Action Park survivor stories shared live at upcoming NJ event

If you grew up in the '80’s you either visited Action Park or you certainly knew of its dark reputation for reckless abandon. It was an amusement park in Vernon where you were in charge of the rides and no one was in charge of the safety.

It launched May 28, 1978, and soon built its sinister reputation.

A wave pool that is said to have required two dozen rescues a day. A giant looped water slide that was found to have people's teeth embedded inside. An Alpine Slide so tall you had to take a ski lift to get to the top then went careening down a fiberglass track at breakneck speed on basically not much more than a four-wheeled dolly with virtually no control. There were at least 14 fractures and 26 head injuries due to that ride.

There were deaths. Incredibly the place stayed open for years.

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Now, a store in Hunterdon County is having a special night for Action Park survivors to come tell their stories live. Sublime is a gift shop in Frenchtown at 22 Bridge St. They have offbeat gift items and Jersey-centric gifts.

"Ever since Sublime, a 4-year-old Frenchtown gift shop, started stocking Action Park merch, visitors have been instantly gripped with an uncontrollable urge to recount their scrapes and near-misses at the waterpark deemed the most dangerous in the nation," according to a press release from Sublime. "It struck us that giving free rein to these impulses would be a great idea for summer evening event."

So bam. It’s happening. 

If you go ...

A video about the dark past of the place nicknamed Traction Park or Class Action Park will be shown followed by attendees being invited to share their own hellish stories about their time there. The event happens on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. It’s a free event that’s being billed as “Action Park Stories, told by you, the survivors!”

I honestly can’t think of anything more Jersey than this.

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