Things To Do In SW Florida

Museum of Illusions Orlando is planning a five-day countdown event for Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”

The Icon Park attraction will include exclusive photo opportunities, themed decor, curated playlists and hidden Easter eggs inspired by Swift from Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. “Showgirl” is set to drop Oct. 3 with 12 songs. It’s her first album since “The Tortured Poets Department” was released in April 2024. The entertainer’s last 10 albums have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The International Drive attraction is offering $17.99 admission Monday through Thursday on online purchases. Space is limited, and advance ticket purchases are encouraged.

Swift also has a presence at neighboring Icon Park attraction Madame Tussauds Orlando. A wax figure of the entertainer showing off her “reputation” catsuit look is featured there. It was one of 13 Swift figures launched at Tussauds attractions worldwide this summer.

Museum of Illusions experiences are built on mind-bending exhibits and optical tricks that lend themselves to photo ops. read more

Universal Studios theme park’s Tribute Store again is up and running with an elaborate look and theme, this time tied to Halloween Horror Nights and its assorted haunted houses and characters.

The seasonal pop-up merchandise store has a fresh location. It’s operating inside the former gaming arcade in the New York area of the park. The main entrance is behind the Palace theater facade, which now has “Tribute Store” spelled out on its marquee. It also takes up space that is the gift shop incorporated into the exit from the Revenge of the Mummy ride, so the end can be congested with waves of recent roller coaster riders.

The high-ceilinged space is outfitted to continue the far-reaching conservatory theming of HHN 2025 with stained-glass looks and traveling vines. But it also comes with its own sort of storyline involving the Museum of Antiquities and an opening-night gala gone wrong.

“Our story starts in the 1920s, and there was an opening night gala of occult artifacts of the world, so creepy items, cursed items,” Rob Cametti, senior director of visual merchandise, said during HHN’s opening night media preview. “What could go wrong with that?” read more

By TOM MURPHY, AP Health Writer

Shares of some big drugmakers advanced above broader indexes Friday as Wall Street started sorting out President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement.

The president said late Thursday that he would place 100% import taxes on branded or patented pharmaceuticals starting Oct. 1, but those tariffs would not apply to companies building U.S. manufacturing plants. He defined that as either “breaking ground” or being “under construction.”

Several big drugmakers like Merck & Co. Inc., Eli Lilly and Co. and Johnson & Johnson have announced U.S. expansion plans.

Trump has talked about pharmaceutical tariffs for months, but he has said he would delay them for a year or a year and a half to give companies time to stockpile medicines here and shift manufacturing.

Analysts have said companies started stockpiling medicines in the U.S. earlier this year.

Jefferies analyst Akash Tewari said in a research note that Thursday’s announcement shouldn’t have a material impact on the big drugmakers, given their construction plans. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It pays less and less to buy and flip a home these days.

From April through June, the typical home flipped by an investor resulted in a 25.1% return on investment, before expenses. That’s the lowest profit margin for such transactions since 2008, according to an analysis by Attom, a real estate data company.

Gross profits — the difference between what an investor paid for a property and what it sold for — fell 13.6% in the second quarter from a year earlier to $65,300, the firm said. Attom’s analysis defines a flipped home as a property that sells within 12 months of the last time it sold.

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Museum of Illusions Orlando hosting Taylor Swift album countdown read more

The premiere of “Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks” docuseries has been delayed. The three-part series, produced for the Peacock streaming service, is now scheduled to debut Nov. 17.

The series, originally set to be seen starting in July, had previously been pushed to Sept. 29.  No reason has been announced for the schedule changes.

A previous one-hour special named “Inside the World of Epic Universe” remains available on Peacock.

The upcoming docuseries includes interviews with directors, producers, executives and celebrities, according to a Peacock description.

“The series will explore Universal’s iconic film and theme park history as well as provide an exclusive behind-the-scenes countdown to the opening of its groundbreaking new theme park, Universal Epic Universe,” it continues.

Epic Universe opened about 2 miles southeast of Universal Orlando’s first two theme parks, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, on May 22.

‘We have to get answers.’ Attorney casts doubt on safety of Epic Universe coaster read more