80s Theme Park So Dangerous, It Had Its Own Ambulance Fleet
In the 1980s, New Jersey was home to an amusement park so notorious that locals nicknamed it “Traction Park.” Action Park, its official name, promised thrills but delivered bruises, concussions, and the occasional trip to the hospital. The park’s reputation for danger wasn’t exaggerated. Between broken bones, missing teeth, and six confirmed deaths, it became a legend for all the wrong reasons. Things got so out of hand that the park eventually had to buy ambulances for the town just to keep up with the accidents.
The chaos came from the way Action Park was built and run. The rides were experimental, the rules were flexible, and the crowd was rowdy. Teenagers operated the attractions, and guests treated safety warnings as optional suggestions.
The Wild Vision That Started It All
Eugene Mulvihill, a New Jersey businessman, opened Action Park in 1978 on the grounds of his Vernon Valley ski resort. His plan was to turn the slopes into a summer playground. Instead of standard roller coasters or Ferris wheels, he wanted rides that gave visitors total control. This involved steering, sliding, or driving your own fate—literally.
Action Park had three sections: Alpine Center, Motorworld, and Waterworld. The Alpine Slide, a concrete track built down a mountain, became the park’s first disaster zone. Riders sat on plastic sleds with a single brake lever, and crashes were frequent. Between 1984 and 1985 alone, the ride caused 14 broken bones and 26 head injuries. One young man even died after being thrown from his sled and hitting a rock. Despite all that, the lines stayed long.
The park’s staff were mostly high schoolers with little to no training. Lifeguards, operators, and security workers were often underage and, according to many accounts, drunk. Guests weren’t much better. Beer was sold freely around the park, and some visitors arrived already buzzed. The combination of alcohol, poor supervision, and self-operated rides created constant chaos.
Local hospitals saw a surge in injuries that prompted Action Park to donate ambulances to Vernon Township to handle the increased traffic. Cuts, burns, and dislocated shoulders were common. The park’s first aid tent looked more like a triage station than a medical hut. Still, visitors laughed it off as part of the experience. For many New Jersey kids, getting hurt at Action Park was practically a rite of passage.
Rides That Defied Common Sense
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Joe Shlabotnik
The “Cannonball Loop” was the crown jewel of bad ideas. This looping water slide defied physics and logic. Test dummies were decapitated when they went down the slide before it opened, and employees were bruised and bleeding when they tried it.
Riders were sprayed with water, weighed for speed, and given instructions to hold a perfect pose before being launched into the tube. Some even got stuck mid-loop. The ride lasted only weeks before state inspectors shut it down.
Waterworld’s “Tidal Wave Pool” was another danger zone. Lifeguards called it “The Grave Pool” because of its deep water, powerful waves, and poor visibility. Dozens of near-drownings happened every weekend, and several people lost their lives there.
Other attractions like the “Tarzan Swing” and “Kayak Experience” added to the injury count, with one man electrocuted by exposed wiring. Every visit carried a real risk, and regulars knew it.
The Man Behind The Mayhem
Mulvihill saw Action Park as an experiment in freedom. He believed guests should control their own fun, even if it meant getting hurt. When insurance companies refused to cover the park, he created a fake one in the Cayman Islands to keep operations running.
He ignored most state safety recommendations, even after fatal incidents, and refused to settle lawsuits easily. Despite mounting injuries and complaints, attendance stayed high throughout the 1980s.
At its peak, more than a million people visited each year. To them, surviving Action Park meant you were tough enough to handle it. By 1996, lawsuits and financial trouble finally forced the park to close.
After years of silence, the Action Park legend returned with the 2020 HBO Max documentary Class Action Park. Using actual footage and interviews, it showed how the park’s madness became part of New Jersey folklore. The stories of chaos, stupidity, and bravery were so unbelievable that they bordered on comedy.
Today, the grounds operate as Mountain Creek Waterpark—a safer, regulated, and much calmer version of its former life.