YOUR child’s first theme park ride is a big event.
But the time your youngest is finally tall enough to ride all the rollercoasters without an adult to cling to? Priceless.
It had been a while coming but there it was, plain to see on the measuring tape: we’d finally hit the 140cm mark.
It meant no dare — from the dodgem-style Big Easy Bumpers to the park’s newest white-knuckle hypercoaster Hyperia — was off limits.
But at 236ft high, the latter was a mission that needed working up to, literally — so it was best to try lesser challenges first.
Part of the fun of rides is that you are never quite in control — whether it’s on a dizzying spinning adventure or being splashed on a wet-and-wild chute.
But for the more faint-hearted, family favourite Dobble Tea Party — old-school giant spinning cups — and white-water tyre caper Rumba Rapids are good places to start.
If you have smaller kids, these rides ramp up just the right excite-ment without the risk of tears.
Moving boldly on to the mid-range rides — where little ones can climb aboard with a grown-up — roller-coaster Flying Fish (20ft), water slide Depth Charge (39ft) and magic-carpet flight Quantum will get you in the mood for bigger things.
These old faves have been around for yonks but for a reason.
Then you’ve got big wheel Zodiac (59ft), raft riot Storm Surge (64ft) and the biggest swing I’ve seen, Rush (75ft).
The latter is certainly not one for right after lunch and nor is neighbouring 65ft pendulum ride Vortex, involving 15 high-speed rotations per minute.
But all this is nothing compared with being loop-the-looped out of your seat on coasters Nemesis Inferno (95ft), Colossus (98ft) and The Swarm (127ft).
Think that’s big? Now double it for fellow coaster Stealth at 205ft — and the Big Daddy of them all, Hyperia.
Oddly, you only have to be 130cm tall to tackle Hyperia solo — but you need big-boy or girl nerves.
Delivering gasps, screams and grandstand views in equal measures, it propels you at 81mph and has Europe’s highest coaster loop at 169ft.
There’s no looking cool on coasters — my photos prove it.
But if you fancy an adrenalin rush, don’t care how terrified you look and, crucially, are at least 140cm should you wish to go solo, hit for coaster thrills like little else.
