Things To Do In SW Florida

Universal Orlando is sharing more and more about its Epic Universe theme park, including souvenir merchandise that ranges from lightning-streaked T-shirts to Toothless popcorn containers and an expanded roster of Wizarding World of Harry Potter wands.

Some have been available for months at the Epic Preview Center at Universal CityWalk, although the lineup has been dominated by items featuring the now-familiar portal-shaped golden Universal Epic Universe logo. Expect an even wider array once Epic opens to the public on May 22.

The previewed goods have featured big graphics, bright colors and prominent characters. There are shirts from How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk with large horn-hatted Viking images and BERK on them and major Mario action on tees from Super Nintendo World.

Universal: One-day Epic Universe theme park tickets now on sale

Isle of Berk also will sell Viking cosplay gear and “rustic swag,” according to a Universal Orlando news release. There’s “a chance to adopt-a-dragon via a crossbody egg carrier that holds a plush dragon,” it reads. Plus there’s a ton of Toothless treasures sold at Toothless’ Treasures, an in-park store, including a zip-up jackets, plush headbands, wings, masks and popcorn containers. (Note to non-Berkers: Toothless is the main dragon character in the “How to Train” movie series.) read more

After initial reluctance, Osceola County commissioners have decided to kick in $500,000 toward a study on the feasibility of a SunRail extension from Orlando’s airport to the theme parks.

Commissioners voted unanimously and without discussion Monday evening to contribute toward the $6 million study of the Sunshine Corridor — the long awaited east-west extension reaching to Universal Studios, the Orange County Convention Center and Disney Springs.

The commission’s decision brings the project, seen as vital to reversing SunRail’s struggling ridership, another step closer to reality.

The Florida Department of Transportation estimates Sunshine Corridor will increase SunRail ridership to 6.4 million during its opening year. Ridership has been a point of contention as it never recovered after the pandemic. Currently just a few thousand passengers ride the train monthly.

Commissioners were hesitant in December to provide funding over concerns the extension’s impact on traffic would not be worth the financial contributions. read more

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment rate had a slight uptick to 3.5 percent in January, while Gov. Ron DeSantis touted growth in the labor force.

The state Department of Commerce on Monday released a report that said the January rate was up from 3.4 percent in December. It also was up from 3.2 percent in January 2024.

The number of people qualified as unemployed increased from 385,000 in December to 390,000 in January. It was up from 353,000 in January 2024.

Meanwhile, the labor force of 11.188 million in January increased by 18,000 from December and 66,000 from January 2024.

Across Florida, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area had the lowest unemployment rate in January at 3.0 percent, The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin regions were next-lowest at 3.6 percent, while the Tallahassee area was at 3.7 percent

The Naples-Marco Island, Jacksonville and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater areas were at 3.8 percent. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers, North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Palm Bay-Titusville-Melbourne, Panama City- Panama City Beach and Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent areas each had 4 percent rates. read more

While SpaceX is busy Tuesday bringing astronauts home on one coast of Florida, it’s set to send up a rocket from the other.

A Falcon 9 carrying 23 Starlink satellites is targeting a 3:57 p.m. liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 during a launch window that runs through 6:09 p.m. A backup window runs from 1:42-5:42 p.m. Wednesday.

The first-stage booster for the mission is flying for the 19th time and will aim for a recovery landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

This would be the 23rd launch of the year from the Space Coast with all but one coming from SpaceX.

Its most recent launch of the Crew-10 mission from Kennedy Space Center last Friday set up the return of another crew that was waiting at the International Space Station.

The Crew-9 mission flying home on the Crew Dragon Freedom is set to splash down off Florida’s Gulf Coast two hours after the Falcon 9 launch, aiming for a 5:57 p.m. splashdown.

That spacecraft is bringing home three NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut. While two of the four crew flew up to the station last September, the other two have been on the ISS since last June. They’re the Boeing Starliner astronauts who were left behind on the space station when NASA decided to send the Starliner home without crew. read more

An Atlanta-based developer has purchased a 75-acre portion of the recently shuttered Seminole Towne Center in Sanford and announced plans to redevelop the property into a mixed-use destination with multifamily, retail, and hotel uses.

Brady Lessard, Sanford’s Director of Economic Development, confirmed with GrowthSpotter that the price of the sale to The Ardent Companies was about $17.5 million. The deal involved the vacant, 324,681-square-foot enclosed regional mall, the 160,000-square-foot former Macy’s building, and a 13.5-acre development parcel.

A representative for the developer declined to share more details on the company’s plans, but Lessard released a statement that “the scope of this project will amount to the largest retail redevelopment in Seminole County’s history.”

“We will work in close collaboration with the City of Sanford and other stakeholders to redevelop this site into a mixed-use district that will once again serve as an exciting hub of activity for residents and visitors. We look forward to sharing more details soon,” Matt Shulman, CEO of The Ardent Companies said in the release. read more