Good morning, everybody! Take a break from obsessively checking election polls and check out the latest from the world's theme parks, airlines, and far-flung locales.
* THE BEST TIME TO BUY HOLIDAY FLIGHTS (IT'S NOW. DO IT NOW.) (Momondo)
There are exactly 48 days 'til Christmas. If you plan to travel for the end-of-year holidays, now might be a good time to buy your plane tickets, according to a study released by travel search engine Momondo.
Analyzing 13.2 billion airfares across the 100 routes most frequently searched by American users of the site, Momondo's study found that you can save an average of 28% on Christmas and New Year's flights by booking them in early November.
In other words, GO BUY YOUR TICKETS RIGHT NOW.
Other insights gleaned from the study: Tuesday is usually the cheapest day of the week to fly, Saturday is the most expensive, morning departures cost more than evening ones, and London is the most popular international destination for American travelers.
* NEW DETAILS ABOUT UNIVERSAL'S PLANNED WATER PARK—INCLUDING WEARABLE TECH TO CUT WAIT TIMES
Universal Orlando Resort released new details last week about its upcoming Volcano Bay water park, which is set to open at the central Florida amusement complex next summer.
We now know that the park's centerpiece, a 200-foot artificial volcano (pictured above, in an artist's rendering), will be a state-of-the-art "aqua coaster" with caves, waterfalls, twists, turns, and drops that riders will experience while seated in a specially designed canoe that can go uphill as well as down.
Perhaps even more intriguing, when you arrive at Volcano Bay you'll receive a bracelet that lets you wait in a virtual line at one attraction while busy with another; then the bracelet alerts you when it's time to return to the first spot—a system designed to keep you from standing in line all day.
The bracelets are also equipped with technology that allows you to trigger special effects—shooting water cannons, lighting up images in caverns—with the tap of a finger, similar to the mischief you can make with an interactive wand at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
* NEW MOBILE APP HELPS YOU FIND A WORKSPACE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD (Travel + Leisure)
Generally, we recommend using travel as a chance to unplug from the workaday world. But when something important comes up and that becomes simply unfeasible, there's a handy new mobile app that'll help you get work done no matter where you are in the world.
Launched in October, Workfrom recommends crowd-sourced public and private workspaces based on the reviews of other users. All you have to do is enter your location and preferences, such as type of space (public library, coffee shop, what have you), noise level, outlet availability, and Wi-Fi situation.
At the moment, there are listings for locations in 1,200 cities across the globe.
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