Things To Do In SW Florida

SeaWorld Orlando is introducing Coasters After Dark — Christmas Edition, a limited-capacity, after-hours event in a holiday setting.

The park will feature seven of its roller coasters surrounded by Christmas lighting on six nights starting Nov. 8.  Some retail, food and beverages also will be open, including Flamecraft Bar, South Pole Sips, Dockside Pizza, Glacier Bar and a hot-chocolate hut.

Operating thrill rides will include Ice Breaker, Journey to Atlantis, Kraken, Mako, Manta, Pipeline and Penguin Trek, which debuted in July.  That lineup would only exclude one SeaWorld coaster — Super Grover’s Box Car Derby in Sesame Street Land — from the event.  The park touts itself as the “coaster capital of Orlando.”

On Nov. 8, 9 and 15, the hours for Coasters After Dark will be 8 p.m.-11 p.m. One Nov. 22, Dec. 6 and 13, the event will run from 9 p.m. to midnight.  After Dark tickets allow entry to the park one hour early, while day guests are still there, to have additional SeaWorld experiences. read more

By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — Had she wanted to, Michelle Chumley could have afforded a pricey new SUV loaded with options. But when it came time to replace her Chevrolet Blazer SUV, for which she’d paid about $40,000 three years ago, Chumley chose something smaller. And less costly.

With her purchase of a Chevrolet Trax compact SUV in June, Chumley joined a rising number of buyers who have made vehicles in the below-average $20,000-to-$30,000 range the fastest-growing segment of the nation’s new-auto market.

“I just don’t need that big vehicle and to be paying all of that gas money,” said Chumley, a 56-year-old nurse who lives outside Oxford, Ohio, near Cincinnati.

Across the industry, auto analysts say, an “affordability shift” is taking root. The trend is being led by people who feel they can no longer afford a new vehicle that would cost them roughly today’s average selling price of more than $47,000 — a jump of more than 20% from the pre-pandemic average. read more

Richard Branson already saw the blackness of space traveling at nearly Mach 3 with his company Virgin Galactic. Now he’s going to take a slower approach.

The billionaire is investing in Space Perspective, the Space Coast-based space balloon venture, and will join its founders on the space tourism operation’s first human test flight planned next year. He flew to space on board Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity in 2021, but has a history of extreme ballooning adventures, once attempting to circumnavigate the globe.

“Some of the most magnificent experiences of my life have happened on ballooning expeditions and I’m excited to support Space Perspective in its journey,” Branson said in a press release. “I’m passionate about adventure and helping fellow entrepreneurs reach their business dreams. I look forward to dusting off my old ballooning license ahead of some magnificent test flights.”

The company announced last week that Branson will act as copilot for the flight, which is designed to take passengers on a slow two-hour ride up to 100,000 feet altitude, where it will hang out for another two hours before a two-hour descent. read more