text: However, it looks like this park is getting ready to have a big opening this year as the iconic LEGOLAND entrance archway that is installed at every LEGOLAND park worldwide has officially been installed. An official opening date has yet to be set, but it seems likely that the park is targeting a late spring or early summer opening window to take advantage of not only seasonal crowds, but also increasing vaccination rates as the COVID-19 immunizations are rolled out across the country.
  When open, this park will have over 50 rides, shows & attractions, including classic LEGOLAND attractions like The Dragon and LEGO Ninjago The Ride, as well as the Lego Factory Adventure, a one-of-a-kind trackless ride that shrinks guests down to the size of a minifigure! LEGOLAND New York is located right outside of New York City in the Hudson Valley, and its opening will be the first major theme park in the the Northeast in over four decades. Like other LEGOLAND parks, LEGOLAND New York will largely have attractions aimed at children ages two-to-12 years old.
  You can learn more about this new park, purchase tickets and/or annual passes, and plan a trip at the LEGOLAND NY website here.
  Managing editor of Theme Park Tourist and dark ride enthusiast. Amanda is a lifelong theme parks fan who lives just outside Orlando. When she’s not booking FastPass+ reservations, standing in a queue or eating the latest specialty cupcake, you can find her watching a Marvel movie, reading a book (probably by Neil Gaiman) or singing along to showtunes in her car. Contact: [email protected].com
  
  The game of Risk has it all: my very own impenetrable army of loyal followers, a map featuring great nations like Irkutsk, and most importantly, the chance to become Supreme Dictator of the World. Honestly, I can’t see why I haven’t tried world domination for real. Then I remember my impenetrable army is made out of plastic units. Perhaps it is for the best because I’ve found that when commanding my army of plastic units, I am more likely to make otherwise suicidal decisions, such as attacking others even if it actually hurts me worse. Oddly, when it comes to regulating the global marketplace, the same sort of strategy is being applied to actual people as well as plastic units.
  Judging by the events of the past conference of the World Trade Oraganization in Cancun, there isn’t much of a distinction. In theory, free trade is a good thing because it should provide growth all around as everyone involved has more markets in which to sell their goods. The problem is that almost all the countries involved in the WTO want to tweak the theory to make it only go one way, so that they receive all the benefits without the risks. To a degree, I can understand why poorer countries feel the need to approach free trade cautiously, but I cannot understand why the E.U. and U.S. are so insistent on, for example, spending billions to subsidize industries that aren’t able to meet market prices. Neither wants to get rid of their subsidies first because then one has a huge advantage over the other. Moreover, in the U.S., both Democrats and Republicans have their own interests in keeping subsidies. So each administration promises to make them more efficient, but you know how that goes. In the meantime, trade doesn’t get any freer or fairer.