[10]:24:55, The vast majority of workers at Action Park, at least the ones regularly seen by visitors, were teenagers. [2] A reporter for Vernon's local weekly said in Class Action Park that, as Sussex County's largest employer,[10]:1:15:10 Action Park received special treatment from the township government. (Photo Credit: Joe Shlabotnik / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0) The park regularly held quirky events like a Dolly Parton lookalike contest. That made for a bad combination with alcohol and general guest aggression. Ride designers may have had insufficient training in physics or engineering. He was the first person to. The tracks the old slides followed are still visible. It wasnt just the thrill of the dangerous rides that kept kids coming back, summer after summer. By then, the park was responsible for six fatalities, including three drownings in the Tidal Wave Pool and the death of a 27-year-old man who was. [27] GAR filed for Chapter 11 protection that following March, but remained optimistic that they could regain their financial footing "within a year. The Alpine Slide at Kentucky Action Park is an exhilarating way to spend the day in Kentucky's playground. [24] Law firms owed money for services rendered between 1991 and 1993 also began filing suit. In 1984, according to the Weird NJ story, a man was so stunned by the coldness of the water that he had a heart attack and died. Riders sat sideways in cars built for two people. July 24, 1982: George Lopez, a 15-year-old boy, drowned in the Tidal Wave Pool. "[44], The slide was open for only a month in 1985 before it was closed at the order of the state's Advisory Board on Carnival Amusement Ride Safety, a highly unusual move at the time. Larsson's family also says in the movie that Mulvihill lied, claiming that Larsson was a park employee riding for free when that was, in fact, not the case. Kentucky Action Park is located at 3057 Mammoth Cave Road Cave City, KY 42127. And thats exactly what he created at Action Park. Some had no brakes, which meant there was no slowing down as they would zoom down the concrete slide. Riders carried their rafts from the bottom of the ride up to the starting point. The original version of the park's notoriety for its unsafe reputation inspired a film by Jackass creator and star Johnny Knoxville; filming started in March 2017 and wrapped in June 2017. In 1978, a new amusement and water park opened in Vernon Township, New Jersey in hopes of drawing more visitors to the Vernon Valley Ski Resort. Tickets will be sold in one-hour blocks. . 3057 Mammoth Cave Rd, Cave City, KY 42127-9207. But the most infamous of the rides at Action Park was the Cannonball Loopan enclosed waterslide with a complete vertical loop. This guest was shooting flaming tennis balls in the park attraction. [1] Many of its attractions were unique, attracting thrill-seekers from across the New York metropolitan area. He envisioned a theme park with slightly more thrills, one where the riders "controlled" the action. The Colorado River Ride, which still exists, is a two-person raft ride that winds its way down a heavily wooded area on the side of the park, with numerous forks allowing riders to take different routes. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. The Tarzan Swing and the Cannonball ride in this area were operated by spring water. 3AW Radio Melbourne. Length: 3.8 mi Est. ", As you can see in footage in the movie, the Alpine Slide a 2,700 foot long slide that riders rode a ski lift to get to the top and the tracks were below them. Former park employee Tom Fergus was quoted in the magazine Weird NJ as saying that the "skate park was responsible for so many injuries we covered it up with dirt and pretended it never existed". Action Park was finally closed in 1996. Riders would also get hurt, as the documentary interviewees said, when they would get into a fight with fellow aggressive, often-drunk guests in the pool at the end of the ride. He was the first live person to test the ride afterwards, which he did wearing his full set of ice hockey protective equipment. We strive for accuracy and fairness. [11] Many took pretrial intervention to avoid prosecution; Gene pleaded guilty that November to five insurance fraud-related charges. [2], "Gene didn't want to do the same old shit, where you just get strapped into something or it twirls around," Andy Mulvihill, later the park's head lifeguard, recalls of his father's philosophy in creating Action Park. Rides were one way, and riders were not allowed to stay on the ride and travel round-trip without getting off at either end. More than 20,000 adrenalin junkies visited New Jersey's Action Park daily during the 1980s - a tourist attraction that contained at least 75 rides. Riders wearing a special skydiving suit, helmet, and earplugs would join the bodyflight instructor one-by-one on a trampoline-like netting directly over the fan. One of the parks most notable attractions was the Tidal Wave Pool, one of the first to open in the United States, which quickly became one of the most dangerous rides at the park. [79], Action Park is the subject of Mashable's documentary video, The Most Dangerous Theme Park in America (September 24, 2019). "[4], Action Park's most successful years were the early and mid-1980s. Save. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The Tarzan Swing in particular was known for outbursts of foul language (not always planned) and exhibitionism as people jumped off the swing in full view of the whole line behind them. An enclosed water slide with a complete loop where customers ended up with bloody noses. Get the lowdown on the rise and fall of this Jersey legend. It featured two waterslides and a go-kart track along with the Alpine slide. Newsweek says between 1984 and 1985 there were 26 head injuries and 14 broken bones just on the slide, but the most common injuries involved having skin torn from your body. When a malefaction caused the sled to not turn correctly,. Melbourne, Australia. In 2000, Matthew Callan recalled Action Park thusly: Action Park made adults of a generation of Tri-State area kids who strolled through its blood-stained gates, by teaching us the truth about life: It is not safe, you will get hurt a lot, and you'll ride all the way home burnt beyond belief.[67]. "[28] After closing at the end of the season as usual on Labor Day 1996, it launched a website where visitors could find information about rides, directions to the park, lodging, and enter a lottery for park tickets. A new version of the slide was attempted to be recreated after the Mulvihill bought the park back in 2010 (though he died two years later, in 2012). The hysterical tester was dragged out covered in blood. 175KarenA. This restriction sometimes caused conflicts between park staff and riders, who either did not understand or did not want to follow the rules. You control the speed in this action-packed thrill ride with dips, high-bank turns, and spectacular views. The ride was only officially open for about a month in 1985, before the Advisory Board on Carnival Amusement Ride Safety shut it down. "He wanted to take the idea of skiing, which is exhilarating because you control the action, and transfer it to an amusement park. Gene Mulvihill offered his employees $100 to test out new rides, including the Cannonball Loop, and despite employees winding up with bloody noses and bruises, he opened the ride. Others got into the pool, but were shocked by just how cold the spring-fed body of water they had been completely submerged in was. [44], The Transmobile was a monorail that took riders from the Alpine Center across Route 94 to the Cobblestone Village shopping complex and the park's Motorworld section. July 8, 1980: 19-year-old George Larsson, Jr. was riding the Alpine Slide when his car jumped the track and his head struck a rock. Vertical looping water slide, long thought impossible, in test phase (h/t @sethporges) pic.twitter.com/NFpUivYpfW. "They seemed to build rides," one attendee recalled, "not knowing how they would work, and [then let] people on them. One person even remembers hearing that a patron got stuck at the top of the loop, causing the park to build a hatch to aid in future rescues. The Rides at Action Park (as Seen in Class Action Park) Could Literally Kill You, 'Only Murders in the Building' Will Get a Season 3, very lazy and very drunk guests often spent time, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. [40][41] Had state inspectors looked at the site, employees said years later, they would have seen that rocks there, which they had told the park to remove on an earlier visit, remained. Some caused injuries, some caused fatalities, and some are still open today. [29], As the 1997 summer season approached, GAR remained optimistic that Action Park would open as expected on June 14, in spite of massive layoffs at the end of the prior ski season. At least six people are known to have died as a result of mishaps on rides at the park. During the first test, with a state inspector present on a hot summer day, the ball, with a man inside testing it, went off the track as a result of the pipe expanding and bounded down the adjacent ski slope. At the Alternative Forks, riders would float along a relatively smooth path until they rounded a corner with a waterfall. Brace yourself", "Mountain Creek resort in N.J. sold to developer Gene Mulvihill", "Franklin Templeton billionaire escapes contentious lawsuit", "The dangerous return of the world's most insane theme park", http://www.videoparadise-sanjose.com/1990arcades.htm, "WPHL channel 17 the great entertainer-mid 80's", "Judge Approves Sale Of Action Mountain Site", Action Park History, Recollections, News Articles and Photos from Weird NJ, "There Was Nothing in the World Like Action Park. This was kind of a demented version of a lazy river ride, where it was meant to simulate actual rough Colorado river rapids. The employees (including Mulvihills own five children) were often teenagers themselves, having as good of a time as the patrons. George was smacked into rocks that Gene was told were a hazard and had to remove, but never did. [2], Since many rides routed their lines so that those waiting could see every previous rider, many played to the audience with risque and bawdy behavior when it did finally come to be their turn. The first death at Action Park occurred on the Alpide Slide, and his family discusses the death in the movie. Two diving cliffs, one 23-feet and another 18-feet, were set above a 16-foot-deep swimming grotto. Action Park, the most dangerous amusement park of all time, is the subject of a new documentary. The Alpine Slide, a 2,700-foot-long track made of concrete, fiberglass, and asbestos, saw riders sit on small sleds that had a brake/accelerator stick and descend the slope. Below, you can read about every single notable Action Park ride. I consider it a true shame that future generations will never know the terror of proving their grit at New Jersey's most dangerous amusement park.[39]. Super Speed Water Slides, also known as Geronimo Falls, were two slides set slightly apart from the rest of the park and took advantage of nearly vertical slopes to allow riders to attain higher speeds than usually possible. [2] Park officials said this made the injury and death rate statistically insignificant. Travelsonic says: July 23 . Read all 368 reviews. Class Action Park, a new documentary on HBO Max, looks back at the park's existence and it's founder, a man named Gene Mulvihill who was essentially banned from Wall Street for unfair practices, and how the whole operation managed to not only last but thrive. A popular list of "You Know You're from New Jersey When " that circulates in email begins with, "You've been seriously injured at Action Park."[75]. (There was nothing actually holding you on.) The ride reopened a few more times over the years. [89] In 1999, the site was redeveloped into the Pine Hill Golf Course. Action Park's first death came on the Alpine Slide in 1980, when an employee's cart jumped the track. The majority of the film is spent looking at the various rides in the park, and checking in with park guests (such as comedians and actors like Chris Gethard and Alison Becker) and also the other side, talking to some who were young and often teenage employees of the park. The documentary tells the story of one park guest who dunked the tennis balls in gasoline before shooting them from the cannon, aflame. Waterworld was Action Park's primary waterpark area. Barriers between lanes were minimal, and people frequently collided with each other on the way down, or at the end. The attraction was operated by Aerodium Inc., which acted as a concessionaire for the park through 1997. If they got up without injury but were even somewhat slow, a cart could come from behind and knock them down, inducing an injury. Slotermeer was dug out into a recreational lake in the late 1940s. Swing by Go Apes treetop adventure course behind the Jefferson Memorial Forest Visitor Center. Action Park's 2,700-foot-long (820 m) alpine slide descended the mountain beneath one of the ski area's chairlifts, which provided guests access to the top of the slide. [83][84] Under the new ownership, the name of the water park was changed back to Action Park, starting with the 2014 season. While this was the only death aboard the Alpine Slide, at least 26 others sustained serious head injuries on the ride, including 14 instances of fractures. In 2010, Mulvihill led a committee to buy the park back. They had a handle that went in two directions; ostensibly, you'd pull back to brake and push forward to go faster, a speed a former park employee .css-16acfp5{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#d2232e;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-16acfp5:hover{color:#000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;background-color:yellow;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}described as "death awaits.". Once at the top, riders would hop in their carts and ride down a slide track made of a combination of concrete, asbestos, and fiberglass. Eventually, the ground of this swimming area was painted white so lifeguards could spot bodies below the surface. For an additional fee, guests could enter a, The Super Speedboats were set up in a small pond, known by park staff to be heavily infested with. [10]:50:05, The slide was the site of the first fatality at the park in 1980: 19-year-old George Larsson, Jr., who had previously been a ski-lift operator at Vernon Valley, was thrown from the slide when his car jumped the track, and his head struck a rock. However, the Cobblestone Village station remains in place, as does the right-of-way through the village's miniature golf course.[46]. Action Park was finally closed in 1996. It asked if some sort of special relationship existed between GAR and the state. Among interviewees, there seems to be one major consensus: this shit wasn't safe. One started with riders going almost vertically downwards and was covered with screening for the first several feet. As they made it past the first turn, gaining speed was common. [10]:1:13:20, Hay bales at the curves were put in place in an attempt to cushion the impact of guests whose sleds jumped the track, a frequent occurrence. In 2017, Action Park was featured in an episode of Defunctland. Glacier's camping season varies by location, but is generally in full swing between mid-May and mid-September. According to one urban legend, when park owners sent a dummy doll on a test run of the ride, it came back with no head. [13] IBC later backed out of the deal, feeling the site was not suitable for their needs upon further inspections of the properties. [23] As 1995 progressed, GAR's financial woes continued to accumulate. GoPro HD footage of the alpine slide at Kentucky Action Park. The interviewees in Class Action Park describe The Tarzan Swing as one of the most popular rides in the park. The host, Riki Rachtman, interviewed and went on the rides with the band Alice in Chains. [66] Stadium seating encircled the perimeter of the Aerodium, allowing friends and spectators to watch riders fly. [citation needed]. [6] Afterward, the park reopened under a different name. Kentucky is known for many of its most iconic natural landmarks, like Natural Bridge State Resort Park. During news media coverage of the ride's opening, Andy Mulvihill pushed a television reporter who refused to make the jump off the platform, at the direction of his older sister, then head of public relations for the park. [10]:16:25[42], In 1991, Action Park opened up a 70-foot-tall (21m), two-station bungee jumping tower near the alpine slide. Today, Mulvihills son admits that they never quite perfected that one. But, he remains proud of his father for taking a risk with the ride in the first place, My father, if he could find a guy with a crazy idea for a ride, hed hire the guy, even if he never built it before.. Perhaps more than any other ride at Action Park, the Alpine Slide is one that a person with common sense simply would look at, think for a split second, and say (to no one in particular), "Absolutely fucking not. In some cases, they were aware that the person had already had to be rescued from deep water once. Action Park was officially opened on July 4, 1978. . Employees were aware of the issue, often alerting their coworkers to risk-prone visitors with the acronym "CFS" for "can't fucking swim". The area became known as Action Park, a thrilling adventure for the family featuring water slides, go karts, a wave pool, and an alpine slide. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. For example, it was accused of building rides cheaply, sporadically maintaining many of them, and failing to renovate rides to take advantage of later safety improvements to its ideas made by other facilities. The Alpine Slide was called Action Park's most popular ride in a 1986 New Jersey Herald article--one that a park official declared "the safest ride there is," noting that a 90-year old grandmother and mothers with babies on their laps had taken a ride on it. The attraction closed with the park in 1996. 1h 27m. It continued through the parking lot, across Route 94, and came to rest in a swamp. A 19-year-old park employee died when their cart on the high-speed Alpine Slide in 1980, which was made of concrete and fiberglass. These standard go karts were supposed to be tapped at 20 miles per hour, but employees (again, mostly teens) figured out a workaround that allowed them to run up to 50 miles per hour, and sometimes would do this for guests. [38] By 1995, the attraction was removed and replaced with a beach volleyball court. He wanted to change that. [10]:1:16:00, Some of the state's regulations failed to adequately address the situation. The Action Park Alpine Slide had no such safety precautions. Cardiovascular science started with clinical observations and anatomical dissections emerging in the early 20th century. Once on the ride, they would travel down a short incline, propelling them down the ride. Action Park was infamous for bruises, scars, broken bones even death. The Vernon police had to be called in to restore order.[4]. The Alpine Slide was considered the most dangerous ride at Action Park. He was rushed to the hospital and died on July 16. Let us know in the comments below! There's delicious dining opportunities, parks and hiking, unique places of business, and so much more. Action Park said that Larsson was an employee, it was nighttime and also raining when the accident happened. There's so much to love about The Bluegrass State In addition to stunning landscapes and incredible people, Kentucky is home to all sorts of incredible things to do. Tall riders also often were unable to fit their legs into the small-sized boats, resulting in them hanging off of the sides of the boats and being fractured during collisions. DeSaye faults management's decision to broaden the customer base by advertising in Spanish-language media as contributing to the accident rate, since few employees spoke Spanish and no written information was made available in that language. Gas up the car and prepare for adventure, because fun awaits at this incredible Kentucky park. A wheeled ride with no brakes that shot down a concrete-and-fiberglass track. Seems reasonable enough. This one had riders on some sort of mat basicaly ride parallel tracks to the bottom, frequently colliding with each other. This was an obstacle course attraction, inspired by the hit TV show American Gladiators; winners from throughout the day were brought back for shows throughout the day to continue competing. . [2] Those who rode the Cannonball Loop have said that more safety measures were taken than was otherwise common at the park. May 26, 1978: The resort area expands: Action Park opens at the base of the mountain. They figured it out, and the rider on top ran off like nothing was wrong. In fact, doctors who treated the many injuries incurred at the park noted most people were intoxicated, regardless of their age. .css-1iyvfzb .brand{text-transform:capitalize;}We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. A Cincinnati native who has lived in Kentucky for over 10 years, Andrea's heart belongs both in the Queen City and the Bluegrass State. If you choose to make Kentucky your home, then you will find more charm and beauty hiding in our lovely landscape. Over the course of a day, three shows were put on, and the guests who ran the fastest obstacle course times in the earlier shows were brought back to compete against each other later in the day. Action Park was still advertised as the world's largest water park. In 1987, Action Park built and opened its own Aerodium in the Waterworld section of the park, becoming the first American amusement park to open one. Action Park featured three separate attraction areas: the Alpine Center, Motorworld, and Waterworld. It eventually crash-landed in a pond, sending boats flying into the air with the impact. It revamped the Waterworld section of Action Park, and reopened it for the 1998 season as Mountain Creek Waterpark, while the Motorworld and Alpine Center sections were demolished. The hook/gimmick of the ride is that riders are shot down an enclosed tube slide, in pitch black, and at the bottom they go through a loop-de-loop before being plunged into the water. Six people are known to have died directly or indirectly from rides at Action Park: Action Park was a cultural touchstone for many Generation X-ers who grew up in North and Central Jersey, as well as nearby locales in New York and Connecticut.