Beat the queues and make the most of your time at Universal Studios Florida

“WHY are you going to Orlando in July?” That’s the question I kept being asked when I told my friends and family about my summer plans.

Cue “my husband is a teacher, it’s the only time we can go” on repeat.
And, to be fair, it’s a good point. Florida summers are very hot, temperatures are on average 32°C (90°F) with thunderstorms a daily occurrence

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But despite all that hubby Chris and our son Seth, nine, and daughter Lyla, six, right, had THE best family holiday ever — in fact you could say it was out of this world, thanks to the amazing Universal Studios.

We’d been savvy enough to book fast passes with our tickets, which made the whole experience a pleasure.

Fast pass lanes are separated from the standard queue and we zipped pretty much to the front at each ride, with the kids feeling like real VIPs.

Before we knew it we had been through Transformers, Fast and the Furious and The Simpsons — and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.

Speaking of which, there are so many options for food, whether you’re looking to splurge on Planet Hollywood or grab a hot dog on the go, you   won’t be dis appointed.

Tip from me — a refillable cup is also a great shout. You can pick one up for $17 (£14.80) and refill as many times as you like all day. Result!

Refuelled, we headed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which blew the kids’ minds.

The replica Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley are incredible and the rides make you feel like you’re flying in the movie.

My favourite was the new Hagrid’s Motorbike rollercoaster.

A ride on the Hogwarts Express takes you to the other park, Islands of Adventure — but that was put on hold by a late afternoon thunderstorm, which meant we had to cut our visit a bit shorter than planned.

Tip number two — pack a poncho.

The plan for our second day at Universal was to head to Islands of Adventure where Seth was to take on his first proper rollercoaster ‘The Hulk’.

After just scraping by the height restrictions, he headed off with his dad and was thrown up in the air and twisted through four loop-the-loops. I’ll never forget the look on his face afterwards — pure shock, fear and absolute joy. He was hooked.

With Lyla being younger I was worried there wouldn’t be as much of an offer for her — but that was definitely not the case she just met the 44in height rule for most rides.

The 3/4D rides are like nothing I’ve ever experienced and, again, our fast passes meant we packed so much into one day — Spider-Man, Men In Black and Jurassic World to name a few.

Later in our holiday we headed for the Universal water park Volcano Bay. Complete with its own beach and huge replica Volcano, it’s the most impressive waterpark we’ve ever experienced.

While there are hundreds of sun loungers it’s definitely a good idea to arrive early. When checking in, you’re given a Tapu Tapu watch which allows you to remotely queue for water slides — a gamechanger for planning your day.

The Ko’okiri Body Plunge slide is absolutely terrifying, you need to climb 290 steps to be placed in a plastic tube and the floor drops from under your feet and you plummet 125ft at a rate of 55mph.

Now this kind of getting wet I could take every day. Just a shame we had to pack our cases and fly back to Scotland as school was no longer out for summer.

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