I don't consistently read any one news source, no. Most of the news I get consists of seeing a bunch of people get mad about something on Twitter and then looking into what actually happened with that thing via multiple different sources. I think the last step is important, and a lot of people omit it. They treat a random person's opinion about the event on social media platform as fact.
Barathemos :

Are you excited for the new park at Universal? It looks super cool but I can't even comprehend the price and potential wait times...

Good question. Yes and no. I am excited mostly because of the Super Nintendo World area. Out of all of the themed areas that have been built in Orlando over the past 10-ish years (Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, Pandora, Toy Story Land, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, etc.) Super Nintendo World is the one with the IP that I care about the most. I have seen some videos of the park, and it looks really cool. I also know people that have gone for media previews.

That being said, the "no" part comes from the fact that it's a Universal park. Universal gets on my nerves a lot because they act like they are Disney quality, they charge Disney prices, but they don't offer a Disney-level product. And when I say that, it's mostly the little things that I am talking about.

Parking at Disney is so easy. It takes 10 seconds to get through the booths, and there are plenty of cast members making sure that everyone parks efficiently and in an organized manner. The last time I went to Universal, I waited 30 minutes just to get past the ticket booths. They had cast members direct us to the top of the parking garage, and then it was just a free for all once we got up there.

Security takes much longer at Universal as well. Disney's security is awesome. You don't need to take anything out of your pockets or bags, you don't need to stop and slowly go through the metal detector one by one, everyone just keeps walking in a single file line. If you do get flagged by the machine it's a bit of a slow down, as they have to search your bag and use the wand thing on you, but I've only ever had that happen to me once. Universal still uses the old-fashioned metal detectors.

And speaking of bags, Disney lets you bring bags with you on every ride except for one. And on that one ride, they have free lockers that are part of the queue, and you only need to use them for items that won't fit in your pockets. At Universal, you need to put everything in lockers for a lot of rides, even some that aren't roller coasters. For most of these rides the lockers are outside of the queue, before you get in line, meaning that you could be waiting an hour or more in line with no water, no phone, etc. For some rides they make you go through metal detectors to ensure that there is nothing at all in your pockets. It's ridiculous. And my belt sets off the metal detector every time, meaning that people get to cut me in line as security uses the wand on me.

When I was doing my Disney College Program down here in 2022, Kenzie and I would go to Universal fairly frequently, but really only for 2 reasons: 1) Disney was still operating at partial capacity due to COVID and as a result we were blocked out of going to the parks a lot, and 2) Velocicoaster. It's probably my second-favorite ride in Orlando, behind Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. It's an awesome roller coaster, and there were days where we would go to Universal's Islands of Adventure, ride Velocicoaster two or three times, and leave. The last time we went to Universal, however, we waited over 2 hours for it in a line that had a lot fewer people than what the line used to be in 2022. Why were we waiting twice as long in a line with fewer people in it? It turns out that Universal removed some of the cars from the track. Instead of having 3-4 cars going at a time, they only had 2. The next car wasn't launched until the previous one returned to the station. Instead of launching every 20-30 seconds, they were launching every 2 minutes. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. Why? Why would they do this? Efficiency is such a huge part of what happens at Disney—it's one of the "five keys" that they teach to all of their cast members. Cast members are instructed to get as many people as possible through the rides as quickly as possible, to keep wait times down. Rides are also designed with efficiency in mind. Velocicoaster used to be a pretty efficient ride, but the last time I went (in December) it was operating like a Six Flags ride.

So yes, I am excited about the potential for what Epic Universe could be, but I am not excited that Universal is the one operating it.
Barathemos :

I see you are very passionate about the subject. Sad to hear Universal has so many problems.

I went to a Universal operated park in Changzhou, Dinosaur Land, and it was managed quite well. It was also winter so not that busy haha.

Are you going to any theme parks while in Japan?

I am passionate about it yeah, I take my theme parks seriously lol. But it's more so that I hate to be inconvenienced when it's not necessary.

Yes, we're going to both of the Disney parks in Tokyo—Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. DisneySea is supposed to be really cool, but also insanely crowded. I was looking at wait times a few weeks ago and there was a ride with a wait over 300 minutes (5 hours!), 2 rides with waits over 200 minutes, and a bunch over 100 minutes. We're hoping it will be less busy when we're there, because we're going the week after "Golden Week" (a span of 7 days with 4 national holidays; everyone is off of work and school). Ideally everyone will have gone during Golden Week, making the parks less crowded for us. But I guess we'll see.
Barathemos :

Is there going to be a tgags jr coming up?

2-3 years.
Barathemos :

What name we going for?

Tommy Jr?

Francesca Rose for a girl. Either Anthony James or Antonio James for a boy. We've had names picked out since before we were engaged lol.

I'd never name my kid after myself, that's cringe. The only time I think it makes sense to do that is if the name goes back multiple generations (which it doesn't, in my case).
Barathemos :

Will you be raising the next Vizzed admin?

The next one? No, I'd imagine there will be other admins between now and the time my future child reaches adulthood lol. Unless supercool and pokemon x stick around for the next 20 years, then maybe. I imagine my kids will probably be more interested in 4D holographic AI TiKToks or whatever other nonsense these companies come up with in the next 10 years, though.
Barathemos :

How many posts do you think you'll make today?

Did you win your smash games you went and played today?

11 apparently.
Dauntez :

Barathemos : The tournament got canceled due to problems with the venue, but a bunch of us ended up meeting in a lounge area of a housing complex that one of the people there lives at and doing a round-robin tournament instead. I went 4-6 in the sets that I played, which is actually really good for me. In a regular double elimination tournament I usually go 0-2, sometimes 1-2 if I get lucky and get an easy match-up. I beat two players that I have beaten before, one player that I've never played before, and one player that I previously had an 0-2 set count against.

I doubt you'll properly be able to answer this cause who wants to think about winning a tdv after just winning 1 but do you ever see yourself going for a 3rd and possibly tying the record?

Possibly. Probably not this summer, though. Summer is my busiest time of year for work; I don't know yet if I'm going to be as busy as I was last summer, but if I am, I don't stand a chance.

My TdV participation has been pretty spread out. I held the Rainbow Banner for 22 days but ultimately came in 3rd in Summer 2014, I won Winter 2019, and I won Spring 2025. I've held the Rainbow Banner in 3 competitions, with a 5-year gap between the first and the second, and a 6-year gap between the second and the third. So who knows what the future holds? If history repeats itself, I'll win it again in 2032 lol.

SonicOlmstead :

When we getting egotistical tgags? We need that arrogance

People that are truly better than others don't need to brag about it; everyone already knows.
becerra95 :

No no. You must succumb to the darkness. Don’t think what I’m saying is bad. You got the wrong man, midnight is coming and you’re on the clock, now join the dark side and be the evil tgags we know, 321sgagt.

Serious question; last time you had a nice adult beverage?

321sgagt? Best I can do is gtags321.

I had a High Noon a few days ago. But if we want to emphasize the "nice" in "nice adult beverage," then the last one I had was a spice rum cocktail at EPCOT 2 weeks ago. It was almost good enough to make me forget that I spent $15 on one drink.
becerra95 :