Things To Do In SW Florida

Universal Orlando’s new ad campaign has a prime position during the Super Bowl broadcast Sunday.

The series, dubbed “This Changes Everything,” includes a 60-second spot titled “Lil’ Bro” that airs just before halftime of the big game, Universal says.

Epic Universe, the resort’s theme park that opened in May, has prominence in the campaign, but its tone includes all Universal Orlando Resort parks and is built on experiences made there.

“It really is about the sum of the parts,” said Alice Norsworthy, president of global marketing for Universal Destinations & Experiences.

“We spent most of last year, really, introducing Epic Universe, because there was such a story there to tell,” she said. Last year’s Super Bowl ad for Universal featured the park’s portals to its themed lands, including Super Nintendo World and Dark Universe.

This year, “Lil’ Bro” revolves around the competitive dynamic between two young siblings. Viewers see them in their home setting, then experiencing Universal attractions such as Volcano Bay water park and Transformers: The Ride – 3D at Universal Studios Florida theme park. read more

By Kurt Woock, NerdWallet

The holiday shopping season happens every year. So why can it still be so tough to be financially prepared? Thirty-one percent of 2024 holiday shoppers who used credit cards to buy gifts still hadn’t paid off the balances nearly one year later, according to NerdWallet’s 2025 Holiday Spending Report.

One reason behind the budgeting-spending disconnect could be the assumption that planning ahead looks the same for all expenses. It doesn’t. For large, predictable expenses, like holiday expenses, one solution is a sinking fund — money saved and earmarked for specific purchases.

The three types of expenses

Thinking about how frequent and predictable an expense is can help you decide how to plan for it.

1. Groceries, rent and other recurring expenses are both frequent and predictable. Typically, you’d pay for these with your regular income using your checking account (or with a credit card that you pay off each month). These expenses make up most of your budget, and are relatively easy to account for. read more

The former president of Walt Disney World, Josh D’Amaro, will replace the retiring CEO of Walt Disney Co., Bob Iger, the company announced Tuesday.

His appointment seemingly ends a closely-watched and high-stakes succession process, three years after a botched initial version led Iger to return to the top job.

D’Amaro, 54, has been chairman of Disney Experiences worldwide, which oversees the company’s theme parks, since May 2020. He was leader of WDW from November 2019 to May 2020.

“I am immensely grateful to the board for entrusting me with leading a company that means so much to me and millions around the world,” D’Amaro said in a Disney news release distributed Tuesday.

The Walt Disney Co. board of directors announced the unanimous pick of D’Amaro, a 28-year Disney veteran, on Monday. His new role is effective March 18.

“Josh D’Amaro is an exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO,” Iger said in the news release. “He has an instinctive appreciation of the Disney brand, and a deep understanding of what resonates with our audiences, paired with the rigor and attention to detail required to deliver some of our most ambitious projects.” read more

By SYLVIE CORBET, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning.

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X and Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying scrutiny from Britain’s data privacy regulator, which opened formal investigations into how they handled personal data when they developed and deployed Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. read more

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport saw its string of annual traveler growth snapped last year as some airlines serving Broward County encountered financial troubles, cut back service and flew passengers to other destinations.

Overall, passenger traffic was down 8.5% for 2025 to more than 32.2 million against the prior year’s 35.2 million, according to statistics posted by the airport for the full calendar year. Six of the airport’s “Top Ten” carriers flew fewer passengers to and from the airport last year than in 2024.

Among the contributing factors for the decline:

• Spirit Airlines, the financially-troubled Dania Beach-based discounter which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last August for the second time in a year, still ended up as the leader in market share at 28%. But it is now a smaller airline serving fewer destinations while operating a smaller fleet. The number of passengers carried fell by 18.3% from nearly 11.1 million  in 2024 to slightly more than 9 million last year. read more