Latest news with #Wet'n'Wild
7NEWS
21-05-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Queensland girl Elvie Luik, 13, faces leukaemia fight
For most youngsters, turning 13 marks a new and exciting chapter in their lives — the start of the teenage years and the transition from childhood to becoming an adult, and all that goes with it. When Elvie Luik turned 13 last month, she celebrated the milestone at Movie World and Wet'n'Wild with her family. But over the Easter weekend the Queensland teenager began to feel sick with headaches, vomiting and lethargy. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Doctors diagnosed Elvie with a mild infection, telling her mother Rosie the illness should resolve itself in about a week with some rest. But Elvie did not get better and Rosie had a gut feeling something more serious was wrong. Her intuition was confirmed when another emergency hospital visit revealed the young girl had leukaemia. Doctors had never seen a white cell count so high. The mother and daughter have already been through a lot. Rosie fell seriously ill after giving birth to Elvie, developing an infection that almost killed her and put her in hospital for three months. Now Elvie faces her own fight for life. Rosie Luik, 40, and her daughter Elvie, 13. Credit: Supplied Rosie, 40, originally thought her daughter had picked up a simple, common illness from someone at one of the theme parks. 'She didn't really have a very high temperature or anything like that so we thought maybe we'll just keep her home for a few days and just see how she goes,' she told For a few days Elvie's health was up and down. Some days she felt alright but others she wasn't well at all, her mother said. When Elvie felt well enough to go back to school, Rosie soon received a call from the nurse saying Elvie needed to be picked up. 'I went and picked her up and then she threw up in the back of the car and then said she was feeling a lot better,' Rosie said. But the teenager continued to vomit and complain of a bad headache, prompting Rosie to take her to emergency a few days later. Doctors said Elvie likely had viral meningitis, an infection that is usually not very serious and goes away on its own. '(They said) just go home and rest for seven to 10 days and she'll hopefully get better,' Rosie said. 'So I took her home and she just, she just wasn't getting better.' Elvie's symptoms continued and, the day after Mother's Day, Rosie decided enough was enough. 'There's something else going on here,' she recalled thinking. Rosie drove her daughter back to the emergency department where the young girl underwent a blood test and an MRI. The results worried doctors. 'By the time we got back from the MRI, the doctor came in and said 'I need to do another blood test. Her white cell count is impossible, that's impossible to have that high of a white cell count. So, I'm just doing another test',' Rosie said. Elvie was diagnosed with leukaemia the day after Mother's Day this year. Credit: Supplied Soon after, the oncology team came to visit. With Rosie's husband listening on the phone, the family were told Elvie had leukaemia. She was declared a medical emergency and was whisked away to the paediatric ICU. Rosie said receiving her daughter's shocking diagnosis was completely overwhelming and numbing. Explaining what having leukaemia meant to Elvie was just as bad. 'It was the most heartbreaking experience I've ever had in my life, and to just hear the words that came out of her mouth were just awful,' she said. 'She was just like 'I want to live, you need me here, my brothers and sisters need me here'. 'She was just beside herself.' But as soon as Elvie was taken to the ICU, Rosie said something in her switched. She wasn't going anywhere. She was going to live. '(Elvie) just had this positive attitude. She's like 'It's OK mum, its' OK dad, I'm doing to beat this. I'm going to be here. I'm not going to leave you',' Rosie said. Elvie has three older siblings, all of whom have stepped up to help in the face of the life-changing news. Elvie and Rosie Luik. Credit: Supplied A traumatic postpartum Bringing Elvie into the world 13 years ago was no easy feat for Rosie. A year earlier, in 2011, Rosie had become Queensland's first altruistic surrogate when she gave birth to twins for her friend Lauren Lichtnauer. Lichtnauer had undergone 21 failed IVF treatments and four miscarriages, and was resigned to the fact she could not have children of her own. At this point, Rosie had already given birth three times. In 2016 the surrogacy story made headlines when 60 Minutes revealed Lichtnauer had — against all odds — become pregnant just weeks before Rosie was due to give birth to the twins. That same year, it was also revealed Rosie had almost died after giving birth to Elvie. After the twins were born, Rosie developed a severe infection. She eventually recovered and quickly fell pregnant with her own child — Elvie. But just weeks after Elvie was born in 2012, Rosie fell sick again and had to have an emergency hysterectomy. She then developed peritonitis, a life-threatening infection that causes inflammation of the abdomen and pelvic lining. Rosie spent the next three months in hospital fighting for her life before eventually making a full recovery, again. Elvie with her three older siblings. Credit: Supplied 'The most beautiful soul' Elvie is currently undergoing chemotherapy, with her prognosis at this stage unclear. Despite this she has remained as positive as ever. 'I think she's trying to be strong for everyone and she's just the most beautiful soul,' Rosie said. 'That's really shining through in this, like she's just trying to take it one step at a time and just be as positive and see the joy and when (the doctors) say 'Great job, Elvie, you've done really well' she's really proud of herself.' A GoFundMe has been set up to help Elvie and the family, with Rosie and her husband both cutting back on work to help look after their daughter. Rosie said she's been overwhelmed by the response and all the love and support the family has received. 'We're just so grateful and we can't thank people enough,' she said. 'I mean (with) the surrogacy, being in the media with that was a little bit hard but our whole family unit ... everything we're about is helping people and being there for other people and this is just showing how much of a special person Elvie is, and how she's touched so many people.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Volcanic Wegeee: Experience Wet ‘n' Wild's newest thrill
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The most explosive new ride in Wet 'n' Wild history is finally here, and as WakeUp2Day's Sam Spangler said, it has 'the best name in water park history.' WakeUp2Day's Chris Latronic went live from Hawaii's only water park to learn more and experience 'The Volcanic Wegeee.' Get paid to ride waterslides at Wet'n'Wild Hawaii After six months, 300 yards of concrete, sweat and lots of water, the new racing slide is open to the public, but the grand opening is set for Saturday, May 17. The Volcanic Wegeee is Wet 'n' Wild's tallest and steepest ride yet, and riders will not miss out on the high-thrill atmosphere. 'It's about 70 feet tall, 200 steps to the top and you'll hit speeds at 30 miles per hour. We also have the world's first translucent fiberglass shakas on there, so when you go through, you'll get the shaka projected right onto your body,' explained Scott Loos, Wet 'n' Wild General you march up the stairs, you can choose from two different slides. Loos said the yellow slide is faster, but the blue slide has a steeper drop. Saturday's grand opening will feature dive-in movies, a DJ, food specials and more — an explosive party for an explosive ride. And for an extra special deal, those who buy tickets from Wet 'n' Wild now through mid-June can get the rest of the year free. Check out more news from around Hawaii For park hours and more information, visit Wet 'n' Wild's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Far North high school netballers take on Queensland tour
This was generously supported by local businesses which helped reduce the cost of the trip for parents and whānau. The trip was meticulously planned and organised by Sarah Couling, with other highlights being trips to Wet'n'Wild and Movie World, a ride on the Wheel of Brisbane, shopping at Pacific Fair and an evening out at the Australian Outback Spectacular. The students and coaches are hugely appreciative of everyone who helped and supported them to attend this awesome experience. Kerikeri High School Premier Netball Team captain Marama Porter said: 'This was an invaluable opportunity for us to experience playing high-level netball against tough competition within our age group.' Kerikeri High School head girl Te Kauri Armstrong Kingi said: 'We are extremely grateful to our whānau and all of the local businesses and families who supported us to get to Queensland for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.'
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Movies might never be the same under Trump's new plan
There's 7 million litres of water in the Gold Coast that is possibly going down the drain. I'm not talking about a water slide at Wet'n'Wild. I'm talking about the Main Tank at the Village Roadshow Studios. It is where they have shot some of the world's most exciting water sequences for major movies, and it is potentially about to become simply a big waste of water, if Donald Trump's latest brainfart becomes a reality. Trump's latest idea is to put a huge tariff on movies filmed outside America. He announced it via a social media post on Monday morning Australia time, in a highly unexpected move. The biggest issue here is that tariffs apply to things. Goods, not services. The WTO defines tariff as 'customs duties on merchandise imports.' It's easy to put a tariff on merchandise. Like imported bananas. The government finds them in a big box at the border, they know how much the bananas cost, and they add a tariff on each piece of fruit. Movies are not like that. They're technically a service. And they are one of most complicated things to try to put a tax on. If Steven Spielberg shoots a movie on location, in New York and Paris, starring Cate Blanchett and George Clooney, what share of that movie is American? If he sends a few New York scenes to a special effects house in London for a few quick tweaks, then what? And if a guy who lives in Tokyo emails some extra percussion for the score to a composer based in LA? How does Mr Trump plan to account for that? It is quite different to a banana. Balls up Trump's idea is dreadful for the movie business in every way. How is the industry meant to proceed when it has so many projects under way? For example, the latest movie starring Mark Wahlberg. It sounds a bit like a variation on The Hangover – two middle aged dudes get drunk and cause a ton of trouble in an action-comedy. The film, called Balls Up, is set in Brazil but filmed in Queensland. It is coming out at some point in the next year or so. Will it be subject to these tariffs? Nobody knows. So when do the tariffs start? Trump's post says he is authorising the bureaucrats to 'immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% tariff.' A bureaucratic process can take a long time. Or a short time. Tariffs could start at any moment. I suspect quite a few films will be rushed out, and quite a few more could be put on ice. It's a bad time to be a movie fan, and a bad time to be one of the 27,000 Australians employed in the video production business. Including the guy whose job it is to turn up the heating on the Main Tank before Hollywood stars get in it (the water can be warmed to 32 degrees and one assumes big stars like Mark Wahlberg have that temperature written into their contract). The Gold Coast based move studio has three other huge water tanks, and nine enormous sound stages. All of them are at risk. World affairs The movie business is extremely global. The highest grossing movie of all time? Avatar. It is famous for its digital effects, which were put together by Weta, a movie business based in New Zealand. The second highest grossing movie of all time is Avengers Endgame, which Weta also worked on. It was filmed in America, England and Scotland. Even the salary of an actor is given, in part, for global marketing. They are paid not only to star in the movie put to pop up all over the world a bit later to promote it. If Robert Downey Junior comes to Sydney and sits in the Park Hyatt and does 15 short interviews with press outlets, that is part of the budget of the movie and part of what the actor is paid for. Is it happening in America – no. Is it subject to tariffs? I doubt it … but I don't know. This is just one tiny glimpse at how complicated things can get in the world of services. You can't expect a global industry to retreat inside the borders of America. Hollywood made a movie called Synecdoche in 2008. The word refers to when the part stands in for the whole. The term Hollywood is itself a synecdoche – the suburb of Los Angeles is just the headquarters for an industry that does things all over the world. Expecting that to reverse, and actually have all the Hollywood stuff done in America, is crazy. Trump doing Trump things Is this just a distraction? Trump loves to be the centre of attention. He is very good at it too. This idea for a tariff on movies came out about 20 minutes after another captivating idea to reopen the San Francisco island prison of Alcatraz, 'to house America's most ruthless and violent offenders.' You have to wonder if he actually ever saw the famous film Escape from Alcatraz. It is based on true events – three prisoners held there truly did escape and set off for the mainland. They were never seen again, and their fate is unknown. Probably the same will be true of this Alcatraz idea. As for the movie tariff threat, there is another alternative. Quite possibly, Trump knows this is a bad idea for the movie business and for Hollywood. He's just tired of them not sucking up to him. T his could be a threat – nice industry you have here, shame if anything happened to it – designed to get the media industry to play nice. Maybe Trump just needs a cameo in the next big Marvel movie and everything will be okay.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The best nontoxic nail polish of 2025, according to a celebrity manicurist
Though they've recently gone viral on TikTok, nontoxic nail polishes are a relatively new beauty obsession. When I was growing up in the '80s and '90s, manicures were fairly straightforward. You'd pick up a bottle of Wet 'n' Wild, paint your nails, let them dry for what seemed like forever and admire your handiwork (no pun intended) until the polish chipped (approximately one to two days later). But over the past few decades "doing" your nails has become more complicated, with a dizzying array of treatment options and even a few safety concerns. For example, new research suggests that the ultraviolet lamps used to cure gel polish — and make your manicure last longer — can damage cells and potentially increase the risk of skin cancer. In a 2020 survey of 2,000 women who regularly used gel nail polish, 84% reported unpleasant side effects, including pain and burning. And studies show that even regular ol' nail polish you pick up at the drugstore can increase your exposure to heavy metals such as aluminum and cause headaches and even hormone disruption. Suddenly, the best nontoxic nail polishes are looking less crunchy-hippie-unnecessary and a lot more mainstream appealing. Especially since these products have become just so good. In the past, nontoxic nail products have been inferior in almost all ways to their chemical-jammed counterparts — swiping on streaky with bland color options and annoyingly short wear times. But innovations in nail care mean you can now find safer polish alternatives in a range of coveted shades and — as with my top pick from Dazzle Dry — with sturdy and long-lasting finishes too. Over the past few months, I consulted with some true nail pros and tested more than a dozen nontoxic nail polishes (and a handful of nontoxic nail polish removers). The following are my expert-approved picks for the best of the year. The best nontoxic nail polish of 2025 Other top nontoxic nail polishes we recommend for 2025 How we tested nontoxic nail polishes Nontoxic nail polishes we tested that didn't make the cut Nontoxic nail polish FAQ Meet our expert I consulted with nail technicians along with TikTok and Reddit threads and hundreds of Amazon reviews to identify the top dozen nontoxic nail polish brands. I tried them on my own nails and rated them on ease of use, dry time, pigment quality, value and how long each lasted without chipping. I tried Gucci's extremely fancy, $35 nontoxic polish and found it to be not only not very nontoxic (it barely cracks 3-free) but also streaky and hard to apply. Similarly, the pigments in Essie's nontoxic Love line were extremely weak. Nontoxic nail polishes are categorized by the number of harmful chemicals their formulas exclude. While most nail pigments have been 3-free (meaning they're made without dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde) for the past decade or so, today there are loads of options ranging from 5-free all the way up to 15-free. Since there's no government oversight on most cosmetics, we don't really know what all this means, but if you're looking for the best nontoxic nail polish, go for a higher "free" number or, in the case of two of our picks above, those that are completely chemical free. Most experts I spoke with suggest seeking out products that are 5-free or higher — my top pick from Dazzle Dry is 14-free and there are loads of options that are plant-based and vegan. Though there's usually no set expiration date, due to a lack of chemical preservatives, nontoxic nail polishes will most likely expire at least slightly more rapidly than regular nail treatments. If you notice the product has separated, even after you shake it, it's probably time to give it a toss. Even if an expired nail polish is not harmful, it will be less effective and your color will appear uneven. Mazz Hanna, award-winning celebrity manicurist and CEO of the nail talent and training agency, Nailing Hollywood.
