'A fun park where death was tolerated': Documentary looks at the dark side of New Jersey's Action Park in the '80s and '90s where youth ruled, alcohol flowed and risky rides led to six deaths and so many injuries it had its own ambulance

UK Daily Mail ^ | September 9, 2020 | Dusica Sue Malesevic

[Buckeye McFrog]

I’m surprised Bruce Springsteen never wrote a song claiming it was all Reagan’s fault.

[qam1]

I bet of the 6 people died almost all were the result of drowning in the wave pool.

Only 2 of the 6 drown in the "Grave" pool

One died on the Kayak ride, the boat got stuck and he got out and stepped on a live wire

One crashed the race car and hit his head on a rock

One on the Alpine Slide
and the other

was someone had a heart attack on the Tarzan swing, which is questionable they can call it an accident but they blamed his heart attack on the water being too cold.

[usafa92]

Great place from my youth. You knew the place was a little dangerous and that was part of the fun.

[Buckeye McFrog]

We all had those banana seat bikes. Since Evel Knievel was the hottest thing going at the time we’d all make homemade ramps and jump over things.

My mother developed a white-hot seething hatred for Knievel as a result. I swear she would have ridden a Greyhound bus all the way to Montana just to kick him in the groin.

[ScottfromNJ]

Been there, been on every ride.

[mjustice]

I went there a few times in the mid-1990s before it shut down. I was also there this summer since COVID restrictions in Vermont prevented me from taking my annual trip to the area. The park that is there now has some of the rides that Action Park had in the mid 1990s, but they’re clearly toned down. The cliff dive is still open and the water is just as cold as I recall it being 25 years ago. They’ve torn out most of the alpine slide and that part of the mountain is used for biking trails.

I remember my first trip as a teenager, a bunch of us piled into a car and made the trek from Brooklyn... it was a rite of passage for many... sadly you can’t have “fun” like that anymore.

MJ

[knarf]

HERE

[Caipirabob]

So much fun - I've shown my wife these videos. Amazing times!

I LOVED how the pools cascaded down the mountain, and the tube rides were built right into the mountain itself. Just gorgeous!

[Batman11]

PFL

[dfwgator]

It’s not like they had the Monkey Bars.

“The monkey bars came in, we lost 124 kids in one day!”

[dfwgator]

People are always shocked, when I tell them to go back and look at the “Born In the USA” cover and see what Bruce really is doing there.