The Most Dangerous Park in the World

When you pile onto a ride after a long day of exhausting waits in lines that wrap around corners and down corridors, you expect to feel safe. The adrenaline is pumping and you can feel your heartbeat press against the inside of your wrist- but it's excitement. Never a fear for safety.

That was never the case when boarding a ride at the titular Action Park in Vernon New Jersey. What stands there today is a different story, but after the parks original opening in May 1978, the park was responsible for six deaths over its eighteen-year run, and even more incurable injuries.

Action park was actually a deviation off of a popular ski resort owned by Great American Recreation. The parent company ran mostly through the winter while the amusement of it all was opened from May to September each year.

The park operated in three separate parts, each specific to its own set of rules and rides that park goers could enjoy at their own risk. The three parks were aptly named:

1. Alpine Center
2. MotorWorld
3. Waterworld

When it came to the park, each sector had its own sperate problems; but a consistent one throughout was the hiring of underage workers who were allowed to drink and fool around while operating the rights. The classic family destination soon earned the nicknames Traction Park, and more adequately Class Action Park.

Alpine Center

The classic Alpine Park made use of the Ski Resort that was shut down during the summer months. While most of that land remained desolate, the ski lift would drag willing riders up to the top of a large hill where they would take the concrete tracks back down.

The carts that you settled yourself onto at the time were completely self-operated with the help of so momentum. The karts had two handles, one to brake and another to steer. This is a good plan in theory, but when the workers don't wait the proper amount of time before sending the next rider down.

Riders would also decide to stop mid-ride to mess with the flow of things. It was almost a game to see how many stacked karts they could get before the staff noticed. It leads to injuries that were furthered by the unsafe winding track. Patrons would often test their luck while wearing bathing suits, leading to more knicks and scrapes.

One former employee described the experience as "There were actually two speeds. Slow. And what we called, death awaits.” This being something that no one but the actual operator of the kart could control.

The first death in the park was attributed to these very slides in 1980. An employee was killed while riding a kart quickly down the track. His vehicle faltered and he hit his head on a nearby rock. After that day, the park pushed hay bails into the ride to make sure it didn't happen again.

Motorworld

Motorworld was your classic southern tourist town attraction complete with GoKarts and bumper cars. But just like Action Parks style, it was beyond dangerous. Both due to employee fault and guests themselves pushing the limits of the machinery.

The "Super Go Karts" could be easily manipulated to become 50 miles per hour contraptions. Not only did that increase the speed of the vehicle, but it also filled the air with a toxic mix of gasoline and cooling fluid. The same can be said about many other rides in that section of the park- like the "Battle Action Tanks."

One of the most dangerous aspects of Motorworld was home to an attraction called "Super Speedboats." They were bumper cars, but motor controlled boats. Not only would fluid often leak into the murky waters, but those very waters were infested heavily with snakes just waiting to surface.

Waterworld

Waterworld was the main attraction in the park. It came equipped with large slides, Tarzan jumps, and different experiences that would get your adrenaline racing. Action Park, however, is known for one of the most untested and dangerous slides in the world: the Cannonball Loop.

It was a long black slide that would do a complete 360 around, sending the rider into an ice cold pool down below if they made it that far. Employees were offered up to 100 dollars just to test out the ride in its early stages- all dummy's sent down before then losing limbs and getting trapped.

Tom Fergus, a former employee of Action Park, was later caught saying "100 dollars did not buy enough booze to drown out that memory."

Another huge attraction in this section of the park was the Tidal Wave Pool. It was aptly nicknamed "The Grave Pool" due to its 100 foot wide and 250-foot long structure. The waves were larger due to the water being fresh instead of salt.

The pool would go on to claim over half of the lives taken in Action Park, even with 12 lifeguards on duty at all times. On busy weekends they had to pull at least 30 people to safety.

One of the most deadly rides in the park was the Kayak Experience; a simple process where boats were strapped to a conveyor belt that traveled lazily against the currents. Fans were used to agitate the water at the base of the track, and boats would often get stuck. On August 1st, 1982 a man was killed on this very ride when he fell from the boat and stepped too close to an exposed wire.

Action Park ran from May 26th, 1978 to September 2nd, 1996. In those eighteen long years, immense tragedy took place. Yet, when you look back on old video's you hear of nothing but fun times and memories being made.

It wasn't until the park had to hire it's own ambulance service when people started to notice something was wrong. But even then, people continued to boast about their summers surviving action park.

Today, the park still stands, but not in its once nostalgic glory. It's been redone, the cannonball slide making a second appearance in the safest way possible- this time no employees were bribed.