Theme parks are so much fun that we tend to overlook the warnings about height requirements and back injuries. The worst thing that ever happened to me was losing my glasses on the Big Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World some years ago. I was blind for the rest of the day.

That said, theme parks are overwhelmingly safe, but people do get hurt. Last month, Florida’s major parks reported that several broken bones, a couple of seizures and a spinal injury were suffered by visitors during the first quarter of 2008, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

One woman, 72, fractured her hip exiting Disney World’s Mad Tea Party ride. A young woman had a seizure after riding The Incredible Hilk Coaster at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure. And a 48-year-old man fractured an ankle jumping into Cross Country Creek at Disney’s Blizzard Beach. Ouch. So be careful out there. Hands inside. Use restraints. And please wait until the ride has come to a full and complete stop before racing off to the next one.