digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover and share the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

See the original image at en.wikipedia.org

Action Park: The Most Dangerous Park in America (1978 - 96)

en.wikipedia.org — Action Park was waterpark/motor themed park open from 1978 to 1996 in Vernon Township, New Jersey. Its popularity came with a reputation for poorly-designed, unsafe rides; inattentive, underaged, underpaid and under-the-influence employees; equally intoxicated and underprepared visitors — and a poor safety record that resulted in 6 deaths.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • jackcharm, on 07/18/2008, -0/+43I grew up at that place. It was like Vegas for 8 year olds.
    • Jess2mix, on 07/19/2008, -14/+1Vegas doesn't even have a water park....
    • spawnfree, on 07/19/2008, -0/+19you mean it left you broke and hurting?
    • bluezinc, on 07/19/2008, -1/+2Seems like a lot of the injuries were caused by idiots and the parks failure to make idiot-proof rides. Most of the fatalities were people jumping into the wave pool, forgetting that they didnt know how to swim. How do you forget something like that? Especially when going to a ***** water park???
      • BionicPimp, on 07/19/2008, -0/+7OMG...i remember the wave pool! It was nuts...like cliff diving into a blender. When you're an "indestructible" eight year old kid...there's nothing more fun. I was also a huge fan of the alpine slide...no seatbelts...down a mountain. Trying to hit the guy in front of you with your sled...awesome.
      • HystErica79, on 07/19/2008, -0/+4I almost drowned in that wave pool!
    • ronjohnson, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1I had friends that worked there and it wasn't uncommon to smoke a lot of pot before working.
  • PlayingGangsta, on 07/18/2008, -0/+35Dugg for "Class Action Park" nickname
    • ctnp, on 07/19/2008, -3/+4I was more of a fan of "Traction Park" personally.

      It still holds true today - I went last year and came home with a partially melted bathing suit (made from polyester) and about 4 or 5 scrapes/cuts.
  • darny, on 07/18/2008, -1/+7I still have the 80s hair-metalesque theme song playing in my head.
  • ahhell, on 07/18/2008, -0/+4Scooping the crap out of the water would be such a sweet job.
  • vexingmodstwo, on 07/18/2008, -0/+6Ah, fun times there. The lagoon with the cliff you can jump off of was my favorite.
  • downneck, on 07/18/2008, -0/+13hell yeah! action park ruled. i liked great adventure better, overall, but you could get away with some ridiculous ***** at action park
    • PaulOwen, on 07/19/2008, -0/+15The Wikipedia article seems very one sided - like yourself I bet there are thousands of kids who thought Action Park rocked.

      My favourite? Tank Ride.

      "When workers had to enter the cage to attend to a stuck or crashed tank, which usually happened several times a day, they were often pelted with tennis balls from every direction despite prohibitions against such behavior that could result in expulsion from the park. It is not known if this resulted in any serious injuries, but it made the tank ride the least popular place to work in the park."
  • whiteknives, on 07/18/2008, -4/+33This is possibly the only legitimately cool thing to ever come from New Jersey.
    • GogglesPaisan, on 07/19/2008, -7/+1yup, you're the expert.
    • Xynthesis, on 07/19/2008, -1/+2Ahem...Taylor ham anyone?
    • alpha88, on 07/19/2008, -6/+3Actually, the whole thing was a joke. The designer wanted to see how many people from Jersey would be stupid enough to actually go on the rides. Surprise! It became popular!

      I can just see those popped collars entering the gates now...
    • Cloud7654, on 07/19/2008, -4/+3Lol, I need to get out of NJ ASAP.
    • violentvinyl, on 07/19/2008, -6/+9It's cool to rip on Jersey, we get it. In reality though, aside from NYC, the majority of California, and possibly Florida, there aren't many states that have more to offer you than Jersey. The fact that we have ski slopes AND beaches automatically makes us cooler than 90% of the US.
      • Laminar, on 07/19/2008, -7/+4Typical Jersey douch-bag; It's what you HAVE that counts, right?
      • Ninjabeats, on 07/26/2008, -0/+0Can't forget the diner in every town, and the knowledge that the Looney Tunes universe isn't the only place that has ACME stores.
    • jstem1994, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2What about Bon Jovi? Wait, you're right......
  • errorunknown, on 07/18/2008, -11/+7Proof that America is becoming to conservative
    • Lyght, on 07/19/2008, -0/+9Oh, I know, right?! This is the worst thing they've ever done! Those damn conservatives keep closing down our poorly-maintained water parks!
    • apastafarian, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2That's TOO bad!
  • dralter, on 07/18/2008, -0/+25Action Park commercial 1988 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhXlj-cEyFE
  • harvinator24, on 07/19/2008, -3/+9One of the many nicknames for this park was accident park.

    I remember one time many years ago when i was with my sister and my father at the park. My sister was waiting on line for the bumper cars and per her high heal through the floor board and then her foot went through the floor. she ended up getting stuck in the floor and the ride had to be closed.
    • damian7, on 07/19/2008, -2/+6My sister was waiting in line for the bumper cars and her high heal went through the floor board and then her foot went through the floor. She ended up getting stuck in the floor and the ride had to be closed.

      Peaceful Grammar Nazi FTW
      • KMye, on 07/19/2008, -1/+11Spelling Nazi...restrains himself...
      • ChileanGoD, on 07/19/2008, -1/+10Combo Breaker Nazi is getting baited...
      • An800lbGorilla, on 07/19/2008, -2/+0
        My sister was waiting in line for the bumper cars. Her high heal went through the floor board, and then her foot went through the floor. She ended up getting stuck in the floor, and the ride had to be closed.

        First sentence was a run-on. Comma is needed in the next sentence because of the independent clause.

        English teacher FTW
    • ogak123, on 07/19/2008, -3/+1"many years ago when i was with my sister and my father"
      "years ago when i was with"
      "when i was"
    • Laminar, on 07/19/2008, -1/+1"You have to be this WIDE to ride here..."
  • hollywoodphony, on 07/19/2008, -0/+5Oh man, growing up in Connecticut, my brother and I could only dream about going to this place when we saw the ads on channel 11. I guess that's part of the reason I'm here now, able to reminisce about it. Does anyone remember the ads for "Happy Fun Camp"?
    • TippyTom, on 07/19/2008, -1/+1yes, but ***** u for the happy fun camp reference.
    • darny, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1you MUST be talking about young people's day camp. Let me show you HOW at young people's day camp we make fun happen.
  • Petestreet, on 07/19/2008, -2/+16I got hurt there when I was 19, in 1986. Sprained my leg after hitting the water wrong on a ride that sent you through a tube, underground and shot you out about 10 feet above the water.
    Shoot, things were better when there wasn't such pussy safety rules. The world is a dangerous place and thrill seekers sometimes get hurt, even killed. No one lives forever.
    • Pusod, on 07/19/2008, -2/+11That means your 41 now... dude you're getting old! Pretty soon you'll be 61. Time flies!
    • wexmajor, on 07/19/2008, -1/+9Easy for you to say. You didn't die.
    • ChileanGoD, on 07/19/2008, -3/+2Pusod... well... if i can push it further...

      Everyone on this thread will be dead within a century.
      • franklymister, on 07/19/2008, -3/+3speak for yourself, earthling.
    • Disease, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1That's ***** awesome.
  • MrM1yagi, on 07/19/2008, -1/+16Here are some pictures of the park.

    http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/action_par ...
  • Pusod, on 07/19/2008, -1/+10Their website is still up. Buy your season passes now!!! LOL!

    http://www.mountaincreekwaterpark.com/
    • wonderbriefs, on 07/19/2008, -0/+7Hmm....It looks like the park is still open.
      http://www.mountaincreekwaterpark.com/site/directi ...
      • plague, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2Did you guys not read the article? It was reopened by Intrawest after they bought the ski area in 1998. It's not Action Park anymore, but there is a water park there.
    • calcio0fan, on 07/19/2008, -0/+4No it was torn town when Mountain Creek (ski place) was opened, and later they put up a totally new waterpark. Though from one of the ski lifts you can still see part of this crazy luge thing where half the skin would get ripped off your body if you fell off.
    • SebG, on 07/19/2008, -2/+1You're a tard
  • sock2828, on 07/19/2008, -1/+29"Tank Ride: This was one of the most popular rides at Motoworld (it featured prominently in the television ads). It was more dangerous for employees than patrons.[12]

    In a chainlink fence-enclosed area, small tanks could be driven around for a fee for five minutes at a time, with tennis ball cannons that enabled riders to shoot at a sensor prominently mounted on each tank. If hit, the tank stopped operating for 15 seconds, while other tankers often took advantage of the delay to pepper the stricken vehicle with more fire.

    Visitors on the outside could also join in the fun through less costly cannons mounted on the inside of the fence. When workers had to enter the cage to attend to a stuck or crashed tank, which usually happened several times a day, they were often pelted with tennis balls from every direction despite prohibitions against such behavior that could result in expulsion from the park. It is not known if this resulted in any serious injuries, but it made the tank ride the least popular place to work in the park"

    My god! that sounds awesome
    • Aroundtheworls, on 07/19/2008, -0/+10It was awesome. I loved the cannons mounted to the fence- you popped in a quarter and got like a dozen tennis balls to fire at high velocity towards the tanks (or park workers).

      My dad flipped the one of the Lola cars on the second smaller track they set up on the hillside- he rolled the kart down and fortunately hit a haybale which stopped him from getting hurt too badly.

      Good times!
    • carjackd, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1Last time I checked, they still had something like this in Wildwood NJ - except you got into a little battleship on water and when you got hit, you just got soaked! FUN TIMES!
    • delmar14, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2They have one of those at Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells. It's actually not as awesome as it sounds.
    • tenaciousdino, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1damn, totally forgot about the tank ride. i was too young to do it when we used to go, but my older brothers got to. i was extremely jealous.
  • thisislivestyle, on 07/19/2008, -5/+2Wooooooooooow! I had now idea that 1 of my childhood Summer hangouts was so damn dangerous. In the words of Madonna, "This used to be my playground". Hey, I had fun there ... lol. It is what it is.
  • rukeypoo, on 07/19/2008, -1/+5And I thought running up a slide made me a dangerous kid.

    Damnit.
  • decker12, on 07/19/2008, -0/+19This is an exceptional Wikipedia article. DUGG even though I've never been there, I truly laughed out loud at the descriptions as well as the external links. Crazy stuff there in NJ.
  • stickstickly, on 07/19/2008, -0/+810 times better than Super Phun Thyme
  • Requeim, on 07/19/2008, -19/+1i had no idea abt this...

    http://www.healthpoints.info
  • akohut, on 07/19/2008, -0/+9Does anyone else kind of want to go? If not for the rides (which would be awesome if they weren't homicidal), then at least just to see it?
    • Flagg3, on 07/19/2008, -0/+9It was the greatest park ever. Just thinking back to the good old days of shooting the hell out of the poor guy running through the Tank park brings a tear to my eye...
  • decker12, on 07/19/2008, -0/+9Holy *****, this is hysterical:
    "The rider was expected to hold themselves in an upright position while their sled sped down a steep descent. Many times the rider would find themselves unable to maintain their grip on the sled's handles and find themselves lying flat on the sled while the back of their head was making contact with the rollers. Many patrons who could not speak English were unable to comprehend the announcements and warnings provided by employees stressing the necessity to keep your weight forward and maintain a tight grip on the handles. The patron's inability to follow these directions resulted in numerous severe head lacerations weekly. There were also some rare occurrences where a patron's hair became entangled in the rollers when their head made contact with the rollers. If the rider found themselves fortunate enough to make it down the descent unharmed, they were not out of harms way yet. If the plastic sled the rider was on was facing any direction off center, the sled would, instead of skipping, fling the rider off upon impact into the water."
  • phargarten, on 07/19/2008, -1/+15Wanna see the "Death Express" in action?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfuWwmwUCa4&NR=1
    • Torqz, on 07/19/2008, -1/+2Not the same alpine slide that action park used.
  • billmill, on 07/19/2008, -0/+4" for poorly-designed, unsafe rides; inattentive, underaged, underpaid and sometimes under-the-influence employees"

    damn, i wanna go!
  • Youreallinsane, on 07/19/2008, -0/+3I went to a camp in upstate new york when I was 12-14 y/o and we would take day trips to action park in like '94-'96 right before it's closing. The death record made it all that more exciting. And I soo remember that enclosed loop slide...ahh the memories.
  • GogglesPaisan, on 07/19/2008, -1/+7Check out back-issue of 'Weird New Jersey' for an incredible multi-page article on this Park. The amusements were not only incredibly unsafe and poorly maintained - the Park itself was left in the capable and skilled hands of minimum-wage summer job teens, many of them high as kites while some of them were simply nit-wits. Meanwhile the suits behind the scene dodged paying their fair share of taxes to the community etcetera. And the Park was in the boonies, lovely area to live. Summertime came, the commercials were aired incessantly and Sussex County was swarmed upon by packed Toyota's and other hoopties blasting deafening inner-city anthems en-route to fun in the sun and assorted abrasions, contusions and sprained limbs. Fun fun fun. Thankfully the present owners are well-funded experienced professionals that offer top-notch water park fun and thrills in a safe environment. You get what you pay for, and the price of admission (worth every penny) is now high enough to discourage the riff-raff. But the old Park - damn, someone should make a movie...
  • ratatat1, on 07/19/2008, -4/+1It's in New Jersey. Big surprise there!
  • sapphire9488, on 07/19/2008, -0/+12I found a pic of where the looping water slide comes out at- http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/attachment.php ...

    damn.
  • thatsmyaibo, on 07/19/2008, -5/+5In New Jersey?...Should have left it open.
  • Torx, on 07/19/2008, -0/+7I really wish i could be a part of those fond memories of "Accident Park".
    • downneck, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1go out into your driveway.
      run as fast as you can.
      dive headfirst onto the asphalt.

      that's the basic action park experience.

  • microview2007, on 07/19/2008, -7/+2Pedobear would of had many great summers there, he loves living on the edge of danger.
  • kaesong, on 07/19/2008, -0/+6I went there as a young teen and I remember the tidal pool. It was enormous.

    I remember distinctly, "how were the few lifeguards going to save or even identify drowning victims in the pool". It was always crowded. I eventually braved it closer to the deep end and remembered when the tidal wave kicked to high gear, I couldn't keep my head above water.

    Part of the thrill of the park was because it claimed so many lives and injuries.
  • mastermemorex, on 07/19/2008, -0/+3No danger, no fun
  • Flagg3, on 07/19/2008, -0/+5Back in college, my friends and I would go to Action Park specifically because the rides were so dangerous. We would spend all day on Surf Hill, specifically because of the fact that it was impossible to go down this ride without eating ***** on a regular basis.

    I remember just sitting in the middle of the ride on some of the more dangerous turns just to watch as people came tumbling by you. If you had seen the way people went flying on this thing, you'd be amazed that people didn't die on a daily basis...
  • Velnich, on 07/19/2008, -1/+8Waterslide Enema Victims digg here.
    • BradBrown, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2It still hurts when I poop. I'm calling Ken Nugent.
  • alpha88, on 07/19/2008, -1/+1Whoa....

    AWESOME!!!
  • ismellfunny, on 07/19/2008, -0/+6Sadly after it's end there has been a steady rise of popped collar wearing grease heads in New Jersey. Leading us to believe this park was a failed attempt of controlling the brooding population of douche bags with their falsely inflated senses of self esteem.
  • 2oonhed, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2This is hysterical. I sure did miss out. The descriptions read like an 80s comedy movie script.....like who was the guy who was the "Poop Scooper at the bottom of the Super Speed Water Slides at Acton Park".....and what did he/she become later in life?
  • moppsy, on 07/19/2008, -1/+1This place was great!
    The Alpine Slide was my favorite.
  • protard, on 07/19/2008, -4/+1LOL@white trash
  • evanfrey, on 07/19/2008, -0/+3Traction Park ruled. This is by far the BEST article about it http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.php?id=2 ...
  • buddypriefert, on 07/19/2008, -0/+5I enjoyed reading the part about the Speedboat ride: "These were set up in a small pond, known by staff to be heavily infested with snakes"
  • andycal, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1This is soo weird. Just 6 days ago saw a comedy show : http://www.myspace.com/streetmeatcomedy in NYC and they did a bit where they essentially read that wikipeda page on stage. (and relayed it to personal experience )

    I often wounder about the waves of popular interest. Is there a connection between "streetmeat" and "badwithcomputer" or is this just some sort of weird random event ?
  • trademark912, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1My Dad used to take my brothers and I here every summer, but he would never ride any of the rides with us. Makes sense.
    • JustinHopewell, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1Makes sense? Only if he was wanting to have a late abortion, man. : /
  • stew560, on 07/19/2008, -0/+2Only got the opportunity to go once, just before it closed in 1995.

    My Uncle was a lifeguard there for several summers and he had many stories about how bad the place was day-to-day!
  • danmcinerney, on 07/19/2008, -0/+6They had this big raft slide ride and the kid running it let me and about 8 of my friends get on one raft, probably doubling the weight limit. We came with in inches of flying right off the edge of the slide onto the pavement below. One of the scariest moments of my life. It was awesome...
  • Torqz, on 07/19/2008, -1/+0Mountain Creek Watepark (What Action Park is today) is actually still pretty dangerous if you dont follow the rules. On the single tubes if your over 215 pounds your are flipping on the first bank for sure. Want a death defying experience, jump out of the raft on the "Colorado River". You wont come out without some kind of injury...
  • welliwonder, on 07/19/2008, -3/+1Oh, New Jersey.
  • OC73, on 07/19/2008, -1/+1That place was awesome, but yeah, people would get hurt a lot on some of those rides, especially the (waterless) alpine slide.
  • icedx2, on 07/19/2008, -1/+0Used to have a season to pass to Mountain Creek! jumping out of the colorado river ride is the best!
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 70 of 70 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.