Finally, there were alpine attractions, which were related to activities in a mountain-like setting, often allowing you to soar into the air in one way or another.

The Action Park Gladiator Challenge

This ride was inspired by American Gladiators, a TV competition series in which amateur athletes would face off against each other and the “gladiators” hired by the show. It originally aired from 1989 to 1996, and had a brief resurgence in 2008.

The Action Park Gladiator Challenge, which opened in 2002, allowed guests to compete against one another in an obstacle course and against Action Park’s own “gladiators,” scouted by the theme park at local gyms, in jousting matches. The attraction was run and designed by two bodybuilders. There were three shows a day, when the contestants with the fastest times in the obstacle course came back to compete against each other. This attraction wasn’t known for being particularly dangerous, but it sure sounded fun and gives you a sense of some of the thrills Action Park delivered, even without reckless endangerment!

The Alpine Slide

Sometimes known as the Alpine “Skin” Slide, this long chute on the side of a hill was the cause of many major perils. It was ironically referred to “the safest ride there is” by a park official according to a 1986 article in the New Jersey Herald. That person said that because a 90-year-old grandma and moms with babies on their laps would go down the slide. That is extremely scary to hear because the tracks were made of concrete and fiberglass, so anyone who even took a minor hit tended to be get hurt and scrape their skin very badly. It was even worse if the riders were only wearing bathing suits.

The sleds only had two speeds: extremely slow or insanely fast. Obviously, the demand for speed was high. Since the alpine slide was below a chairlift, passengers would yell and spit at people going down the slide, entertained and undeterred by the major and minor spills. The Alpine Slide “only” caused one death, but it was responsible for most of the lawsuits and around 40% of citations again Action Park.

Skateboard park

There was a skateboard park near the ski area’s ski school building, but the design of it was even too bad for Action Park. The bowls riders skated in were separated by pavement, and often didn’t meet the edges smoothly, causing a ton of tumbles.

4. The Accidents

The insanely worrisome accidents, some of them seemingly entirely avoidable, are a big reason Action Park lives in infamy to this day. Check out below some of those mishaps.

Fatal Accidents

• The first death at Action Park happened on July 8th, 1980. A nineteen year old employee of the park was riding the Alpine Slide, and his car jumped the track. His head hit a rock, killing him.
• A little over two years later, on July 24th, 1982, a fifteen-year-old boy ended up drowning in the dangerous Tidal Wave Pool.
• Just a week after that, on August 1st, a 27-year-old man got out of his kayak to right it after it had been flipped. As he did so he stepped on a grate that was either near or connected to a section of live wiring for the underwater fans. He had a severe electric shock and went into cardiac arrest. Action Park tried at first to persuade that the electric current wasn't the cause of his death since there were no burns on his body, but the coroner explained that burns aren’t common in water-based electrocutions. Soon after the event the ride was drained and closed for investigation. It never reopened, even though the park was surprisingly cleared of any wrongdoing by the New Jersey Labor Department. At least Action Park knew better than to press its luck.
• At some point in 1984, a visitor had a heart attack. Many believed that it was caused by the shock of cold water in the pool under the Tarzan Swing.
• On August 27th, 1984, a 20-year-old was another victim of the Tidal Wave Pool.
• The Tidal Pool ended one more person’s life on July 19th, 1987

Non-Fatal Accidents

Above were the deadliest incidents that happened at Action Park, but far from all of them. Accidents were an extremely regular occurrence, so much so that BuzzFeed compiled an absolutely insane list of horror stories from Action Park. Examples include:

• A whole family that suffered major injuries.
• Getting stuck in the middle of a water tube that’s pitch black on the inside.
• A T-shirt melting on to skin due to friction from a ride.
• Bacterial water that gave an attendee Hepatitis A.
• A kid who needed brain surgery after attending.

Considering the level of safety of major parks you’d find in Orlando, Anaheim, etc. it’s pretty hard to believe what happened without many consequences for Action Park.