Remember the days when summer meant pushing the limits of fun and danger? If you grew up in the 80s or 90s in the tri-state area, chances are you know about Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey. Dubbed “Traction Park” or “Class Action Park” by locals, this infamous amusement park earned a reputation as one of the most dangerous places to get your adrenaline fix—often with a side of scrapes, bruises, or worse.
Action Park wasn’t your average theme park. Opened in 1978 by the ambitious and somewhat reckless entrepreneur Gene Mulvihill, the park was built on the concept that visitors should be in control of their own thrills. But in practice, this often meant that the safety of those thrills was questionable at best. The park was divided into three main areas: Waterworld, Motorworld, and the Alpine Center, each with its own set of infamous attractions.
The Alpine Slide was one of the most notorious rides. Imagine a concrete track winding down a mountain, and you, on a small cart, navigating sharp turns with a simple handbrake. Sounds fun, right? Well, when those brakes failed—or if you just couldn’t master the art of slowing down—crashes were inevitable. Sadly, this slide was also the site of the park’s first fatality in 1980 when an employee flew off the track and hit his head on a rock.
Then there was the Tidal Wave Pool, known ominously as the “Grave Pool.” This wave pool was the first of its kind in the U.S. and could hold up to 1,000 people at a time. The freshwater made it difficult to stay afloat, and with waves up to three feet high, lifeguards reportedly performed up to 30 rescues a day. Unfortunately, this attraction claimed three lives over its operational years.
If you weren’t already overwhelmed by the idea of speeding down a mountain or braving monstrous waves, Motorworld had another treat: the Super Speedboats. These were placed in a murky swamp infested with water snakes, where guests could race at up to 40 mph. Naturally, these boats were treated more like bumper cars, resulting in some terrifying accidents.
Accidents Waiting to Happen
What made Action Park both thrilling and terrifying was the underlying chaos. Safety protocols were minimal, and the park was largely staffed by teenagers who were often unsupervised and sometimes even intoxicated while on duty. Injuries were rampant; in 1985 alone, the park saw 110 injuries, including 45 head injuries and 10 fractures. Ambulances made so many trips to the park that Action Park eventually donated extra ambulances to the local township to keep up with demand.
But it wasn’t just the injury rate that made Action Park infamous—it was the attitude towards it. The park and its founder were almost defiant in the face of criticism, maintaining that the injuries were a result of user error, not design flaws. This, coupled with the park’s lack of proper insurance for many years, created an environment where visitors were truly risking life and limb for a thrill.
The Legacy of Action Park
By the mid-90s, mounting lawsuits and rising insurance costs finally forced Action Park to close its doors in 1996. The site was later transformed into Mountain Creek Waterpark, with a renewed focus on safety—though the memories (and scars) of Action Park live on in infamy. Gene Mulvihill’s son, Andy, has even written a book about the park’s wild history, offering a glimpse into what made this place so notorious.
Action Park is a prime example of a bygone era when thrill-seekers accepted danger as part of the package. Today, it stands as a legend, a place where kids became legends in their own right just by surviving a day of “fun.”
Sources: Wikipedia, Weird NJ, NJ Monthly, Star Ledger
The park eventually opened with safer rides decades later.
