By Sandra Pedicini and Jim Stratton, From Orlando Sentinel

A man whose fingertips were severed aboard Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean this month made international news. Three months before that, it turns out, a 12-year-old boy lacerated four fingers on the same ride.

The incident involving the boy was one of a dozen significant injuries Walt Disney World reported to the state last week for the second quarter of 2014. Universal Orlando reported four injuries during the April-through-June time period.

Disney would not provide further details.

Five of Disney’s incidents, including the one involving the 12-year-old boy, were at the Magic Kingdom. Disney also reported that an 8-year-old girl briefly lost consciousness on Magic Carpets of Aladdin; a 64-year-old woman fell and fractured her fibula while exiting a vehicle at Tomorrowland Indy Speedway; a 68-year-old man fell exiting the Astro Orbiter and developed a blood clot in his leg; and a 72-year-old woman with a pre-existing condition briefly lost consciousness and fell after leaving Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Three Disney injuries stemmed from Epcot’s Mission: SPACE. Disney reported a 70-year-old woman complained of chest pain; a 58-year-old man with a pre-existing condition felt tightness in his chest and nausea; and a 54-year-old woman complained of motion sickness.

Also at Epcot, a 62-year-old woman fell on the walkway and injured her knee at the Seas with Nemo & Friends and a 51-year-old woman experienced nausea, dizziness and shortness of breath on Expedition Everest-Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.

In other Disney areas, a 68-year-old woman with a pre-existing condition felt tightness in her chest on Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom, and a 44-year-old man fractured his leg on Mayday Falls at Typhoon Lagoon.

At Universal, a 43-year-old woman complained of head and neck pain on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. A 61-year-old man felt weak after E.T. Adventure. A 15-year-old boy had “lowered level consciousness” on Revenge of the Mummy and an 18-year-old man experienced chest pain on the ride.

It was the fourth straight quarter in which Disney and Universal Orlando were the only parks to report significant injuries. SeaWorld, Wet ‘n Wild, Busch Gardens and Legoland reported no injuries.

The voluntary reports are part of an agreement the theme parks have struck with the state, which has exempted them from public ride-safety regulation. The parks are required to report injuries that occur on a ride and result in an immediate hospital stay of more than 24 hours.

SeaWorld retooling global tours

SeaWorld is postponing an “Excursions” global tour program it was about to start.

There were no bookings for upcoming trips to Alaska and Africa with animal experts from its parks as guides.

SeaWorld expects to relaunch the program next month with a new name, website and brochure. It is planning an October trip to Churchill, Canada.

Mall developer to unveil plans

Developer Abdul Mathin says he will hold a press conference early next month to discuss his plans for a massive new mall and hotel he has proposed for northern end of International Drive.

The plan, called the iSquare Mall & Hotel, got approval last week from Orlando’s planning board, after Mathin agreed to trim the height of the structure from 31 to 26 stories and reduce the total number of rooms from more than 1,200 rooms to more than 700. The proposal has yet to go before the Orlando City Council.

Mathin has proposed a multilevel shopping mall and a luxury hotel that, if built, would instantly become a landmark on North I-Drive. It would include meeting space, an ice-skating rink, a food court and restaurants. Mathin has said the project would cost $300 million to $400 million and would cater to wealthy travelers. The project would replace the International Shoppes strip mall a the southeast corner of I-Drive and Kirkman Road. Mathin’s company owns that property.

Mathin said the money is place to move forward but that he may take on investors. Mathin heads the BlackMINE Group, an international real-estate development and investment firm.

Iger chosen CEO of the year

Chief Executive magazine last week named Bob Iger of The Walt Disney Co. as 2014’s CEO of the year.

The sixth CEO in Disney’s history, Iger, “transformed the organization into a profit-making powerhouse,” the magazine said in a press release.

For more on this story go to: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-cfb-tourism-07212014-20140720,0,2054394.story

See iNews Cayman related story published July 14 2014 “Officials still don’t know how man lost fingers to ‘Pirates’ at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/officials-still-dont-know-how-man-lost-fingers-to-pirates/