Is it strange to be nostalgic about a place that almost killed you as a kid?
Place-In-Question:
in Vernon, NJ [now Mountain Creek]. Went there in 1996, last year it was open, anybody who knows about the place knows the infamy behind it, but for those who don't know:
*INHALES DEEP*
Action Park began in 1977 or so when the Great Gorge ski resort added an Alpine Slide [two tracks, actually] and a couple of water slides to provide summer attractions. That quickly expanded to more slides and a wave pool, and then into the ginormous park known as Action Park, with 75 attractions of all types, from bungee jumping to skydiving simulation, to go-karts and speedboats, and some of the wildest water rides known to man. The park was divided up into several parts: Waterworld, with all the things resembling what a modern water park would have so far as slides were concerned [also housed the wave pool] and the skydiving simulation, Roaring Springs, with the majority of the terrain shaped rapids type rides, resembling a heavily wooded oasis of sorts, Motorworld, with the go-karts, speedboats, and other fun non-water rides, and an area off to the side of Watrerworld with the Alpine slides and bungee jumping.
In only 18 - 20 years of being open, 6 people died, and thousands of people were injured from minor fractures to head injuries, broken ribs, and much more. The park was swimming with teen employees who more often than not were drunk, stoned, or both... They were among the earliest water parks in the U.S, leading to ride designs that in some cases were really awesome, in some cases catastrophic, in some cases all of the above. The wave pool was 10 feet deep at the deepest end and created rip currents [and claimed 2 victims], rides like Surf Hill sent you flying at such a rate where collision at the end [and injury] was certain... Cannonball Falls, and the Tarzan Swing dropped you into icy water [a person went into shock and drowned here, it was that cold], their Alpine Slide claimed another 2 victims from the lack of control over the cars and the dangerously high speed...... the diving cliffs were painted white at the bottom just so they could see any bodies [no kidding], they had the first TRUE LOOPING WATER SLIDE [dangerous to boot]... their "Motorworld" part of the park had real go-karts, speedboat racing [in snake infested water]... the concrete at the park entrance was STAINED WITH BLOOD for god's sake, that's a sign you were in for an adrenaline pumping time. IMO this kicked, and STILL KICKS the shit out of anywhere today, especially with all the generic tube slide parks... this was a park that built its slides into the terrain, that innovated at a time where it was needed. The Coloroado Rapids ride simulated rapids using paths shaped like rocks, and jets [kinda like that you'd find in hot tubs, only bigger] to simulate the rapids, and it was a ROUGH ride. Nowadays most parks use a half-pipe shaped tube, don't even TRY. >_<
Any daredevil of a kid/teen/young adult seemed to make it a mission to go here as a kid. Though I was just about to turn 7, the memories are still as fresh in my mind as when I was there. I especially remember begging my 'rents to take me there again, and how disappointed I was when I heard they actually closed. >_<
[SOME of you on ZS MAY have seen that one of my many sprays is the Action Park logo]
*SUFFOCATES*
