TheFloridaBlog: Florida families, Florida real estate, Florida events, Disney World, Florida vacations, Tampa

summer camp injuries

Colleen — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:54:26 +0000

We sent our oldest off to camp last weekend, and the whole time she was gone (to the mountains of north Georgia) I was worried we’d be getting a call that she was injured, or worse. It all started when the camp sent us a waiver to sign, in the event of an emergency. Not only would she be going hiking and tubing, but also to a water park and white water rafting. We had to sign the waiver agreeing not to sue if was was injured. It was only AFTER she left that I realized we hadn’t sent her off with a copy of our health insurance card - we had only written the company name, policy number, and a contact phone number on her application form. So yes, I was a nervous wreck last week, waiting for her to check in each night, or every other night, and then I could breathe easier, knowing another day had passed without the need to file an insurance claim and watch our health insurance rates rise. I can just picture the insurance company now…cackling over our accident prone children being sent to camp and falling off horses and such, and needing to get new health insurance quotes because of the klutz gene running rampant through the family.

She arrived home safe and sound, with only a scratch on her foot last night.

death prompts changes on primeval whirl

Colleen — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:33:19 +0000

Last fall, an Animal Kingdom employee by the name of Karen Price was hit by a coaster car on Primeval Whirl, and died as a result of her injuries. Four months later, Disney is taking steps to ensure this won’t happen again, but installing sensor mats in the area where you enter and exit the coaster cars. I’ve been on the ride several times, and have noticed more than once that you need to move pretty swiftly around the cars to make it in and out without injuring yourself.

The sensor mats won’t change anything for riders, who will still need to move pretty quickly to enter and exit the cars, but the rides will shut down if anyone steps in a designated area beyond the loading area.

disney mom

Colleen — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:02:49 +0000

I think I missed my calling in life! I saw this article in the paper today, about a local mom chosen by Disney to be one of 12 Disney park experts nationwide. After reading the article, I think I’m more of a Disney expert than she is! Beatrice Rose didn’t even start going to the parks until 1991. I started in 1979. She didn’t know the original name Walt Disney had picked out for Mickey! And she thought that Cinderella’s castle was made of stone.

I demand a recount!

american idol at disney’s hollywood studios

Colleen — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:25:48 +0000

For those of you wondering what Hollywood Studios is, that’s the name of the theme park formerly known as Disney’s MGM Studios. You’re probably also wondering how Disney / ABC got a Fox show into their theme park? Let’s begin at the beginning…

The attraction will be a live performance show. Instead of listening to people who can’t sing on your television, you’ll be able to enjoy it in person at the theme park. The attraction, which will open later this year, will give people the feeling of really appearing on American Idol. Performers go through hair and makeup, get tips from a voice coach, and then they’re off to perform. I can picture it now - three lookalikes standing in as Simon, Paula, and Randy insulting and raving about singers, calling them “dawg”, and acting drunk. (You guess who gets to do which bit!)

Winners of the daily shows go to the grand finale at day’s end, and those champs get a special pass to the front of the line for a real American Idol audition.

Disney got the rights to do the show attraction from the Idol co-producers, so Fox wasn’t involved at all. Disney is also working on the real Idol stars making special appearances through out the year.

inmate on the run in citrus county

Colleen — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:58:48 +0000

Residents of Citrus county, and the surrounding areas should continue to be on the lookout for James Coursey, who escaped from the Citrus County Jail’s “trusty” program last week. A resident of a neighborhood near the jail had a close encounter with Coursey that led to a hammer in the head…yet one more reason to make sure your home isn’t built next to a jail or correctional facility.

Despite 100 offers, K-9 units, and bloodhounds searching for this guy, he hasn’t been seen since.

healthy skin from the inside out

Colleen — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:58:58 +0000

If you live in Florida, you know a little something about skin health. Go to any beach, at any time, and you’ll see people slathering their skin with sunscreen - even on cloudy days! We all know that UV rays can damage skin even when the sun isn’t shining, and we do our best to protect ourselves at all times. I even wear a foundation that contains an SPF of 15 in it, so I’m protected even when I’m not thinking about applying traditional sunscreen.

One of the newest skin health trends is about taking care of your skin where the “sun don’t shine” - the inside! In addition to applying sunscreen, moisturizer, and taking care of the skin everyone can see, you can add a new supplement into your diet to provide your skin with nourishment. R.G. Skin Revitalizer is derived from a tropical fruit called Gâc, which is full of antioxidants.

The cantaloupe sized fruit has been used for years in Vietnam and other Asian countries for it’s medicinal properties. It contains plenty of beta carotene, which can help to boost your immune system. Beta carotene also assists with building new skin cells. Americans have typically turned to carrots or sweet potatoes to get a weekly dose of beta carotene, but Gâc contains up to ten times MORE beta carotene!

expedition everest death followup

Colleen — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 02:49:05 +0000

It’s been confirmed that the man who died this week on Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom (part of Walt Disney World) had a heart condition. An autopsy showed that Jeffery Reeb had an enlarged and weakened heart. Since visitors with high blood pressure, heart, back and neck problems are asked not to ride, I don’t think Disney will be getting sued over this one.

disney death on expedition everest

Colleen — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:39:49 +0000

I just heard on the news that a man died yesterday after riding on Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. This is without a doubt, one of our favorite rides at any theme park. Even my son, who is normally scared of larger coasters, goes on Expedition Everest. It’s not a wild ride, but it’s unique in that it goes backwards inside of the fake mountain at one point, with the track shifting behind you so that you go forward in another direction. At the end, you go down an 80 foot hill.

The name, Jeffery Reed, was 44 and I’m assuming in good health, as visitors with high blood pressure, heart, back and neck problems are asked not to ride. When the ride ended, he was no longer conscious, but he was alert during the photograph portion of the ride, which is done just before the 80 foot drop.

Disney officials verified that the ride is working properly, but it will remain closed. This is the most recent death at Disney since a small child died after riding Mission: Space at Epcot.

baby, it’s cold outside!

Colleen — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:32:19 +0000

When Jim got up for work this morning, it was a whopping 35 degrees out. There was frost on the roof of our house, and on the top of his car. By the time I left to drive the kids to school, an hour later, the frost was gone, and it had warmed up to a whole 45 degrees. It’s mornings like that when I’m so happy to have a garage to park in. My truck was relatively toasty when we got in it this morning, and I didn’t even need to turn the heat on. When we lived at our other house, we had a one car garage that never held a car. Mornings like this required running out to turn the car on, and then letting it warm up in the driveway for a few minutes before leaving.

christmas trees to iraq: wasteful, or whimsical

Colleen — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:28:57 +0000

Hala Harper of Bradenton, FL is attempting to bring a little big of green to the desert of Iraq. She’s collecting money (and has so far raised $21,000) to send more than 400 Christmas trees overseas. I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a total Christmas hating bitch, so I’ll just say it. Wouldn’t that money be put to better use on something that’s not going to turn brown and die within weeks? What about making care packages of things the troops can use? What about buying body armor, since our military apparently doesn’t have the money to supply every soldier with it?

It just seems a little frivolous & wasteful to me that $21,000 is being spent on trees that will be dead in a matter of weeks.

What do you think? Am I a cold, unfeeling monster? Or just practical?