Islands of Adventure is a relatively recent addition to the Universal stable (?2001?) and it has a host of thrill rides full of Marvel Superheroes and cartoon capers. My personal favourite is The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman as a 3-D projection of Spiderman joins you on a chilling chase after evil Doc Ock… This one took my breath away as we lurched in and out of buildings at a thunderous pace. The lesson here is to expect the unexpected….The Universal website mentions a virtual 400 foot freefall though, so don’t say I haven’t warned you…

The Hulk ride is a neat one - though a pretty standard coaster – and the one ride that took me the longest to pluck up courage for - Dr Doom’s Fearfall – was the biggest disappointment. Despite the implication of ‘edge of the seat’ action this was a quite a tame up and down ride which promised much and delivered little. It was brief and clinical and without a single moment of terror. I’d go back to Spiderman everytime!

The Pteradon Flyers are a gentle flight for young children, though over very quickly, and there always seems to be a huge queue for the Jurassic Park River Adventure. The Duelling Dragons are cool, but to be honest (and this is probably sacrilegious in some quarters) I find that coasters are pretty much coasters and that the difference between them is pretty minimal… I’m sure it is just that I lack the ability to distinguish properly, but I have done Fire and Ice now, and, well, I forget which one was which… Up, down and all around…Oh well.

Children of all ages though will definitely enjoy standing on the bridge over the Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges and using the water guns to aim and hopefully soak the poor unsuspecting passengers below. Yes, lady in the yellow T-shirt and child with the Spiderman hat, sorry. It was me and I don’t think I have spent a better 25 cents. Ever.

One “tip from the top” is to try to get the last session of the generally quiet character greetings at the Confisco Grill. When we went, we found that we had Spidey & Wolfman almost to ourselves and the guys seemed happy to chat and pose for pictures with none of the usual time pressures that we have found at other famous parks not so very far away… This was a lovely experience for our children and as you know….happy children make happy parents!