Things To Do In SW Florida

Financially troubled Brightline, the high speed railroad between South Florida and Orlando, is pursuing ways to raise $100 million for operations as analysts hoist red flags about the company’s financial straits.

Revenues and ridership are showing improvement, according to Brightline’s monthly financial report for November, and an Orlando Sentinel special report Sunday showed its notoriously high “trespasser death rate” has fallen. But the financial results are still not good enough to keep pace with the company’s burdensome cash needs to cover debts and day-to-day operations, according to ratings agencies that have downgraded the company’s bonds during the year.

“We think that switching riders from alternate modes, automotive in particular, is more challenging than originally forecast,” S&P Global Ratings said in its most recent note on Brightline’s financial state this month. “Fares that have been drastically discounted to encourage new riders have proven particularly sticky, and we believe that [the rail line’s] projected growth in ticket revenue into 2026 is unlikely to materialize.” read more

What is Orlando’s biggest theme park story of 2025, and why is it Epic Universe?

There’s little debate. The theme-park capital of the world gained its first major park in more than 25 years, thanks to a major expansion of — and $8 billion investment by — Universal Orlando.

Epic methodically dribbled out details about its lands, rides, previews, ticket sales and trio of hotels. It played host to international media and a star-studded build-up – complete with “celestial carpet” – to its May 22 debut.

Early reviews were mostly positive, lauding the immersive nature of Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk and Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. The latter’s signature ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, drew praise for its mesmerizing queue design and high-tech ride experience. But the resulting long waits, even with capped attendance for the park, prompted complaints.

Online reviews of Epic Universe visits were divided into a “not enough to do” crowd and an opposing “you can’t do it all in one day with Express Pass” contingent. read more

BOSTON — More than a thousand flights were canceled or delayed across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions due to snow as thousands took to roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Year’s.

New York City received about 4 inches of snow Friday night into early Saturday — slightly under what some forecasts had predicted. At least 1,500 flights were canceled from Friday night, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. But by the morning, both the roads and the skies were clearing.

“The storm is definitely winding down, a little bit of flurries across the Northeast this morning,” said Bob Oravec, a Maryland-based forecaster at the National Weather Service.

Oravec said the storm was moving from the northwest toward the Southeast, with the largest snowfall in the New York City area reaching over 6 inches in central eastern Long Island. Farther north in the Catskills, communities saw as much as 10 inches.

Orlando International Airport sees travel delays, cancellations read more

Holiday traffic is hitting Orlando International Airport, which endured dozens of cancellations Friday and Saturday and hundreds more delayed flights, much of it because of heavy snow in the northeast.

The airport on Friday was among the most affected in the United States, with 43 cancellations and 312 delays for outgoing flights and 26 cancellations and 346 delays for incoming flights, according to data from travel website FlightAware.

The cancellations represented 5% of total outgoing flights and 3% of incoming flights. Outgoing delays affected 43% of outgoing flights and 46% of incoming flights.

That was out 2,189 cancellations and 9,200 delays nationwide. The most affected airports for outgoing cancellations were JFK International in New York with 160 flights canceled, Newark Liberty International Airport with 107 and New York’s Laguardia with 90. The city saw 4 inches of snow Friday.

Orlando’s headaches from those backups, though, were spilling over into Saturday as well.

By 2 p.m., the airport had 20 cancellations and 260 delays for outgoing flights, with 35 cancellations and 225 delays for incoming flights. read more

For the second consecutive year, Disney’s exclusive Golden Oak community dominated the high end of Central Florida’s luxury home market.  And for the first time, no homes in Winter Park were among the top 10 highest sales this year.

Golden Oak accounted for eight of the homes among the top 10 this year, with three located on the same street — Enchanted Oak Drive — and two on Vista Falls Drive, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

The priciest home this year — located at 10018 Enchanted Oaks Dr. — sold for $23 million in August. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion was built in 2012 and has 12,718 square feet of living space.

In 2024, the Golden Oak community scored five of the top 10 home sales. All five of those transactions involved homes within the sought-after Four Seasons Private Residences, with four located on the same street — Summer Meadow Way.

Homes in Golden Oak are considered part of the Disney World Resort, and some incorporate Disney themes in construction. Residents get free annual passes to Disney World parks when they move into the community. Homeowners are also granted membership to Golden Oak Club, which includes multiple restaurants, a pool, and a gym. read more