956 Washington Ave.
305/672-7217
Miami Beach Astor Hotel
The Astor is putting on the biggest bang of all. Get all 40 of its rooms, meals and open bars for 150 people, limos for cruising SoBe hot spots and a New Year's bash for 500, with menus devised by none other than consulting chef Norman Van Aken. It's all yours for just a million dollars, and you can use Astor's website to make your reservation (astormillennium@msn.com).
Baleen Restaurant
Four Grove Isle Drive 305/858-8300
Coconut Grove Grove Isle Club & Resort
Baleen has its own Perrier-Jouet stock of champagne to pour with what celebrity chef Robbin Haas terms a return to Shangri-La for $500 a person, including an invite to themed parties Heaven on Earth or Dante's Disco Inferno around the Tiki bar where chef Haas will have a world barbecue extravaganza. Tickets are $150 or $250 a person; $50 after 11 p.m.
Boca Raton Resort & Club
501 E. Camino Real 561/395-3000
Boca Raton
Not one but 11 millennium parties to please resort patrons, including a top-of-the-line Grand Ballroom blowout with multi-course fancy food and Dionne Warwick on stage. $550 per person; hotel rooms are extra and start at $325.
Brazilian Court
301 Australian Ave. 561/655-7740
Palm Beach
The Court promises "Finesse the Fin de Siecle" a la carte dinners in "the bacchanalia-free zones of the hotel's cozy bistro" or five-course feasts with champagne and "all the de rigueur New Year's Eve paraphernalia" for $350 per person -- no more than 150 guests. On the following first day of 2000, it will have a champagne brunch for $45 per person.
The Breakers
One South County Road 561/655-6611
Palm Beach
A trio of elaborate celebrations: Swing into 2000 in the Venetian Ballroom, Fantasy 2000 in the Ponce de Leon Ballroom and Carnivale 2000 in the Circle Dining Room. All black tie, with champagne and caviar reception, gourmet dinners, souvenirs and party favors, live entertainment and lots of dancing. The first two have premium brand open bars pouring Veuve Clicquot champagne all evening; Carnivale has a non-alcoholic bar and welcomes younger guests. It's $1,000 per person at each venue if you're a hotel guest, $1,500 if not; room rates for the Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 escape start at $495. New Year's Eve rates start at $2,495 a couple, but that includes one of the three celebrations.
Chalet Suzanne
3800 Chalet Suzanne Drive 941/676-6011
Lake Wales
It's been sold out for New Year's Eve since last New Year's Eve, but check for cancellations and room availability for Jan. l, when this treasure dedicates its new Chalet Suzanne Historic House Museum.
The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort
1620 Gulf of Mexico Drive 941/383-6464
Longboat Key
The resort offers its own version of "Fun & Sun 2000" with tented party, open bars, a four-course special dinner, live entertainment and dancing for $325 a person, plus special events for the 3-to-l7-year-old set.
Criolla's
170 East Scenic Hwy. 30-A 850/267-1267
Grayton Beach
The millennium at Criolla's got under way in September when chef-owner Johnny Earles hosted memorable meals prepared by Golden Spoon compatriot Norman Van Aken. For New Year's Eve he'll serve a five-course dinner christened with magnums of Golden Palmes d'or and accompanied by a five-piece Latin band.
The Grand Bay Hotel
2669 S. Bayshore Drive 305/858-9600
Coconut Grove
Grand Bay offers three-night stays in superluxe suites for $8,150 to $10,550, including a numbered, limited edition jereboam of Perrier-Jouet "Reserve Belle Epoque du millenaire," gold-gilded in a beechwood box with an invitation to stay at the fabulous Perrier-Jouet chateau Belle Epoque in France anytime in 2000 or 2001. Caviar-tasting, Sunday brunch and dinner with more Perrier-Jouet is included at the hotel's Bice Restaurant. If you just sign on for the Bice dinner, it's a bargain $250 per person.
The Left Bank
214 S.E. Sixth Ave. 954/462-5376
Fort Lauderdale
With multimedia celebrity chef Jean-Pierre Brehier at the helm, Left Bank is having three separate seatings on New Year's Eve, complete with souvenir 2000 champagne glasses and a menu featuring his new nouvelle French cuisine -- cream no, butter no -- at $300 per couple.
Michael's on East
1212 East Ave. 941/366-0007
Michael's Seafood Grille
214 Sarasota Quay 941/951-2467
Sarasota
Four parties plus the best catering in town, with three seatings in the main restaurant on East Avenue starting at $275 per person, including post-dinner dancing in their Studio 1212, reminiscent of New York's Studio 54. For memories of the '70s, there's Michael's Ballroom with reserved seating $90 and general admission $50. Three seatings also will be offered at The Grille and the Down Under Jazz Club, starting at $175 a person.
Norman's
21 Almeria Ave. 305/446-6767
Coral Gables
With chef-owner Norman Van Aken firmly in control, Norman's is offering a five-course menu, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot for each couple, commemorative gifts and party favors, all for $350 per person.
The Raleigh
1775 Collins Ave. 305/913-7052
Miami Beach
Here is something completely different, as The Raleigh celebrates the dawning of the new millennium rather than the demise of the old, with 5 to 9 a.m. soothing music, Bellinis and Mimosas and healthy fare brunch fruits, egg-white fritatas, low-carb pancakes, guests garbed in white and pampered with facials and foot massages, crystal readings, oxygen bars and aromatherapy. All for $200 per person.
Renaissance Vinoy Resort
501 Fifth Ave. N.E. 727/894-1000
St. Petersburg
The Vinoy has a quartet of temptations, including alfresco patio dining to watch the fireworks, first seating in the Terrace Room and Marchand's Grill or Fred's Bar, members or hotel guests only, for $50. Second seating at Fred's is $75 and in the main dining rooms $175, including a five-course feast, complimentary champagne and a souvenir glass. In the Vinoy Ballroom, there's the Carnevale di Venezia with a parade of masqueraders and music by the Florida Orchestra, which benefits from the ticket sales, $300 to $750 per person.
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
4750 Amelia Island Parkway 904/277-1100
The Ritz offers a four-night Ultimate Experience that includes first class round-trip transportation, chauffeured Jaguar, private yacht, a thousand roses, magnum of Taittinger with a pair of Baccarat flutes, private butler and personal chef, in-room massages, mini-bar stocked with champagne and caviar, his and her golf clubs and private lessons, matching 18-kt. gold watches, New Year's Eve gala with music by the Manhattan Transfer and fireworks on the beach; plus New Year's Day brunch, beach bonfire and hayrides -- all for $100,000 per couple. For the budget-minded, other accommodations range from $3,600 to $5,200 a couple.
The Ritz-Carlton, Naples
280 Vanderbilt Beach Road 941/593-2000
The Ritz Naples has its own $100,000 package in the Presidential Suite with many of the same emoluments found at Ritz Amelia Island, as well as the Ritz Kids program for children 3 to 12 and entertainment from Lou Rawls. Other four-night celebrations are priced at $6,800 per couple, and some packages from $575 to $2,580 per night.
Outback Steakhouse: Bloomin' Kudos
The founders and operators of Outback Steakhouse received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Restaurant Association (FRA). Robert D. Basham, J. Timothy Gannon and Chris T. Sullivan opened the first Outback in Tampa in 1988. After just five years, Outback opened its 100th steakhouse. Now, the company has nearly 600 outlets worldwide, including 58 in Florida. Outback went public in 1991 (Nasdaq-OSSI). In 1993 the team introduced Carrabba's, a collection of moderately priced Italian restaurants that now numbers 67, with 28 in Florida.
Sullivan (chairman and CEO), Basham (president and COO) and Gannon (senior vice president) continue to manage Outback, Florida's 30th largest public company with 1998 sales of $1.36 billion. In presenting the award, Carol Dover, FRA president and CEO, recognized that their "bloomin' onion, great steaks, Aussie atmosphere and innovative Aussie-themed television ads have made Outback Steakhouse a household name."
Not content to rest, Outback recently announced an agreement in principle with two restaurateurs, Paul Fleming and Bill Allen, to jointly develop Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bars worldwide. Fleming's, an upscale, refined steakhouse format with a large selection of quality wines by the glass, has outlets in Newport Beach, Calif., and Scottsdale, Ariz., and plans to open a third this month and at least three more by early 2001.