bring back action park battle action tanks

If something looked like it might please the crowds, Great American Recreation was not afraid to try it. Great American Recreation promoted Action Park with simple but effective TV commercials: Show people having a great time.Ĭheesy era-appropriate jingles such as “ There’s nothing in the world like Action Park!” and the ever-creative “ The action never stops…at Action Park!” were kids’ rally-cries to their parents.Īttendance grew each year as the crowds embraced the daring and unique attractions. Ultimately the park would grow into a major destination with approximately 75 different rides between the three major attraction areas.Īt its peak the water park overshadowed its ski resort sibling. Park guests could unleash their inner Mario Andretti on a go-kart track, open wheel racers, or tanks. Motorworld was the other major attraction, introduced later and built on unused land across Route 94. New attractions continued to appear every summer in the 1980s when Great American Recreation was experimenting with slide design.

In 1979 additional slides appeared, along with a deep-water swimming pool and a eventually a large wave pool. The park’s instant success pushed its owners to expand. It was opened in 1978 as “ Action Park,” featuring the new Waterworld attraction, one of the first water parks in America. The ride was immensely popular so park officials expanded the warm weather offerings the following year. In 1977 an alpine slide was added to the mountain, which allowed riders to fly down the snow-free slopes on sleds controlled by nothing more than a hand brake. In order to keep the turnstiles going in the summer, the company began offering seasonal attractions. This is a look-back at the classic water park and the wild attractions which made it famous.Īction Park was the brainchild of Great American Recreation (GAR), owners of the Vernon Valley/Great Gorge ski area in New Jersey.

After 18 years of operation, a series of lawsuits stemming from injuries and deaths forced the park to close. Aggressive ad campaigns brought a million visitors per year and turned the northern New Jersey water park into a household name.īut a lax attitude toward safety eventually caught up with the owners. The park was a pioneer, not afraid to experiment with attractions in the quest for fun. Action Park was one of the first water parks in the United States, and by the time it closed in 1996 it was the most dangerous.

Bring back action park battle action tanks