Things To Do In SW Florida

Universal Helios Grand Hotel, adjacent to the future Epic Universe theme park, is now open to guests, Universal Orlando confirms.

The debut of the 500-room resort may seem to have come early as its opening has been touted as with the opening of Epic, which is currently in its preview phases and officially will open to the public on May 22.

The Mediterranean styling of Helios Grand is seen from inside the theme park, standing at the far edge of its Celestial Park area.  The hotel has its own dedicated entrance to Epic, and it’s wedged between the Dark Universe and Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic areas of the park.

Pictures: A look inside Helios Grand Hotel at Universal Epic Universe

Features of the new hotel include the rooftop Helios Bar, which has views of Epic Universe as well as the other side of the hotel; Lotus Lagoon swimming pool area with cabanas; dining options named Flora Taverna and Aurora Market; and the Universal Studios Store.  Helios also has select rooms with “How to Train Your Dragon” theming. read more

Seven Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of April 6-12, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

El Palacio Buffet at 7403 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando shut down on April 8. Inspectors found 10 violations, two of which were high priorities. Those violations included raw food not separated from ready-to-eat food and roach activity. A second inspection the same day found 17 violations and included an additional high priority for single-use gloves not being changed as needed. On April 9, a third and final inspection occurred. Authorities found three violations and none was a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Bon Appetit Grill at 4534 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando shut down on April 9. Inspectors found seven violations, two of which were high priorities for rodent activity and temperature safety control for food. During a second inspection the same day, inspectors found three violations, including more rodent activity. On April 10, a third and final inspection occurred. There were two violations and none was a high priority. The restaurant requires a follow-up inspection but poses no threat to the public. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Spotify experienced a widespread outage Wednesday — with tens of thousands of users reporting problems with the popular music and audio streamer. But the platform said it was back up and running hours later.

“All clear — thanks for your patience,” Spotify wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, just after noon E.T. The company pointed to its support account, @SpotifyCares, for users who might need further assistance.

Earlier in the day, many Spotify users said that they were having difficulty loading both the app and desktop site, playing or hearing songs and using its search function. In addition to loading and playback issues, downtime updates noted that some users were also having problems accessing the platform’s support site.

Spotify told The Associated Press that the outage began around 6:20 a.m. ET on Wednesday — but said it was “back up and functioning normally” by 11:45 a.m. ET.

Outage reports appeared to peak just after 9:30 a.m. ET, when more 48,000 users shared problems with Spotify, per data from Downdetector. As of the early afternoon, just under 1,500 reports lingered. read more

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday inserted himself directly into trade talks with Japanese officials, a sign of the high stakes for the United States after its tariffs rattled the economy and caused the administration to assure the public that it would quickly reach deals.

The Republican president said in a post on his social media platform that he’ll attend the meeting alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, top economic advisers with a central role in his trade and tariff policies.

“Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!” Trump wrote in the social media post.

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By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. shoppers stepped up their shopping last month, fueled by a spending spree on big ticket items, particularly cars, before President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariffs started kicking in.

But analysts were quick to point out that the data wasn’t a sign of strength but underscored the extreme economic uncertainty that shoppers face and how they want to get ahead of higher prices.

Retail sales rose 1.4% in March, after rising 0.2% in February, according to the Commerce Department. Retail sales fell 1.2% in January, hurt in part by cold weather that kept more Americans indoors, denting sales at car dealers and most other stores.

Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, sales rose 0.5% in March, compared with the previous month.

Sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers rose 5.3%, and the report also underscored strength elsewhere. Sales rose at electronics stores, sporting goods retailers and clothing and accessories stores. Grocery stores and online retailers both saw a 0.1% increase. Restaurants had a 1.8% increase. However, furniture and home furnishings stores posted a decline. read more