Things To Do In SW Florida

SpaceX put the final countdown in the books for the Space Coast early Tuesday, adding one more to the record pace of launches for the year.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink satellites lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A at 12:39 a.m.

The first-stage booster flew for the 16th time, having previously flown the Crew-6 mission among its 15 other flights. It made a recovery landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic.

It marked the 93rd orbital launch from either KSC or neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with all but five coming from SpaceX.

The pace of launches blew by 2023’s total of 72 back in October but fell short of the forecast of as many as 111 predicted in January.

For SpaceX, it flew 26 missions from KSC including two Falcon Heavy launches in 2024. It launched another 62 from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40.

United Launch Alliance flew the other five missions, sending up two of its new Vulcan rockets and two Atlas V rockets from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41 while the final Delta IV Heavy launch took off from Space Launch Complex 37. read more

It will be a historic 2025 on the tourism front if for no other reason than the opening of Universal Epic Universe. It will be a big deal even by our theme park center-of-the-universe standards. The Orlando area hasn’t added a big from-the-ground-up park since Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 1998 and Universal’s Islands of Adventure in 1999.

Universal Orlando’s latest park is under construction a couple of miles southeast of its current attractions and near the Orange County Convention Center. Epic’s grand opening day is set for May 22.

The company has released many details over the months. Epic’s lands will include Dark Universe (classic monsters), How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic and Celestial Park, an entry of sorts with rides and restaurants. Spread across these lands will be multiple roller coasters, dark rides, shows, themed eateries, interactive moments and a sizable helping of immersion, that lingering attractions buzzword. read more

By Eliza Haverstock, NerdWallet

As of Dec. 16, federal student loan borrowers can once again enroll in two income-driven repayment plans — Paye as You Earn (PAYE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), according to an Education Department spokesperson.

The department previously closed all new PAYE enrollment (and limited ICR enrollment) in July 2024. Under current Education Department guidance, the plans will accept enrollment until July 1, 2027. Like all income-driven repayment (IDR) options, these two plans base your monthly student loan payments on your income and family size and extend your repayment term from the standard 10 years to 20 or 25 years. After the repayment term, any remaining debt is forgiven.

The move to reopen the repayment plans is in response to lawsuits that blocked the newest income-driven repayment plan, Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), and put 8 million borrowers in an indefinite payment pause. During this pause, or administrative forbearance, interest is not growing on borrowers’ balances and no payments are due — but borrowers aren’t earning any credit toward forgiveness. read more

The College Park Cafe has been a mainstay in Orlando for more than 70 years. But in one instant on Christmas Eve morning, everything started to go catastrophically wrong.

First, a buildup of grease behind the stove caught fire. Then the fire-suppression system failed, with the sprinklers not producing the solvents specifically designed to put out such fires. The fire extinguishers, supposedly serviced and ready, were the last fail-safe.

“They were all empty,” said co-owner Joey Eckenfels. “So we didn’t have a choice but to run.”

The result was a total loss of the kitchen, including the primary cooking line where all the food is prepared.

But thanks to the generosity of the community it has served for decades, the beloved neighborhood restaurant is slated to reopen as soon as Jan. 10.

“We sold coffee on the street yesterday, just to bring in a little cash for the employees,” said co-owner Joey Eckenfels. “Someone threw a $100 bill out the window.”

The College Park Cafe calls itself the oldest diner in Orlando, dating back to 1951 when it opened as Clara Johnson’s College Park restaurant, with an Orchid Room banquet hall next door. It became the College Park Cafe in the 1980s under a new family’s ownership. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Business Writers

Value was in vogue in 2024.