This is the one thing about New Jersey that I will never understand 

As a born and raised Jersey girl, there are many aspects of Garden State pride that I completely understand.

For instance, we’ve completely earned the right to brag about our pizza and bagels, they’re superior to all other states and I won’t hear otherwise.

Or M&M’s. With the Mars factory being in New Jersey, we have gifted the world with what might be one of the best candies.

Heck, even sports. Sure they’re the “New York” Giants and Jets, but where are they playing their home games?

New Jersey, baby.

However, there’s one point of Jersey pride that I just cannot wrap my head around, no matter how many people I talk to about it, and that is the nostalgia for Action Park.

What was Action Park?

Action Park was an amusement park in Vernon, NJ from the 1970s through the 1990s… and by all accounts it was complete chaos.

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Attendees were thrown into freezing cold water off of sketchy water slides, people accidentally flew off of the Alpine Slide due to poorly made brakes, and the wave pool was flat out called the “grave pool” because it was so dangerous.

That’s where multiple deaths occurred in the park.

Why was Action Park so popular?

It could be that I wasn’t around for its heyday, so I don’t have the nostalgia for it.

That said, those who were around for it almost always got injured (a few people unfortunately died).

Yet when they tell the stories of their trips to the old amusement park, I can hear the smile in their voice. Many say they would go back in a heart beat.

Why??

I guess I have to chalk it up to “it was a New Jersey party I wasn’t invited to.” I’ll never understand why people went to Action Park knowing full well how dangerous it was, nor why people speak so fondly of it.

If you haven’t watched the documentary “Class Action Park,” it’s a strong recommend. It’s fascinating what the owner got away.

As their jingle said, there truly was “nothing in the world like Action Park.”

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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