Research Methods

Primary Sources

Action Park: Fast Times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story by Andy Mulvihill and Jake Rossen.

This book tells the unbelievable story of the dangerous amusement park where many were bruised and entertained. This story is told through the viewpoint of the park founder's son, Andy Mulvihill.

Mulvihill, A., & Rossen, J. (2020). Action Park: Fast Times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story of America's Most Dangerous Amusement Park. N.p.: Penguin Books.

2. “INTERVIEW: A behind-the-scenes look at Action Park--as told by the owner’s son”

This interview is with Andy Mulvihill, son of the creator of Action Park. In this interview, he discusses his experiences at Action Park and the process of writing his book.

Soltes, J. (2020, August 22). INTERVIEW: A behind-the-scenes look at Action Park — as told by the owner’s son. In Hollywood Soapbox. Retrieved from https://www.hollywoodsoapbox.com/interview-a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-action-park-as-told-by-the-owners-son/

Secondary Sources

Class Action Park

Class Action Park is a 2020 documentary on the horrors that occurred at Action Park. This documentary tells the story and truth behind the widely beloved and extremely dangerous amusement park in Vernon, New Jersey. It explores the deaths, attractions, injuries, and the employees that were at the amusement park.

Scott, C. C., & Porges, S. (Producer). Hodgman, J. (Narrator). (2020). Class Action Park [Motion picture]. HBO Max.

2. “The Rides at Action Park (as Seen in Class Action Park) Could Literally Kill You”

This article describes the 23 dangerous rides or attractions at Action Park. It reports on the injuries and death caused from the very unsafe environment at the park.

Romano, E. (2020, August 27). The Rides at Action Park (as Seen in Class Action Park) Could Literally Kill You. In Men's Health. Retrieved from https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a33795371/class-action-park-rides/

3. “The Rise and Fall of Action Park, New Jersey’s Most Dangerous Water Park”

This article talks about the amusement park that gained the name “accident park”. It says that Action Park was one of the first modern water parks in the United States. It provides information on how the park was created, how the rides were tested, injuries from the most popular attractions, and when the park was closed.

Holland, B. (2017, September 8). The Rise and Fall of Action Park, New Jersey’s Most Dangerous Water Park. In HISTORY. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-action-park-new-jerseys-most-dangerous-water-park

4. “‘People Were Bleeding All Over’: America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park”

Like the other articles, this one describes how dangerous Action Park was. Anyone who went to Action Park would leave with some type of scar. Everyone around the park was walking around with scraped elbows and knees. People there lost teeth, had broken noses, arms, concussions, and even suffered death.

Barron, J. (2019, October 19). ‘People Were Bleeding All Over’: America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park. In The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/19/nyregion/action-park-movie.html

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