An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Okay . . . let's try this again.

Moderators: Shirley, Sabo, brian, rass, DaveInSeattle

Post Reply
tennbengal
The Dude
Posts: 11975
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:07 pm

An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by tennbengal »

Any of you all go to this - most here are the right age. Pretty great article/set of interviews here:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/536412/a ... al-history
From 1978 to 1996, up to 20,000 people a day from the tri-state area would flock to Eugene’s oasis, which emphasized a ride-at-your-own-risk philosophy that earned it the nicknames “Traction Park” and “Class Action Park.” Speeding at high velocity down cement slides, boozy guests would try to push their limits—and Mulvihill would let them. Bodies flew off rides like crash test dummies; skin was peeled off in layers. It was not uncommon for guests to see bloody and bandaged patrons being driven across the grass in carts equipped with EMTs and stretchers. A total of five fatalities were reported, creating a mythology that danger lurked around every water-soaked corner.

If you were a reckless guest, sometimes it did. Most all of the rides at Action Park could be navigated safely, but “My dad’s whole idea was to do an amusement park differently, not where you just got strapped in and twisted around, but one where you controlled what was going on," Andy says. "You can have an awesome time, but you can also hurt yourself if you don’t use good judgment."

To understand how Action Park not only survived but thrived with a business philosophy out of Mad Max, Mental Floss spoke to well over a dozen former employees and guests who recalled an environment of fun, sun, and tending to broken bones at the most intense amusement park ever constructed.
User avatar
rass
The Dude
Posts: 20209
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:41 am
Location: N effin' J

Re: An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by rass »

Sexier thread title this time

(not complaining, just find it humorous that it was you last time, too)
I felt aswirl with warm secretions.
User avatar
The Sybian
The Dude
Posts: 18865
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:36 am
Location: Working in the Crap Part of Jersey

Re: An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by The Sybian »

Never went, and I didn't know of any of my friends going when I was a kid. I grew up maybe 2.5 - 3 hours away, and we had Six Flags Great Adventure about 30 minutes further away, plus Hershey Park, Darien Lake and Dorney Park were all about the same distance, and infinitely better. But, I did see commercials for Action Park constantly while watching all of the syndicated shows from our youth on WOR and WPIX, and it looked like the greatest place ever. I should thank my parents for not taking me there.
An honest to God cult of personality - formed around a failed steak salesman.
-Pruitt
User avatar
rass
The Dude
Posts: 20209
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:41 am
Location: N effin' J

Re: An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by rass »

I felt aswirl with warm secretions.
User avatar
Rex
The Dude
Posts: 7264
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:10 pm

Re: An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by Rex »

The commercials looked exactly like the first 30-45 seconds of that video. It's not like they were false advertising.
User avatar
rass
The Dude
Posts: 20209
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:41 am
Location: N effin' J

Re: An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by rass »

Watched the doc this week when I saw it while lazily browsing Max for something to watch. If you can manage to watch it with someone who grew up in North Jersey (as my wife did) I’d recommend it.

They kept showing footage from when MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball recorded there and maybe the most jarring scene was of Riki Rachtman interviewing a relatively giddy Jerry and Layne from Alice In Chains. 1993, I think.
I felt aswirl with warm secretions.
User avatar
rass
The Dude
Posts: 20209
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:41 am
Location: N effin' J

Re: An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by rass »

PS - everyone who posted about seeing the film in some thread other than this one gets a Swamp demerit.
I felt aswirl with warm secretions.
User avatar
The Sybian
The Dude
Posts: 18865
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:36 am
Location: Working in the Crap Part of Jersey

Re: An Oral History of Action Park (NJ)

Post by The Sybian »

rass wrote: Fri Dec 29, 2023 1:42 pm PS - everyone who posted about seeing the film in some thread other than this one gets a Swamp demerit.
I think I wrote about it in a reading thread, as I read the book by the owners son, who was head lifeguard in the horrific wave pool and later ran the place. My friend was a lifeguard at another resort owned by the son (Crystal Springs) and when he Action Park was short on lifeguards, he made Crystal Springs lifeguards work the wave pool at Action Park. My friend said they would all fight over not having to work Action Park. I shared a bunch of stories in the book, and he is 100% confident the guy is not exaggerating anything and added a bunch of equally wild things he experienced first hand.
An honest to God cult of personality - formed around a failed steak salesman.
-Pruitt
Post Reply