Things To Do In SW Florida

Ahoy! There’s an opening date in sight now for the Beak and Barrel, the pirate-themed tavern floating into Magic Kingdom.

Walt Disney World says the establishment — which will serve food alongside alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages — will open Aug. 29.  The company will start taking reservations as of Aug. 14.

The pub, located in the theme park’s Adventureland near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, has a backstory as being a place where swashbucklers of all ages gather. The place, as the Disney story goes, is run by Capt. Meridian “Merry” Goldwyn alongside her first mate/talkative parrot partner Rummy.  The place is themed out, according to the Disney Parks Blog, including miniature ships in bottles that “come alive and engage in a fearsome battle,” an overhead anchor holding candles, a skull-shaped stern and salvaged parts of a shipwreck.

The full menu (and prices) are now posted online at disneyworld.com.  Eye-catching edibles include Kraken’s Catch, a cold salad with octopus tentacles ($18), and cook’s corn griddle cakes ($12. Add chipotle chicken and it’s $14). read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Palantir Technologies sailed past previous record highs Tuesday after booking its first $1 billion sales quarter and raising its performance expectations for the year.

The stock rose above $170 Tuesday after breaking previous records four times this year in the global artificial intelligence race. The previous closing high for the stock was set this week at $160.66.

Since going public in 2020 when it posted a $1.17 billion annual loss, the artificial intelligence software company has swung swiftly to a profit and sales are booming. Profit rose 33% to $327 million in the second quarter.

Its $1 billion quarterly revenue haul was fueled by a 53% spike in government sales, despite massive spending cuts under President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency, once led by the world’s richest man Elon Musk.

“DOGE has had zero negative impact on Palantir’s U.S. government business, which achieved its fastest growth rate since the second quarter of 2021,” wrote William Blair analysts Louie DiPalma and Bryce Sandberg. “Palantir is clearly benefiting from AI industry momentum across its government and commercial customer bases.” read more

You’ve met folks who are just a little “too Disney.” Maybe they’re hyper-focused on Figment popcorn buckets, incensed about a beloved theme-park ride closing or using their retirement fund to finance a week in Orlando.

They could be called overenthusiastic enthusiasts. These days, the more common term is “Disney Adult.”

Let’s not judge. Walt Disney World puts food on tables, and its fandom isn’t that far astray from the ones dedicated to college football, “Real Housewives,” Taylor Swift and the ilk.

Or is it?

The new book “Disney Adults: Exploring (and Falling in Love With) a Magical Subculture,” written by AJ Wolfe, delves into why Disneymania is a thing – and why people are mad about it.

It’s a deep dive into the phenomenon and features expert interviews with professors, former Imagineers, journalists and self-identifying Disney Adults, not to mention surveys and the monitoring the demographic makeup of theme-park queues.

The subject begs for the insider knowledge that Wolfe amassed as a Disney fan, once $17,000 in credit card debt that funded WDW excursion trips. But Wolfe is now the owner of Cambrick Yard Media, which operates fan sites including Disney Food Blog and AllEars. read more

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding steadier on Tuesday following its see-saw ride that bracketed the weekend.

The S&P 500 was inching up by 0.1% in early trading, coming off its best day since May, which followed its worst day since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 77 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

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By Allison Martin, Bankrate.com

Summer is winding down, and it’s almost time for back-to-school shopping. If your state offers a sales tax holiday — fewer than 20 states do this year — you might be able to give your wallet a bit of a break.

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And that’s true whether or not you have children: These sales-tax holidays can be a good time to buy new clothes, a computer or other items.

Sales tax holidays: How they work

Many states offer their sales tax holidays in August. Most states limit the types of items that are eligible for the sales tax holiday — clothing is the most common qualified purchase — and they usually put a dollar limit on how much of the purchase will be tax-free. read more