Steve Glum, the Chief Marketing Officer, Ace Cafe North America, joins us in the studio to talk about his role at the motorcycle-focused café in downtown Orlando. He shares stories from his time at Ripley’s including a run-in with the famed fertility statues, his time at Hard Rock, and what it was like being part of the opening staff at WDW’s Pleasure Island.
We also discuss TASTE! Central Florida. The annual event that helps raise funds for Second Harvest Food Bank and Coalition for the Homeless. Taking place August 19, 2017, at the World Center Marriott on 536 TASTE! is the premier foodie event of the year and this year is no exception. We also get new details on BOTH Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ joints coming to Central Florida and hear new details on future of the Ace Café brand.
Today King Bob of the Save Pleasure Island blog stops by to talk Disney Springs, the 7th anniversary of the closure of Pleasure Island and the future of night life in Central Florida. The interview takes place on location at Disney Springs and part walking tour, part history lesson and part look at the future.
During the Punch List the crew talks about Blizzard Beach, Disney canning cover bands, Pop Century’s odd new menu, local celebrity sightings, downtown hotel towers, local roadside attractions and much more.
The show is flipped from the regular model with an extended Punch List and shorter Main Event but today’s show has even more news in it than usual.
Dani of This Florida Life joins us today for our Main Event. She gives an industry insider perspective on the hospitality bubble and what it means for the future of Orlando. Plus she talks Bay Lake Society and much more. Richie stops by for The Punch List where we cover the recent rape at Downtown Disney, the new peer-reviewed study on captive killer whales, Ripley’s expansion plans to Africa, and recent construction announcements around Orlando.
Macau casino giant Galaxy Entertainment is buying 5% in SBM to diversify into other markets, Macau performance under expectations. Galaxy Ent shares are down 46% due to Macau’s performance. Hong Kong hotel occupancy rates down for the 9th straight month. China’s economy is off. Japan’s shrank last quarter, “a soft patch.” Does all of this point to a bubble in Orlando? Dani weighs in during the Main Event.
Davidson County, Tenn., which includes the Nashville metropolitan area, with 6.7 percent growth. Hillsborough County came in second overall with 6.12 percent growth. Employment in Orange County, FL reached 49,724 in 2014, up from 47,583 recorded for the previous year.
New peer reviewed study on Killer Whales released in the Journal of Mammalogy by the Oxford University Press. It found no difference in life expectancy between SEAS whales and wild populations. And found wild calf survival rates of Southern Resident killer whales to be significantly less that SEAS (79.9% vs 96.6%).
Orlando HQ’d Ripley’s returns to Africa for the first time since 1933 when Robert Ripley visited. New 12 city traveling show stops by shopping malls in South Africa.
Next week I’ll joining a new podcast. He Says, She Says. A Disney talking podcast. Follow along on Twitter @DisneyTalking
Speaking of podcasts check out The Park Blogger had a great show with Lite’em and Hyde this past week. WDW Today did an excellent job with their offsite episode last week, I give them a thumbs up for that but wish they had focused more on I-Drive, Park Ave and maybe even some places like downtown Sanford.
