>>This week on NewsNight, Epi Universe opens, becoming Central Florida's firs new theme park in 25 years.

A look at the impact o the economy and transportation.

Plus, the Central Florid Commuter Rail Commission moves ahead with a $6 million Sunshin Corridor feasibility study.

NewsNight starts now.

[MUSIC] Hello, I'm Steve Mort, welcome to NewsNight, where we take an in-depth look at the top stories and issues in Central Florida and how they shape our community.

First, tonight, Universal's $7 billion bet on Central Florida's tourism market.

The opening of Epic Universe last week marke the end of a six year journey, and Comcast's largest ever investment in its theme park business.

But while tourism numbers for Florida look strong, the potential for stor clouds on the economic horizon could pose risks for the hospitality industry.

I sat down earlier this week with UCF economist Sean Snaith to talk about it.

>>The bar, I think, has been set significantly higher for future parks whether it's Disney or Universal or other competitors, just the use of technology.

I think it's an inflection point in the industry.

>>Do you think we'll see a response fairly rapidl from other theme park operators in terms of what they might offer, trying to get people in the door, take some of that shine off or attention at least of Epic Universe?

>>Well, there's always some competitive element here too, but it's not a zero sum game.

So, you know, bringing another half, one and a half, million visitors into the region every year, you know, grows the pie for everybody.

So, you know, there is competition, make no mistake.

But, you know, this rising tide sort of helping to lift all boats.

And I mean, obviously the operation of, of, a new theme park, there's, you know, thousands of employee that work for Universal, but, you know, they'll have many supplier in the region that, you know, do business with, with Epic Universe.

And so those suppliers gain business, new suppliers come in, new business is created all the employees down the supply chain have jobs as a result o what's happening at it impact.

So it sort of ripples out, through the region.

And, you know, it's significant in terms of economic activity.

It's significant in terms of job creation.

It's also significant in terms of, tax revenue.

>>I'm kind of interested in the infrastructure part of this, because anybody who drives in that part of town knows that traffic is bad.

It's challenging sometimes to get from downtown Orlando to Disney, certainly around the Sand Lake area.

And I wonde whether a huge new development like this huge new draw for visitors has an effect on the transportation infrastructure.

And I wonder how locally we deal with that.

>>Well, you know, part of the, development of of Epic was an agreement between Orange County and NBCUniversal to, basically split the cos of improvements on Kirkman Road and that extension, you know that had been on Orange County's to do list for 20 plus years.

So, you know, that's helpful.

But you're right.

You bring in more visitors and it's, you know it always seems to be this way.

The development proceeds the, you know, the needed infrastructure.

And so, you know, there's more to do.

>>Let's talk about visitor numbers.

Broadly speaking, we hear a lot from the state government that the visitor numbers have been very strong, especially in 2024 and in the first quarter of 2025.

We do also hear from economists some concerns about a potential recession.

Pricing increases, drop off in international visitation.

I wonder if this is a risky time to launch a theme park.

>>Well, I think in general, tourism is is is a cyclical industry.

You know, when, when the economy slowing, you know, or going into a recession.

You know, vacations are sort of a low hanging fruit that, that a household that's trying to tighten its belt can-- >>Yeah, discretionary spending.

>>So, yeah, it's not it's not recession proof.

Now, some of this, of course especially in the early years, you know, you've just got a fan base for some of these, intellectual properties Harry Potter and Nintendo that, you know, the novelty of it will, you know, ride out any uncertainty and potential slowdown.

We're not forecasting a recession, but we are forecasting a slowing in the economy in the next couple of years.

>>Sean Snaith from UCF.

Well, let's bring in our panel now to break it all down.

Joining us in the studio for the first time, Geovany Dias from WFTV Channe 9, reporter over that channel.

Thanks so much for coming in-- >>Of course, thanks for having me.

>>Coming back to the program, Randi Hildreth from Fox 35.

Good to see you today, Randi.

>>Good to be here.

>>And favorite of the show, Ryan Lynch from the Orlando Business Journal.

Good to see you, Ryan.

>>Good to be here as always.

>>Thanks so much for coming in guys.

Let me start with you, Geovany because you were at the opening of the Epic Universe.

You guys covered thi pretty extensively.

>>Sure was.

>>What did you see in terms of crowds and the operations?

And also, you know how the park was received by visitors?

>>Well, once again, thanks for having me.

It was it - let me just star by saying it is massive.

That place is ginormous.

So there is a lo that goes on behind the scenes to make sure that everything flows nicely.

And when we were there, I, we were actually for the media, like sneak peak kind of thing.

So we were taken behind the scenes to see how the operations were going to go.

And you can tell that they put a lot of money into the technology of that structure.

You know, like there was a lot of animatronics going on, a lot of those little details that you would expect from a from a theme park, but escalated to the tenth intensity.

It's really, really good.

>>Just jumping ahead on this one, I mean, because you mentioned the technology and the Busines Journal has done some reporting on that technology, particularly the use of AI.

>>Oh yeah.

And a lot of it is incorporated into some of the sensors they have in the park.

You know, whether that's shaping the ride experience or setting up some of the potential in the future.

I know Universal itself did not confirm to us oh, what type of exact technology, but a lot of the photos we see and experts we spoke with said, hey, there's sensors around that can kind of shape the experience or set up the opportunity for something like an NFT, where you can have a little avatar that represents your character and, you're able to track your stats, like, let's say, on the Mario games inside that Super Mario Land.

So some of the technology there, some of it's there already, and some of it kind of sets up that future path to where we might see some of that innovation that they file patents for, to really come out on the pag and be things that people can actually interac with.

>>Interesting.

A lot of intellectual property there, for sure.

Let's get down to the nuts and bolts when it comes to to our community.

Then there have been concerns, right, about the amount of traffic that Epic might generate, whether the Kirkman extension would sort of hold up.

What has the traffi been like in the first few days and the numbers of peopl we've seen visiting that park?

>>Obviously, traffic i going to be a big conversation.

We already know that there's a lot of traffi in that area, and Epic is epic, but everybody is not going t the park.

People are living and working in that area.

So as you mentioned a lot of concerns about traffic.

I spoke with one of my photographers in preparation for the panel, and he was there for opening day.

And just anecdotally, he said normal traffic, but didn't see anything too crazy when we checked in with law enforcement, they didn't note anything too crazy.

And you also have to factor in there's been years in preparation for Epic Universe to open in all of its glory, and then all of the roads leading to Epic Universe.

There's bee a lot of preparation for that.

We talk about the Kirkman Road extension.

Very expensive, but if you ask county leaders worth every penny it's about a two mile extension.

It has an elevated traffic circle.

And when we in our coverag spoke with theme park experts, they talked about, you know, chef's kiss.

We appreciate this elevated traffic circl because it keeps people moving without having to stop at lights.

It has a dedicated bus lane into really moving people through that area.

So it's not a hindrance to people when trying to ge to Epic Universe very quickly.

And then also people who live in the area taking traffic off of some of the roads that other people would have been using to get to work to get their children to school.

And when we talk about traffi and the numbers, as I mentioned, the photographer that I spoke to said that he didn't see a lot of traffic.

And even when looking at parking lot capacity on that opening day, he said parking lots were not full.

But when you look at some of the theme park blogs or bloggers, they talked about limiting capacity on that opening day.

You want to make sure everything is perfect, but as we get into deepe into the summer, we expect them to increase the capacity for the park.

The number of visitor that they will allow each day.

So we'll put an asterisk mar next to traffic and attendance because we'll have to se how things, progress as we get, you know, deeper into summer.

More people want to come.

>>So let's talk abou the economic impact, shall we?

And we'll start with the pre-Epic Universe world, if you like.

How have the tourism number look through the first quarter of this year?

I'll start with you.

>>So yeah, the state of Florida and Orlando both had strong numbers in 24.

State of Florida had about 143 million.

That's almost a 2% increase from last year.

Orlando had about, 75 million, also a roughly 2% increase.

>>Yeah.

>>An then looking at the numbers for the first quarter, note the the the numbers are mostly flat.

There's a lot of, domestic visitation, roughly 92% of that visitation number was from US travelers, and, international was the rest of that.

And the kind of striking one was, Canadian visitation was down a couple of percent.

Compared to obviously with all the geopolitical things going on between the US and Canada, that has kind of had an impact so far.

And, it remains to be seen how, you know, something like Epic Universe might impact those numbers for Central Florida in terms of bringing numbers.

I know earlier in the year we hit some record numbers for, tourist development tax, that tax collected on, short term rentals in hotels.

So we'll have to track those numbers and kind of see are people continuing to come to the region.

And you know what groups of folks are coming to the region, whether those are domestic or international folks.

I mean, there are concerns, aren't there, Randi, about the trajectory of the econom overall, particularly that drop in international, travel that, that Ryan just mentioned.

I mean, is there concern, do you think, in the hospitality industry, that it could be susceptible here to, to a decline in international visitors?

I mean, we know from, say, 9/11 and from Covid that the hospitality industry is particularly susceptible to shocks.

>>Certainl certainly a vulnerable industry.

You need people to come here to spend money.

And, you know, they're watching these numbers very closely.

You know, as you were talking about the breakdown of who is coming to our area, international visitors don't make u a large percentage of the pie, but it' certainly not a slice of the pie that the hospitality-- >>They spend a lot.

>>Wants to lose.

Right?

They come.

They tend to stay longer.

That mean they have to get a hotel room.

That means they have to pay for all of those days in the hotel room.

They may go to the theme parks more than one day.

They're buying food, they're buying merchandise.

And so that is, a large, as I mentioned, a large piece of the pie or a portion of the pie that they don't want to lose.

There's some concerns from international visitors about, some of the Trump policies that have come out.

And so there's been hesitatio to come-- >>The border policies.

>>Yes.

The border policies or even some concerns about some of the trade policies that have come out, some of the conversations.

How does that translat into the economic impact for us?

And depending on who you ask, the numbers may fluctuate.

But we're looking at billion of dollars if people don't come.

>>And just to pinpoin back to what Randi was saying, that we I actually interviewed just this past week, the national, the deputy, former deputy director of the National Economic Council, about what we expectin to see over the next year or so.

So we are expecting to see a slight, mayb quite the drop in for next year, especially from the Canadians because of the issues going on with the tariffs and everything.

You know, regarding the summer as of right no and what we are expecting to see for the next four months, we are still in a good shape when it comes to expecting tourists here in our area across Central Florida, especially international travelers I spoke with, the owner of a travel agency who's been around for 26 years in this area, and she said because of Epic Universe, there is a wait like a three month wait time for them to actually be able to book someone to come to the US to come.

Because most of her clients come from Brazil, there is a three month wait time for them.

Yeah, because there's such a high demand and people, when they come here, they stay for like ten day and they spend a lot of money.

Not only the obviously Epic Universe is a novelty, right?

Everyone wants to go see what's new, but at the same time, when they come here for the experience of being in Orlando, being in Central Florida.

So the numbers are still expected to be good at this point.

>>It'll be really interesting to see how things play out over the coming weeks and months.

You can find my full intervie with UCF economist Sean Snaith on our website, wucf.org/newsnight.

Okay, Universal of course, is one of the backers of the proposed Sunshine Corridor.

It's hoped the multi-billion dollar project will link u Brightline and SunRail services to provide connections between Disney Springs, the convention center and Universal, downtown and the airport.

Recently, the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission approved a $6 million study looking at the feasibility of the project.

David Cook is rail administration manager for the Florida Department of Transportation.

>>As we move forward with the with the project, connecting to the airport will be a tremendous additio to the SunRail ridership.

So we're looking at the airport, then over to the conventio center and then down to, South I-Drive and the, Disney Springs area.

So that ridership just getting to the airport triples gets us up to, wel into close to 4 million riders.

And then as we continue out to the convention center, we get up close to 5 million, riders annually.

And then that, goes even further once we get down to Disney Springs with another million riders.

So, so big impact on the, overall ridership with that connectivity to the airport convention center, Disney Springs and South I-Drive.

>>David Cook from FDOT there.

Okay.

Ryan let me start with you on this.

What is the significance of this?

They call it the Project Development Environmental study, PD& study, and the timeline on it.

It sounds dry, but it's pretty important.

>>Yeah, yeah.

No, it's a it's a whole lot of jargon, but it is, very important.

We've already seen some ridership estimates and cost estimates, but this study will basically help, hone in on some of those things.

It'll help us figure out what the station mix might be.

You know, whether, we're looking at, South International Drive station, whether we could get a station at Disney Springs, which is something the study could look at how the existing system might connect with the connectio to, the airport and everything.

Will we have, like, a transfer station or will it connect with a few of the stations along the line?

So it'll be key to figuring that out.

Also important is the federal funding and figuring out how much, funding the project might be able to get in the long term.

We're looking at a two year delta for that just in terms of the schedule, starting, they're looking at approving a contractor as early as June for that.

And then it would take two years.

So we're looking at 2027.

>>Interesting point on the federal funding.

Obviously, there's a lot of uncertainty about, the federal side of things at the moment.

I mean, there are lots of things that the PDE study pays for environmental studies and that that kind of thing.

>>And to your point, when we talk about the study, typically people's face glosses over.

But as you pointed out, Ryan, it is so important for them to do this because they have to check this box because, you know, they can't really even ask for federal funding or even state funding until they make sure that they have done their due diligence.

You talked about one, this person coming in as a consultant to really say, can this happen if you want this to happen this is how it should be done.

So to your point, figuring out the exact, route location where the stop going to be operational costs, how this could impact the environment.

And then really one thing that I'm interested in seeing is their funding strategy.

So this is very expensive.

And so there's already been a lot of conversation about who is going to pay for what and how much.

And so long term, if we're going to have this, what will that look like in terms of making sure that we have the money to lay the tracks?

>>Well, it's a really long term proposition.

It's a $4 billion project, certainly not something that's going to happen overnight.

We'll keep an eye on it here on the program.

Be sure to find us on social media.

Meanwhile we're at WUCFTV on Facebook and Instagram.

You'll also find us @NewsNightWUCF on X.

Okay, finally, tonight, another story that affects the touris industry.

The U.S. Supreme Court last wee cleared the way for the Trump administratio to end deportation protections for Venezuela immigrants in the United States.

Hundreds of thousands face the loss of their temporary protected status, which have been extended under President Biden.

Florida International University recently published a survey of Venezuelans in our state to get their thought on current immigration policy.

I talked this wee with FIU Professor of Politics and International Relations Eduardo Gamarra about the survey, but we started with the impac of the Supreme Court's opinion.

>>The opinion of the court was, was, it's a very very short statement, and it really depend on how you interpret it.

But the one thing it does is it essentially throws back to the court a lower court to decide on, on, on the issue right.

But in the meantime, what it's allowing the administration is to fast track the deportation of those who are on TPS.

Now, it can also be interpreted exactly in the way you said.

There are Nicaraguans who are on TPS, there are Haitian who are on TPS, and the ruling can be interpreted as applying directly to them as well.

So then if you look at those figures, you're really looking at a very large number of people who could be who are today in an absolute legal limbo.

>>I wonder if you can draw conclusions as to how people in the Venezuelan community come down on this based on their various immigration status?

I mean, this FIU study talked to people with a diversity of legal status whether it be TPS holders, U.S. citizens, people that have naturalized or permanent residents and I wonder if their opinions, tend to break down along those lines.

>>Yeah, very, very much so.

Remember that this is, an enormous number of people that it affects.

And so much of the discussion here, centers on really two things.

One is the regret for having supported the Trump administration in November, which is about 50% of the population, and then others who are and this is very interesting, that other that remaining 50%, which is sort of steadfast in its support for, for government policies, those who are citizens tend to be much more conservative.

Those who are citizens who have resolve their immigration status right aren't as concerned about immigration issues.

Clearly, those who are, in in a transit situation, whether they are residents or have TPS or are i in any one of those categories, those people tend to be much more affected.

And so their opinions are, clearly much more critical of what is what is occurring today.

>>Geo there is a significant Venezuelan community here in Central Florida and throughout us, our state, of course.

I wonder how Venezuelans here have been sort of digesting the news and what are the what direct impacts have we seen?

>>It has been roug for this community specifically.

And I actually just last week interviewed an immigration attorne to ask that very same question.

What happens next?

You know, when you end the protections for that number of people, what is going to happen?

Like what?

What is the solution for them at this point?

What did that what happens next?

And the answer I got is wait and see.

Because there are so many developments that we are expectin from this Supreme Court decision that sided with the Trump administration at this point.

But really, what what that, immigration attorney has suggested is that this community now needs to find a way to legalize to be legalized here, you know, in the country because they either have to appl for another kind of visa.

And then we are talking about the, maybe a student visa or maybe a, asylum.

You know, it start-- >>And there's a lot of uncertaint over asylum as well.

>>Exactly.

So it is a lot it's very concerning.

And we are talking about a large number like the largest community in, in the state of Florida with TPS is the Venezuelans, like the Venezuelans, are the ones that have the most alongside the the Haitians.

So there is a lot of uncertainty for this community.

>>And we've already seen some practical impacts at Disney, right?

So what's been going on there that the company has put on, on leave?

>>Yeah 30 days.

>>Venezuelan workers?

>>30 days, 45 Venezuelan workers from the park.

So what they refer to as Cas Members, they were put on a 30 day, paid leave, sorry, unpaid leave, but with all the benefits, meaning they will have to find a way to figure out their, their immigration situation.

And within that time, they're not going to get their salary, but they're still going to keep all the benefits.

Health benefits and all of that comes with it.

Because that was the way that Disney, found to still support their employees while also complying with the law.

So because there is a question here about what is going to happen and how the Disney is going to deal with it, they were like, we have to let this whole thing play out.

So, you know, we can see what happens.

Yeah.

How have the unions responded to that Ryan?

>>They've kind of put out a statement hoping that the, Disney would work with the employees who are impacted and trying to figure out that status, kind of supporting them during this process and some mentioning that obviously Disney kind of has their hands tied, legally by this but hoping that they're able to figure out a way forwar for a lot of these workers.

>>Yeah.

>>In terms of being able to stay, being able to keep their jobs and those sort of things.

>>The Trump administration has also targeted TPS and humanitarian parole, I think, for for other countries that have large populations, in Florida, are there ongoing legal challenges, when it comes to these other countries as well?

>>Yeah, I want to just focus on two in particular, an we talk about the demographics of Central Florida.

As you mentioned, we have a large Haitian populatio in Central Florida, in Florida, and that is another, community that is really concerned about what they are seeing and how they could be impacted-- >>And really central to this battle of over TPS.

>>Absolutely.

Specifically, I want to focu on waiting on the Supreme Court's decision regardin deportation protections.

Not necessarily with TPS but under humanitarian parole.

This is members of the Haitian community, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

And so there was, temporary resident, here for humanitarian reasons.

And in April, a lower court issued an emergency block to, excuse me.

In April, a lower court issued an emergency order to bloc terminating their legal status.

The Trump administration was accused of blocking people who are already granted humanitarian aid from applying for more permanent pathways to stay.

This also includes people, who came here from Ukraine who were trying to get away from the, Ukraine, and Russian war, and then also, people who were, from Afghanistan who had come here, who had help the U.S during the war there.

And so as we talked about the Venezuelans, they're not just that community.

A lot of, a lot of communities are concerned right now as they watch what's playing out.

>>Well, you mentioned the Haitian community.

You've been, talking to those guys, I think, Geo in fact, there was a court hearing just this week i New York over that DHS decision to reduce the Bide era TPS extension for Haitians.

Do many in that community shar the concerns that you've heard in the Venezuelan community?

>>100%.

You know, the biggest concern for them is that the whole idea of TPS and the temporary protected status is you stay here until the situation gets better in your country.

Then you go back, right?

And if we watch like a month of new worth of of content from Haiti, we know that the situation is not getting better.

If anything, it's getting much worse there.

You know, we jailbreaks happening, you know, people who cannot afford living so cannot-- >>Gangs seem to be solidifying their control.

>>Exactly.

So I'm imagining for this community, for them imagining to go back to their country and live through that is just astounding, you know and it's it's actually dangerous for this community to go back.

And we have to remember also, and that is the same, the same immigration attorney I spoke with, I asked him, do you think this is going to because this impacts right now currently the TPS debate only is impacting Venezuelans and asked, do you think there is a concern for the Haitian community coming?

Absolutely.

He was like 100 the Haitian community is next.

And they should they should be prepared for whatever is going to unfold from this, because clearly, there was a there was an effort there to kind of not to revoke and, you know, walk back from the TPS process at this point.

>>Yeah.

And of course, supporters of ending that TPS designatio point to the the name Temporary protected status.

And it's supposed to be temporary.

And and of course, we'll see how that plays out as well.

You can see my full length interview with Eduardo Gamarra from FIU on our website.

You'll also find a lin to the FIU study there as well.

It's all at wucf.org/newsnight.

But that is all the time we have for this week.

My thanks to Geovany Dias, Randi Hildreth, and Ryan Lynch.

Thank you so much for coming in guys.

Really appreciate it.

Good conversation today.

Just to let you know, NewsNight will be taking a brea next week, but we will be back the following Friday night at 8:30 here on WUCF.

In the meantime for all of us here at NewsNight, take care and have a great week.