On a family vacation in July 1990, Anthony Salamone experienced what few people outside the movie industry have endured.

He was in the water with Jaws, the giant shark that starred in four Hollywood movies.

Salamone and his family were on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Florida when a railing broke and Salamone, a 39-year-old bank officer in Sicklerville, N.J., fell into the water, said Michael Diamond, his lawyer.

Jaws, which featured a mechanical shark that menaced a pontoon boat full of guests, had opened in June 1990 but was closed two months later because of technical problems.

Salamone has sued Universal for $1 million, alleging that the company and its employees were careless and negligent in maintaining the ride.

The allegations are contained in a lawsuit filed last year in federal court in New Jersey. The suit was moved to U.S. District Court in Orlando about two weeks ago at Universal's request.

Ron Sikes, Universal's in-house lawyer, said the theme park disagrees with Diamond's account of the incident. He said the company would not comment further.

When Salamone surfaced in about 8 feet of water, he realized that the star of the Jaws ride - the mechanical shark - was coming toward him, said Diamond, of Berlin, N.J.

One of Salamone's children began to shriek, "The shark's gonna eat daddy!", Diamond said. As Universal employees fished Salamone out of the water, he slipped again and took a second dip, Diamond said.

When Salamone was pulled back into the boat, the other riders applauded because they thought it was part of the show, Diamond said.

Salamone scraped his leg and was bruised, the lawyer said. Salamone also caught cold from being wet, he added.

Sikes also would not say if anyone else had fallen off the Jaws ride.

GEARING UP. Universal Studios Florida has prepared for the usually busy spring-break tourist season by beefing up its marketing programs.

Universal is targeting colleges and universities across the country to lure vacationing students to the park, said Randy Garfield, executive vice president of marketing.

The park markets through fraternities and sororities as well as tour operators that have packages to Florida, Garfield said.

Before the first spring breakers are expected to appear in mid-March, Universal is marketing to other special groups, including motorcycle enthusiasts in Daytona Beach for Bike Week.

The park recently distributed coupons in Daytona Beach, and has promotional agreements with radio stations that serve Volusia County.

Garfield said the park has enjoyed an increase in attendance this year. "We are up substantially," Garfield said. "It's in the big double digits. I'm not talking the teens."