Theme parks

Legoland plans ‘Star Wars’ area

Legoland Florida says it will expand to add an interactive Star Wars-themed area in November.

Star Wars Miniland will include Lego scenes from the six-movie series as well as the animated Clone Wars television series.

The section will follow a chronological path through the Star Wars timeline. Some of the 2,000 Lego models will be more than 6 feet high. Visitors will be able to activate animations throughout the scenes using interactive buttons.

Since opening in October, the Winter Haven park has adding a water park and hotels.

Kentucky

Boxing fan acquires Ali’s boyhood home

A fan of Muhammad Ali has acquired an important piece of memorabilia: the boxing legend’s boyhood home in Louisville, Ky.

Louisville Realtor Dave Lambrechts tells The Associated Press that Las Vegas real estate investor Jared Weiss closed on the property Monday. He said Weiss paid $70,000 for the small white house that looks in need of repair.

Lambrechts says the new owner wants to restore the home to how it looked when Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, lived in it. The one-story home already has a state historical marker in the yard.

Lambrechts says Weiss hasn’t finalized his plans but won’t use it as rental property. Among the options being considered are turning the home into a museum or using it for some charitable function.

Casinos

‘EuroVegas’ planned for Madrid

Las Vegas Sands Corp. has chosen Madrid over Barcelona for a multi-billion dollar casino project dubbed “EuroVegas.”

The Spanish capital and the country’s largest city emerged as the company’s best choice for the development, Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson said in a statement.

“The regional government of Madrid has been a strong advocate for this potential development and we are appreciative of the energy they have brought to this process,” Adelson said. “Barcelona is an outstanding tourism destination, and choosing Madrid over Barcelona was not an easy selection.”

Plans currently call for six casinos, 12 hotels, a convention center, three golf courses, shopping centers, bars and restaurants. It is expected to be built in phases over about 10 years.

Las Vegas Sands owns casinos including the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas, and several hotels and casinos in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.

Airlines

JetBlue offering

a deal for pets

Here’s a deal that might make your travel companion howl, bark or purr.

JetBlue Airways Corp. recently unveiled a package that lets pets travel an unlimited number of times for three months for $299.

It’s called the All Your Pet Can Jet deal and was unleashed at about the same time that JetBlue launched the Go Pack, a deal that lets human passengers make 10 flights in three months, ranging in price from $700 to $2,500, depending on the city where the trips originate.

But like the deal for humans, the pet package includes some restrictions. The deal runs Sept. 7 to Dec. 31 and pets must accompany a human with a separate ticket. Under the deal, pets fly in the cabin and are exempt from the standard pet fee of $200 per round-trip fare.

But don’t start packing your pet boa constrictor, rooster or armadillo just yet. JetBlue will only transport small cats and dogs that, along with their carrier, weigh no more than 20 pounds. The pets can go anywhere JetBlue flies except — sadly for your pets — to the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, St. Lucia and Barbados.

Airlines

New service

Spirit Airlines has begun twice-a-day service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Miramar-based Spirit had been flying between Fort Lauderdale and Washington’s Reagan National Airport, but has shifted operations to Baltimore.

Miami Herald

wire services