Just add water and go

FORGET Spidey versus Capt. Jack Sparrow. This time of year, serious competition for entertainment dollars happens not just in theaters, but also in local theme parks -- and that means new attractions.

Aside from a cage match between Mickey Mouse and the Mummy, thrill seekers can expect spectacles and rides of every stripe. We’re talking walls of water, U.S. landmarks reproduced in painstaking miniature, imported European thrills -- even underwater extravaganzas that took years to develop.

That last reference belongs to Disney, of course, which, Tinker Bell notwithstanding, never does anything small. For the last three years, officials at Disneyland have been reworking its decades-old submarine lagoon into a new underwater amusement featuring the characters from the film “Finding Nemo.” At the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, which opens June 11, riders can board a newly painted bright-yellow submarine (do the Beatles know about this?) ostensibly bound for an underwater exploration. Using an elaborately built underwater set and speakers built into the sub, Disney’s Imagineers quickly shift the story to the missing Nemo, and riders are brought along on the search.

“We wanted a totally immersive experience,” Disney Imagineer Kevin Rafferty says. “We also wanted an experience you can enjoy more than once. People in the front of the sub may see things that people in the back don’t, and vice versa.”

Additionally, with “Pirates of the Caribbean” opening tonight, Disney is rusting up the ol’ scuppers in Frontierland, unveiling a new, swashbuckler-themed upgrade of Tom Sawyer Island debuting Friday.

Over at Universal Studios Hollywood, the focus also is water, but on a much more vertical scale. The park has revved up some of its existing rides to add more H2O and other ways to keep park visitors cool.

For example: the Jurassic Park ride. Aside from an additional dinosaur, look for a 60-foot “wall of water,” care of newly added cannons, which will shoot straight up when the refurbished ride opens June 21. The park is also putting its Mummy ride on ice -- or, actually, to be precise, liquid nitro.

“We’re completely changing the finale,” says John Murdy, the park’s creative director. “At one point the temperature drops dramatically, and people are engulfed in the eye of the storm.”

Then there’s Legoland. It has expanded its splash-filled Pirate Shores area with the brand-new Captain Cranky’s Challenge, a ship that sits on a “U-shaped” track and rotates in two directions. But you don’t necessarily need water when you’ve re-created the entire Las Vegas Strip in Legos, which is exactly what the Carlsbad park did in March. Two million Lego bricks and 16,000 hours of “creative artistry,” per the park’s news release, went into the exhibit. Look for a shrunken set of sphinxes at the Luxor; a mini-Manhattan at New York New York, and a Lego-ized version of the Eiffel Tower at the re-creation of Paris Las Vegas. There are even wee monorails and a wedding chapel.

Other parks are focusing on the hard core of amusement: coasters and games. Visitors to Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier are hopping on the Crazy Cruiser, a spinning game imported from Italy. Participants strap themselves into small cars equipped with harnesses and pedal away; anyone who can pedal fast enough to make the cars flip upside down 17 times gets a stuffed Spider-Man. (And, one would hope, a Dramamine.)

In June, Knotts Berry Farm is set to unveil Sierra Sidewinder, a “tweener” coaster aimed at the crowd between toddler and teen. At 37 mph, the ride doesn’t approach the tooth-curling speeds of more dramatic coasters, but its cars do spin constantly. And those who wish to avoid coasters altogether might want to head to ... Six Flags Magic Mountain? Yes, this year, the park is adding more “streetmosphere” -- strolling entertainment and live bands unrelated to rides. Kids can also dine with superheroes during a newly added Justice League Feast. Does Aquaman order his pizza with or without anchovies? Perhaps now, the world will know.

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Fun under the sun

Disneyland, 1313 Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. $53 and up. (714) 781-4565, www.disneyland.com

Knotts Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. $18.95 and up. (714) 220-5200, www.knotts.com

Legoland, 1 Legoland Drive, Carlsbad. $44 and up. (760) 918-5346, www.legoland.com

Pacific Park, 380 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica. Free; rides, $2.25 to $4.50. (310) 260-8744, www.pacpark.com

Six Flags Magic Mountain, 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia. $29.99 and up. (661) 255-4100, www.sixflags.com/magicmountain

Universal Studios Hollywood, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. $51 and up. (800) 864-8377, universalstudioshollywood.com