Thrills and spills and killer whales

Conall Ó Fátharta enters the magical world of Florida’s theme parks and rediscovers his inner child aboard some of the world’s most spectacular, and terrifying, rollercoasters.

FLORIDA’S theme parks first entered my consciousness as Ireland made their way through the World Cup in 1994. They looked like a different universe.

At 12 years old, nothing could have dissuaded me from the notion that a park filled with animals, sweets and rollercoasters was about as good as it got. At the tender age of 28, I discovered that opinion wasn’t far wrong.