As youre riding down it, kids are shooting out of the tubes next to you. They pushed the idea that Vernon was going to become the new Orlando. You may want to avoid this one unless you really like being a daredevil. If you want to visit an antique amusement park but stay safe, youll want to check out the oldest amusement parks in the world. She co-hosts the podcast Hollywood Crime Scene and has lots of things in development that will probably never happen. She loves trying new things (snacks) and can often be found sitting on a park bench writing out a new food review for practice. The danger of the attractions wasnt accidental, according to the son of its founder. To go down the water slides, kids were supposed to be instructed to hold their arms in front of them across their chest to avoid injury. We recommend our users to update the browser. Double that for a weekend. Thankfully, these things only shot tennis balls. So, unless you are very healthy and can handle crazy roller coasters, you may want to give this one a miss. It was never open on any trip I made there, he tells me. Ultimately, Action Park closed due to legal issues. Good thinking. You went so fast that if your chin hit the water at the wrong angle, you chipped your teeth, she recalled, having lost part of a tooth herself. Once the water pump malfunctioned, these four people were thrown from the raft instantly. Youd be flying down the side of a literal mountain and suddenly see that the person in front of you had gotten scared and stopped and was inching their way down, you know, because it was scary. So, go at your own risk. The name was changed back to Action Park. Located in the center of Gold Rush Town, a section of Australias popular Dreamworld amusement park, Thunder River Rapids was once a favorable tourist attraction. Almost all of them have had to do with their dangerous rides or their poor maintenance. I remember listening in terror as someone recounted going down an intensely steep waterslide and receiving what they called a freshwater enema.. The park offered employees $100 to test ride the Cannonball slide, and crash dummies reportedly were mutilated. The slides steep chute was enclosed by a thin net and balanced on numerous metal poles. If you go to an amusement park, you're taking a risk. They were most likely taunting the person making the jump along with all the other spectators. Since this tragedy, the ride has been closed and dismantled. Since it was a newer idea, they had to build and create it on the fly. Batman: The Ride might be dangerous, but if you really want to put your life on the line, try one of the Superman rides at Six Flags. Courtesy Theme Park Guy Baku's gross ghost train (Azerbaijan) The boardwalk ride on Baku's Caspian seafront gets its screams the lazy way: via pain. "Schlitterbahn." Discover Where to Coast with the Ultimate Rollercoaster database of roller coasters and amusement parks. Finally, someone asked if this was safe. In 2014, it was then bought back by the son of Gene Mulvihill. Over the years, a number of them have sued the park for personal injuries. There were fights and robberies, and the medical truck, which was like a modified golf cart, was constantly in motion, racing from one disaster to the next. His next move was to buy up some old ski resorts in Vernon, New Jersey. Six people would still be alive today if Action Park had a stronger focus on safety. Not only are kids getting pummeled by the rides, but by each other. Anyone who had the guts to try it would get $100. Eventually, they got in trouble for selling worthless stocks. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. It was purchased by a company that took out all those old features and renamed it, Mountain Creek. There have been so many deadly, dangerous rides at New Jersey's Action Park, we couldn't narrow it down to just one. He specializes in entertainment, film, and celebrity news. A ride called, "Tsunami" malfunctioned and injured nine people. Go Karts were being taken by staff out onto the nearby highway. It also doesn't help that back in 2004, a little girl was thrown from a ride that still stays in commission to this day. A few years later, it reopened with new owners under the name Mountain Creek Waterpark, but nothing could ever replace Action Park at least nothing legal. Somehow, nobody's died on a SCAD Tower, but it just seems like a bad idea all around, one that should probably end before somebody does. Visitors of the park also jumped from the Diving Cliffs, under which was a pool painted white. He wanted to let people control the action, control their own destiny. These abandoned amusement parks will give you the creeps. 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. They brought in someone from the Navy to measure the effect of the slide. C. The Hong Kong media. The top of this thing was a good 8 feet off the ground and I remember so many kidsincluding myselfgetting battered from using it. But according to The Amusement Safety Organization and The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, there are places in the U.S. that are substantially more dangerous than others. Your email address will not be published. Alpine Slide consisted of riding down a winding concrete path on a cart; visitors were not given helmets. The ride had previously caused a number of bruises, broken bones, and other injuries. In the Documentary, they tell of kids being rammed and launched straight out of the ride. Kids were getting rocked on this ride and having to be pulled out of the pool. Afterward, the park was evacuated for about 20 minutes. The biggest difference between Action Park and other theme parks was that kids often have a fear of rides, but everything usually turns out fine. In big-time parks, like Disney or Six Flags, its all about creating thrills. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'everything80spodcast_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_10',107,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-everything80spodcast_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); But, honestly, what kid wouldnt want to go to Action Park? WELCOME to New Jersey's Action Park, the country's most dangerous attraction, which took the lives of several visitors in the decades after it opened in 1978. A man was struck by a metal plate and never recovered. They were leaving the track in their car and driving through the grass. It doesn't matter which one you go to, things can happen anywhere. While most amusement parks discontinue dangerous rides like Thunder River Rapids, its still important to know how to safely take your kids to amusement parks. The constant news reports about the danger and accidents at the park caused people to turn away. At the end of the journey, assuming everything ran smoothly, the rafts would slide onto a conveyor belt, climbing a short slope to the exit. When the operator releases the vehicle, it catapults them into the air at tremendous speeds. I was one of the lucky ones who held on for the entire length of the line. My cousin got his ass stuck in one of the suction intakes in the wave pool. He suffered numerous injuries at Action Park, including skinning his body multiple times on the Alpine Slide, and a case of whiplash after being slammed into by another sled. As with most things about my childhood, later on in life I began questioning if the wild things I saw that day could possibly be true. Additionally, there have been two reports of even more serious incidents occurring thanks to the dangerous water attractions as well as the rides at the park. In Despite its notorious legacy, many of those who grew up in the area of Vernon Township, New Jersey hold fond memories of the park and wear the memory of their injuries from Action Park like medals of honor. It represented the freedoms kids had during this era. There was a tube ride that was so overrun with people it became like Roller Derby. Undoubtedly, Americas most dangerous amusement park remains nostalgic for those who spent their summers there as a kid. Or someone would be getting back on the track after having crashed, and now you were moments away from plowing into them. WebDespite gaining a reputation for dangerous and even deadly rides, Action Park remained popular until its closure in 1996. But as the park grew in size, so did its reputation for being a lawsuit waiting to happen. Related:17 Weird Things About Coney Island We Didn't Know (8 We Didn't Want To). This has made them a threat to some of their employees. Back in 2014, Mount Olympus had permanently closed a ride after a major accident. What do you get when you combine teenagers, a water park, New Jersey, and alcohol? The Cyclone climbs to85 feet high, includes 12 daunting drops, and speeds across the track at 60 miles per hour. Multiple riders went to the ER to be treated. I heard the rumors of someone dying in it.. Nope! I remember thinking, Who designs amusement park rides? The ride was closed by the Advisory Board on Carnival Amusement Ride Safety after one month. However, in 2015, as two people sat in the cage, squeezed the railing tightly, and prepared for take-off, one of the cables snapped. Action Park simply refused to pay rent or taxes. Ball bearings were in between the two balls and you would sit in this thing as it rode on a PVC track down a mountain. According to NY Post, the risk of food-borne illness is very likely. Which is fine, except space travel is incredibly dangerous. But kids were finding the gas tanks and lighting the balls on fire to shoot them. As it turns out, there's a very good reason your body and mind are reeling in terror when you go on amusement park rides because some of them, like the following, are downright deadly. Action Park was taking up most of the usage of the area ambulances to the point they were forced to buy their own. Therefore, it's become known as one of the most dangerous amusement parks in the U.S. Sources: Fox News, The Independent, Amusement Safety.org, The Active Times, USA Today. He was too young to go on most of the rides himself, but he did watch in fear as his then 30-year-old uncle risked his life sitting on a square of carpet while he sped down a mountainside. Disturbingly, a former employee of the park named Tom Fergus told Complex Magazine that the white paint was put in to help spot dead bodies. Thirty-four-year-old Michael grew up in Vernon and knew tons of people who worked at the park over the years. Action Park Deaths: How Many People Died In Action Park? Action Parks reputation dropped consistently as many families were afraid to allow their children onto such dangerous rides. The shock of the water shot through my body. Through a mix of archival footage, expert interviews, and detailed recreations, we'll take a closer look at the history and legacy of this infamous amusement park, and the impact that its lack of safety measures had on its visitors. Want to avoid this one unless you really like being a lawsuit waiting to happen people Died action! Had to build and create it on the track after having crashed and! 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