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Before this thread derails off course into a COVID discussion, I’ll just keep it simple: everyone should follow their state and local guidelines. This isn’t something up for debate on TPR. Now back to your regularly scheduled BGW discussion.

I like how they build a roller coaster in the same time it took them to built new lockers for Harry Potter.

LOL. Don't let that affect your travel plans. It's unenforceable. If you're legitimately scared of the virus with a .0007% kill rate, by all means stay home, but don't let silly edicts with no consequences that defy logic determine your behavior.

Just doing my duty to fact check this: 250K deaths out of 11.6M cases in the United States = 2.15% "kill rate". 1.34M deaths out of 55.6M cases worldwide = 2.415% "kill rate". Both are several orders of magnitude off from Mike's quoted ".0007% kill rate". To bring this back on topic, my family has already made the decision to skip the out-of-state Christmas events such as BGW's Christmas Town and and Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas this year, even though they're our usual holiday traditions. But no matter what you end up doing, please be as responsible as you possibly can to safeguard yourself and your loved ones.

On Sunday I ventured out to the Universal Orlando Resort for a chance to see the new holiday offerings at the two parks. This year is a little different thanks to COVID-19, but Universal has still managed to offer modified holiday experiences (including a few new ones) that keep the holiday season alive in fun and delicious ways. Over at Islands of Adventure, along with the holiday fun, Jurassic World Velocicoaster nears completion as theming installation is winding down. A familiar sight... Construction on the new retail expansion in the former Fossil/PiQ!/Island Traders space is well under way in CityWalk. Looking towards Islands of Adventure, you can see Velocicoaster's 155 ft tall spike from outside of the park. It hasn't been indicated if this yet-to-be-announced CityWalk project will introduce several new options or one larger venue... The entrance of Universal Studios Florida is decked out for this year's Universal Orlando Holidays event. Universal Orlando's Cinematic Celebration has resumed showing to socially distanced crowds at Universal Studios Florida, making this the first consistent nighttime spectacular to resume performances from inside of the Central Florida parks. In lieu of the typical Universal Holiday Parade featuring Macy's, the floats from that popular experience have been cleverly arranged inside of one of the studios to make for fun walk through and photo op experience inside. This was a surprisingly effective alternative to the normal parade experience... I have to wonder if we could be seeing something similar for this year's Mardi Gras. It isn't a Universal parade without Minions! Madagascar floats are on full display inside of the exhibit. Puss in Boats is out to take social distanced photos with guests. The experience is tightly packed into this one studio but is really well set up! With his signature float from the parade parked behind him, Santa Claus is present for social distanced photos! While my visit was first thing in the morning with no wait time, the experience is capacity controlled and can be set up to require a Virtual Line reservation to enter. The park's New York/Central Park area is dressed for the holidays with its signature Christmas Tree. Just a few weeks ago this was the Halloween Tribute Store. Universal quickly turned over the space to introduce their first ever Holiday Tribute Store. The interior layout is mostly the same as what came before the with the Halloween Tribute Store, but you'd never know from the interior furnishings. Universal has joined other parks in embracing the appeal of the retro Mold-A-Rama machines to offer fun made-in-front-of-you souvenirs. The Halloween machines were updated to offer holiday molds. One of the Tribute Store rooms is themed to How the Grinch Stole Christmas and features some fun photo ops along with a large selection of themed merchandise. One of the rooms is themed to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and features a selection of holiday gifts and apparel for Potter fans. Earl the Squirrel is kind of an in-joke for Universal's creative teams but it is fun to see the character fleshed out in his own section of the Tribute Store, specifically hosting a collection of food and beverage counters. Lots of treats to choose from! I was a huge fan of the Beating Heart gummy treats from the Halloween Tribute Store so I was excited to see more of this concept fleshed out, but none of these flavors appeal to me for what I want in a gummy. I absolutely love the display approach though--the gummies you see here are the ones you're served when you buy one! They have Sticky Buns... Unfortunately mine was obviously left over from the day before and was too hard to cut or eat... I do appreciate the effort that went into fleshing out the theming in this room. I also tried the Peppermint Mousse Ornament and a Hot Chocolate Bomb... The Peppermint Mousse Ornament was really tasty, though really heavy on the peppermint, so plan to share it or be prepared to not be able to finish it all. The Hot Chocolate Bomb is neat in that they give you the chocolate ornament on the side to let you drop it into your hot chocolate. The hot chocolate already has marshmallows in it, but when you drop in your ornament and let it melt (you may have to flip it if you want to speed up the process like I did), you'll find even more marshmallows inside. Ultimately the melted ornament amped up the chocolate inside of the cup and made this an even tastier treat. Of the three items I ordered, this was the only one I'd go back for a second round. Another look at this year's Christmas Tree. Diagon Alley has been dressed up for the holiday season... And fans of Warm Butterbeer will be happy to know this seasonal beverage is back on the menu at both Wizarding World of Harry Potter locations in Universal Orlando. A food truck has been parked over my the Animal Actors On Location! Theater... It wasn't open during my visit but that Maple Bacon funnel cake is beckoning me to return... The other food truck in the park near the Hollywood Bowl is the new Arepa Rellenas truck. I really wanted to try the Beef Picadillo and I was not disappointed! This is honestly one of the best quick service items I've eaten at Universal in a long time! I'll definitely be ordering it again before the end of the Holiday season. Over at Islands of Adventure, the lines for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure continues to send guests through the former Sinbad theater to queue... I had a Virtual Line reservation but when I checked in, I was told that it would be at least an hour from this point so I skipped this one for the day as I had places to be. Velocicoaster really does look fantastic! A few section of the fenced in portion of the coaster have been designed for spectators to look in from the outside. This certainly looks different when compared to the view a year ago. New lockers for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey have been built near the greenhouse portion of the ride's queue, but they have been masked by a new themed barrier since they face the Jurassic Park section of Islands of Adventure. Nothing says Harry Potter like a coaster swooping right by the land... Hogsmeade is also dressed up for the holiday season, but it didn't need those added touches to keep it busy. Seuss Landing has received its typical Grinchmas decor, even though the How the Grinch Stole Christmas show is not being offered this year. Have I mentioned how much I'm loving the look of this coaster? Two really fun looking maneuvers! I can't wait to come back to ride this sometime next year when it opens to the public! Overall, Universal has managed to put together a really solid holiday lineup including the modified experience offerings. If you're looking for a place to enjoy the holidays at a theme park, I could definitely recommend Universal Orlando as an option, based on my experiences!

Last Christmas I started to built an indoor coaster with Christmas theme! Now it's complete!

Hey everyone, its been awhile since I've done much more than browse the board, but I wanted to ask everyone here for some deep hard prayers for Josh (HWFan)... Some of you may already know whats going on, but I'm not going to get in to specifics out of respect to Josh and his family, just asking for prayers. So big prayers to you Josh and your family

Theme Park Predictions just released a pretty fun video talking about what they could be adding. Something fun that he pointed out is that on the same day that Alabama Adventure released that teaser, Premier Rides sent out a post that had two large objects wrapped up under a tarp with the caption "Who doesn't love a mystery?" I think they'll be getting a Sky Rocket II. It definitely would look imposing on the skyline.

That's a good point. Do we know the price range on those? I just figured that would be too expensive. Plus I thought that they might be turned off of an Intamin due to the higher maintenance costs. But yeah I'd love to see something like Sandy's Blasting Bronco, though I've heard that it has a nasty rattle.

^Have you seen humanity lately?! A thinking, smart park would fail pretty quickly.

Plopsa just posted a new update video on the upcoming Mack Extreme Spinning Coaster

Man, reading through this thread was an eye opener for me. I have been in all these situations, but I have never cared and often end up having fun with strangers that I never see or hear from again after. I don't know why I would be bothered by physically bumping into someone or making small talk. I am glad I read this because now I can be conscious that other people might be feeling uncomfortable.

I actually agree with many of you talking about how the RMC's are all very similar. And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with building a ton of very similar kick ass rides when most people who ride one will never even know of the other ones. I've been comparing them to the B&M inverts of the 90's. They're all awesome, intense rides, but they all have the same elements just in slightly different orders. I would also love to see some more unique elements in the future from them, but for now I'm quite content with their offerings.

Havent been to this park, but arent water parks traditionally staffed by 16 year olds?