The park opened on March 20, 1999. The Legoland parks were put up for sale in 2004, then a controlling interest sold in 2005. The new controlling company is, Merlin Entertainments, a brand of the Blackstone Group of New York, an investment and advisory firm. The company is the operator of the Sea Life Centres. On Aug. 11, 2008, the Sea Life aquarium opened on the grounds of Legoland California, the first in North America

In the Imagination Zone visitors can ride a Wild Mouse-style roller coaster called the “Technic Coaster-Test Track”, choose from three different “4-D” movies called “Bob the Builder,” “Spellbreaker,” and a racing movie. Kids can also race Lego cars that they build themselves in Build ‘n Test, play the “Maniac Challenge” in which guests play LEGO PC games, and program robots in “Mindstorms”. Guests can also ride on “Bionicle Blaster”, which is a version of the teacup ride, or the “Aquazone Wave Racers,” the primero ever duel water carousel. In that you get use a steering wheel to control a rudder that makes you either come in closer to the center or fly out through the waves, all the while being squirted with water by the bystanders.

Pirate Shores has 6 rides and attractions. “Splash Battle” is a ride where guests enter their very own pirate ships to do battle with other guests on the ride and on land also while trying to avoid on-ride blasts of water. “Soak ‘N Sail” is an interactive two-storey water playground. Children and adults play with water pouring down all around them, for example, there are two buckets filled with 500 gallons of water that pour water on unsuspecting people. “Treasure Falls”; the mini-log flume, is a great training ride for little riders that aren’t quite ready for the bigger log rides at other parks. “Swabbie’s Deck” is the little kids water area, for little kids from infant all the way up to 7 or 8 to get their feet wet, before attempting Soak and Sail. “Captain Cranky’s Challenge” is the newest ride for Pirate Shores that opened on May 24, 2007. Pirate Shores also has a “Skipper School” where parents and kids can pilot Lego boats.Expanded seating and locker facilities for Pirate Shores were added on Summer 2007.

This is the newest section of the theme park, being opened in May 2008, which is designed to replicate the 1920s in Egypt. “Pharaoh’s Revenge” involves guests firing foam balls at targets and at each other. On “Beetle Bounce” guests bounce nearly 15 feet to nearly touch the enormous beetles above. “Cargo Ace”, lets guests board one of eight planes to fly six feet into the air. “Lost Kingdom Adventure” is Legoland California’s most recent attraction. Guests board and ride a roadster to recover stolen treasure by blasting targets with laser guns along their journey. Another recently opened attraction is “Dune Raiders,” which is a slide.

Waiting to appear on a live TV chat show, actress Fay Ripley suddenly realised she was in serious trouble.

‘Without warning, I felt as if I was going to faint,’ says Fay, star of hit dramas including The Return Of Reggie Perrin and Cold Feet.

‘My heart was racing and my hands were shaking. I started to sweat and then I was hit by a wave of nausea.

‘I knew it couldn’t be a panic attack as mentally I felt fine, so I desperately tried to think if I had eaten something dodgy, but all I’d had was a cappuccino.

‘Looking in the mirror, I remember saying to myself: “I just don’t know how I am going to do this”. But, somehow, I managed to get through two shows back-to-back, although I’m still not sure how.’

That incident earlier this summer was in fact the culmination of six months of vague but increasingly severe symptoms, including stomach cramps, headaches, nausea and sickness. These had left Fay exhausted and worried about her health.

‘At first the symptoms were low level and non-specific,’ recalls Fay, 43. ‘They were all easy to put down to something else.

‘When I had stomach pains, I thought it was a bug picked up from the children. If I had a headache, well, I had been working too hard and what working mum doesn’t have the odd headache, anyway?

‘But as the symptoms got worse I began to worry more. I went abroad with the children and spent a day here and there in bed being sick or with bad stomach aches.’

Not long after her TV experience, Fay went on a family cruise. ‘For most of the holiday I was quite ill,’ says Fay, who lives in London with her husband, actor Daniel Lapaine, and children Sonny, three, and Parker, seven.

‘It was all the usual symptoms but worse: I was light-headed and dizzy, had stomach pains and an upset stomach. With young children I had to get on with it but I spent most of the holiday feeling like some old maiden aunt moaning away and resolved that when I returned I was going to have deal with this problem for good.’

Julie Fear and her 18-month-daughter Naomi were sitting on the sofa playing when, without warning, the toddler suddenly pitched forwards and fell, hitting her head hard on the floor.

It was a nasty bump yet, when Julie picked her up, Naomi wasn’t crying – she was completely silent.

For those who value their super-bright smile, it has always been the drink to avoid.

But red wine could actually be good for your teeth, scientists have claimed.

They have found it contains chemicals that could ward off decay by stopping harmful bacteria from sticking to teeth.

The findings, due to be published in the journal Food Chemistry, suggest a daily glass of red could help to keep teeth healthy and reduce the need for fillings.

In contrast, a recent study showed white wine could damage dental health because its high acid content erodes the enamel that coats the surface of a tooth.

Red wine, when drunk in moderation, is already thought to have a protective effect against heart disease and some forms of cancer.

But in recent years, scientists have also been investigating whether it could help to prevent dental decay. Last year, a team of U.S. researchers discovered that chemicals found in large quantities in the discarded seeds and skins of grapes pressed to make wine blocked the ability of corrosive bacteria to bind with tooth enamel.

The most damaging bacteria, called streptococcus mutans, live in the mouth and feed on sugar in the diet.

Once it sticks to the enamel, the organism triggers a process called demineralisation, where acid starts to punch holes in the teeth.

It looks more like the Starship Enterprise sinking in the sea – but this huge vertical vessel could be the future of ocean exploration.

Called the SeaOrbiter, the huge 51m (167ft) structure is set to be the world’s first vertical ship allowing man a revolutionary view of life below the surface.

Although currently only a prototype its inventor Jacques Rougerie thinks his international oceanographic station will soon be setting sail.

Mr Rougerie wants the ship to be a space station for the sea giving scientists an insight into the little-known world under the sea.

‘At the moment, they [oceanographers] can dive only for short periods before they have to be brought back to the surface. It is as though they were taken to study the Amazon jungle and then helicoptered away again after an hour,’ Mr Rougerie told The Times.

‘SeaOrbiter will provide a permanent mobile presence with a window to what is under the surface of the sea.”

The architect, whose home and office are houseboats, wants to launch half a dozen of the vessels.

At the moment he says he has half the €35million (£32million) that it will cost to build the first one, and is confident of finding the rest.

The SeaOrbiter would also be a useful tool for studying the link between global warming and the oceans.

At just a foot long, these white gators are two of the rarest creatures in the world.

They were found in swamp land by a Louisiana fisherman and have now been given a new home in a New Orleans Zoo.

Weighing in at just over 14 pounds, the creatures are not albino, but are born with a genetic condition known as leucism, which means they have a reduction in all types of skin pigment.Rendering them white in appearance bar a few freckles, these gators now join the other 10 white gators at Audubon Zoo, which is home to the total number known to exist in the world.’The gators have been named Canal-igator and Chomp-itoulas and are named after Canal and Tchoupitoulas streets in New Orleans,’ Sarah Brunette, Audubon Zoo’s director of communication, said.’They were found in the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge near Houma in Louisiana and were handed to us by the state Wildlife and Fisheries department.’This is the same area where our original 18 white gators were recovered in 1987.’

The House of Commons was yesterday suffering from an unusual shortage of white papers – toilet papers, that is.

MPs and peers were left desperate after officials in the Palace of Westminster were caught short by a lack of loo roll.

Staff responsible for replenishing the Commons toilets began to report mid-morning that those cubicles out of paper could not be restocked because of a supply shortage.

When word of the crisis spread around the Palace, frantic staff rushed to locate the remaining toilet paper.

MPs sent out their staff to buy up toilet paper from the Tesco Metro across the road from Parliament.

Just when it seemed that the reputation of honourable members could sink no lower, there were reports of pre-emptive raids on ladies loos, where the supply had yet to run out.

One MP compared the situation to the failure of the Ministry of Defence to supply kit to British troops in the field.

He said that MoD officials and the private company contracted to supply the loo roll both use a ‘just in time’ procurement system, which broke down.

‘Soldiers missed out on body armour but even they had supplies of toilet roll,’ the Labour member said.

The company responsible for supplying the Commons is KGB, which stands for Kevan and Gina Brown, the firm’s owners.

They confirmed that the paper shortage had become a problem. ‘There has been an issue with supplies. But it will be sorted out as soon as possible,’ a member of staff
said.

Last night an emergency order was rushed in to relieve MPs and peers.

A Commons spokesman said: ‘I have spoken to the cleaners and there are now adequate supplies of toilet paper.’

Sessions of the House of Commons have been subjected to unusual disruptions in the past.

Angry protesters have thrown objects into the Chamber from the galleries. The chosen missiles have included manure, flour, leaflets and a canister of tear gas.

But one of the most famous disruptions in history occurred when King Charles I entered the Commons Chamber in 1642 with an armed force in order to arrest five members for high treason.

As a result the tradition of monarchs not being allowed to set foot in the House of Commons was born.