Things To Do In SW Florida

Disney is preparing to spend $60 billion on its theme parks worldwide, but an expansion plan for Walt Disney World, or any of its other parks, has not been made public.

There has been a sprinkling of news and hints from company officials, including refurbishment of DinoLand at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and blue-sky talk for a land of some sort “beyond Big Thunder” at Magic Kingdom.

Attractions experts say the investment could mean original rides and lands for Disney World, such as a villains-driven domain; cloning of recent international projects based on “Frozen” and “Zootopia”; or even a fifth theme park, which would be WDW’s first since Animal Kingdom opened in 1998.

Putting more money into theme parks is a “no-brainer,” Walt Disney Co. Bob Iger has said. The billions earmarked for attractions will go into properties around the globe, including Disney Cruise Line, he said.

“If you look at the return on invested capital of that business over the last 20 years, particularly over the last 10, the track record is extraordinary,” Iger said in a recent interview at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference. read more

The state budget approved by the Florida Legislature last week paints a grim picture for cultural organizations. Jennifer Evins, president and CEO of United Arts of Central Florida, doesn’t mince words: “It’s bad for the arts.”

Arts organizations approved for general support funding will receive less than half of their eligible allowances. A program for specific cultural projects went completely unfunded — leaving multiple Central Florida organizations empty-handed. Among them is the Howey Music Series, a concert and educational organization in the rural Lake County town of Howey-in-the-Hills. It had been recommended to receive $20,500.

“With this grant, we aimed to collaborate with local professional AV companies, improve artist compensation and broaden our programming, including introducing valuable educational initiatives that are much needed in Lake County,” said Emily Heumann, the organization’s executive and artistic director. “This investment would have been transformative for our organization.” read more