The Italian theme park just like Disneyland but with fewer queues

AS the ride began to climb, the two views before me were dramatically different.

To my right, the serene turquoise waters of Italy’s Lake Garda.

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To my left? A steep drop and a double loop-the-loop.

Pretty spectacular for a theme park I’d never heard of two weeks earlier.

I’d stumbled across Gardaland this spring while trying to book a last-minute trip to Disneyland Paris.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a Disney park — but this time, faced with high prices and the possibility of French strike disruption, I decided to take a chance on somewhere new.

The result? One of the best family breaks we’ve ever had.

The first thing that caught my eye was the cost.

Our one-day advance tickets were £38 per adult and £34 for a child under ten (kids less than one metre tall go free).

That’s about half the amount it would have set us back at Disneyland Paris.

On arrival, the next pleasant surprise was the lack of long queues.

After last year’s trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where it took us more than two hours to get on one particular ride, I insisted we splash out on a Gardaland Express fast-track bundle (£21).

But by lunchtime, it was clear we didn’t really need it.

Most waits were 10-20 minutes.

But while the resort might have been short on queues, it’s certainly not short of fun.

There’s plenty for all ages here, from Fantasy Kingdom and a small Peppa Pig Land for little ones, to adventure attractions including the latest Jumanji ride and white-knuckle thrills galore.

My personal picks were epic log flume Fuga da Atlantide and the Mammut coaster, which reminded us of Disney’s popular Big Thunder Mountain.

Gardaland is owned by Merlin Entertainments — the brand behind Alton Towers and Thorpe Park — and some of its standouts feel reminiscent of favourites back home.

Oblivion has a similar vertical drop to its Alton Towers counterpart, while the winged Raptor calls to mind The Swarm at Thorpe Park.

Though theme parks aren’t known for their natural beauty, several rides offer stunning views of the lake beyond.

Gently soar

And if you don’t fancy seeing them by coaster, you can gently soar 50 metres up in the air on the futuristic Flying Island.

During the warm summer months until mid-September, guests can also cool off at Legoland Water Park — a 15,000-square-metre area within Gardaland — for a small fee.

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Explore the Lego River Adventure with its floating rafts, the Beach Party packed with slides, or the Duplo Splash zone for younger visitors.

If all that has worked up your appetite, there are lots of places to eat dooted around, from sit-down restaurants to takeaway kiosks.

The only downside of our visit was the early closing time of 6pm (though extended hours run from mid-June to early September), so we headed elsewhere for dinner.

Luckily it was just a 30-minute drive to nearby Verona, home to world-class pizza and gelato.

We stayed in a charming two-bed apartment in the heart of the city in the Opera Relais De Charme apart-hotel.

The spotlessly-clean, modern interiors featured a large bedroom as well as an open-plan living, dining kitchenette with sofa bed as well as free wifi and air-con.

Next day, we caught the hop-on-hop-off bus (£21.50 for adults, £10.50 for kids aged five to 15) and took in the sights including the Colosseum-like Arena, the funicular at Castel San Pietro and, of course, Juliet’s balcony — the romantic spot linked to Shakespeare’s famous love story.

And with one last gelato for the road, our time in fair Verona — unlike poor Romeo and Juliet — ended most happily.