A few years ago for NYE my wife and I and two friends had a seating at 9:50 at R&C. We had an outside table. Service was a bit slow that night, so we were still there when the fireworks went off at midnight.
Some advice. New Year's Eve is the busiest day of the year at WDW. #1 you will want to make ADR the 1st day possible at he 180/180+10 mark or you may not get what you want. #2 be prepared to wait even with an ADR. say you have an 8pm ADR don't experct to get seated until 30-40 minutes later because they will be filled to capacity and running late; so i wouldn't advice anything past 9. That being said there are many great places to eat at including my Favorite LeCellier. don't think you can go wrong anywhere there!