America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park

Summary

History Daily – America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park

Date: May 26, 2026
Host: Lindsey Graham

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Episode Overview

This episode of History Daily revisits the tumultuous history of Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey—a place infamous for danger, thrills, and tragedy. Host Lindsey Graham narrates the rise (and eventual fall) of America’s most hazardous theme park, started by entrepreneur Gene Mulvihill on May 26, 1978. The story chronicles Mulvihill’s daring, often reckless expansion, his disregard for safety regulations, a shocking number of injuries and fatalities, and the chaos that made Action Park legendary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Birth of Action Park

• Genesis and Vision ([05:32])
  • Gene Mulvihill, a former Wall Street investor, acquired a failing ski resort and sought to make it profitable year-round.
  • Inspired by the booming resort industry, he added summer rides, opening the Vernon Valley Summer Park with four attractions: an alpine slide, go-karts, and two water slides.
  • Mulvihill’s focus: “There are no roller coasters where someone else decides how fast the ride goes. At Action Park, the customer is in charge.” ([07:38])
• Soft Launch May 26, 1978
  • Teenagers flocked to the park, especially the 2,700-foot Alpine Slide, crowded for its dangerous excitement.
  • Gene encouraged risk, goading riders (including his son) to take the slide faster despite the obvious dangers of flipping and crashing on concrete.

The Culture of Chaos

• A Unique (and Lawless) Experience ([07:50])
  • Local teens were drawn in by thrilling rides, scant adult supervision, and easy access to alcohol.
  • “The result is a special kind of chaos.” ([07:58])
  • Ambulances attended the park “multiple times a day”; injuries were common, but thrill-seeking persisted.

First Tragedies and Mulvihill’s Response

• Fatal Accidents Begin ([08:18])
  • The first fatality: George Larson Jr., age 19, died after veering off the Alpine Slide (July 1980).
  • Rather than reconsider the park’s safety, Mulvihill continued adding riskier attractions.

Dangerous Innovations: The Ball Within a Ball and Cannonball Loop

• ‘Ball Within a Ball’ Incident ([00:24])
  • In 1980, Mulvihill tested a new ride using his own staff as guinea pigs, offering $100 to Frank, an employee.
  • The trial went catastrophically wrong: “...the ball gathers speed, careening down the hill toward Gene, his son, and the safety inspector. They leap out of the way just in time...Gene tries to put on a brave face, but he's pretty sure the inspector will not be signing off on this ride.” ([01:34])
• Cannonball Loop Slide ([11:06])
  • Mulvihill design: a fully enclosed water slide with a 360º loop, built without engineering expertise.
  • Opening event featured a priest’s blessing and $100 bribes for the first riders.
  • First teen emerges “dazed, but otherwise unharmed” ([11:40]), but many others suffered “broken noses, badly bruised backs, missing teeth...”
  • Slide was often closed for repairs—sometimes after just a month in operation.

Safety Negligence and Legal Troubles

• Mounting Casualties ([12:16])
  • Thousands of injuries and at least five deaths over the park’s heyday:
    • Another teenager drowned in the wave pool.
    • A 27-year-old man was electrocuted.
    • A man died from cardiac arrest at the Roaring Springs attraction.
• Insurance Fraud and State Investigation ([13:42])
  • Mulvihill skirted insurance regulations, setting up a fake Cayman Islands insurance company to save money.
  • Upon discovery, pleaded guilty to fraud—earning probation and a fine, yet retaining control of the park.

The End of Action Park’s Wild Era

• Continued Danger and Decline ([17:48])
  • Despite legal and financial troubles, Mulvihill added new attractions, including bungee jumps and beer tents.
  • Lawsuits in the late 1990s forced bankruptcy; new owners sanitized the park, removing deadliest rides and reducing risk—but also its popularity.
  • “The newest version of Action Park will be safer, quieter, better organized, and far less popular than the wild original...” ([19:58])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On risk-taking and parental detachment:
  • “Gene doesn't even consider running over to check if his boy is okay. He simply laughs, resets his stopwatch and shouts for the next rider to go.” ([06:46])
• On safety and guest responsibility:
  • “...the customer is in charge.” ([07:38])
• On a failed ride test:
  • “Gene tries to put on a brave face, but he's pretty sure the inspector will not be signing off on this ride.” ([01:42])
• On design philosophy (or lack thereof):
  • “No one calculated the forces needed to get someone around the loop or what effects those forces might have on a young body.” ([11:22])
• On legal evasion:
  • “Gene has set up a fake company in the Cayman Islands that only pretends to insure him. This scam has saved him hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance costs.” ([13:42])

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:24] – Opening story: The Ball Within a Ball fiasco
• [05:32] – Genesis of Action Park and early culture
• [08:18] – First fatality on the Alpine Slide
• [11:06] – Introduction and dangers of Cannonball Loop
• [13:42] – State investigation and insurance fraud
• [17:48] – Park’s later years, downfall, and transition to safer ownership
• [19:58] – Reflection on Action Park’s lasting legacy

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Episode Tone & Final Takeaway

Lindsey Graham narrates with vivid, brisk detail and a touch of irony, capturing the breathtaking recklessness and allure of Action Park. The episode reveals how the park’s mystique thrived on a blend of daring, lawlessness, and tragic consequence—ultimately outpaced by reality and accountability. Action Park’s legacy endures as a cautionary tale: “safer, quieter, better organized, and far less popular than the wild original.” ([19:58])

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This summary omits all advertisements and sponsor messages, focusing solely on the historical storytelling and analysis by Lindsey Graham.

Transcript

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It's spring 1980, in the grounds of an amusement park in Vernon, New Jersey. Jersey. Standing at the top of a steep hill, 44 year old Gene Mulbihil pulls a crisp hundred dollar bill from his wallet and hands it to a nervous looking young man named Frank. Gene is the owner of Action park, one of the most popular attractions in the state. Frank is his employee, and today he's earning a bonus by acting as a guinea pig for Gene's latest attraction. Pocketing the money from Gene, Frank climbs through a hatch and into a giant orb 10ft in diameter. Behind it, a rudimentary track zigzags down the moun. Gene helps Frank get secured into his seat at the center of the orb. Then he closes Frank inside. As Frank is rolled to his starting position, Gene heads down the hill to where his son and a local safety inspector are waiting. Gene calls this new ride the Ball within a Ball. The orb will roll down the track at speed, but the rider inside will remain upright as the world flies by. And if all goes well, Frank will safely come to a stop at the end of the track. But at Action park, things don't always go according to plan. Gene gives a shout and the orb is released. But within moments of Frank beginning his journey downhill, the ball stops rolling and starts bouncing. Before breaking free of its track entirely. The ball gathers speed, careening down the hill toward Gene, his son and the safety inspector. They leap out of the way just in time. Then the orb bounces past them and heads across a road that runs through the middle of the park. Finally, it comes to a stop in a boating lane. As park employees dive into the water to rescue poor Frank, Gene turns toward the safety inspector, who is stunned by what he's just witnessed. Gene tries to put on a brave face, but he's pretty sure the inspector will not be signing off on this ride. The Ball Within a Ball will never open to the general public. But Gene Mulvihill has many other wild rides for the people of New Jersey to enjoy. And many of them are unsafe and under supervised. But that's all part of the dark appeal of Action park, which built a reputation as the most dangerous amusement park in America. Ever since it opened on May 26, 1978. I was a bit curious, so I went looking for an answer. Does Santa Claus say ho ho ho in Germany? Yes. It turns out. He does. But what about France? Yes, there too. But they don't pronounce the h, so it's more of a o, o, O. And I assume the Austrians do as the Germans do, but I haven't looked that up. Still, why am I telling you all this? Because there are still some places left on my European Christmas market tour. A 10 day journey throughout France, Germany and Austria stuffed with Christmas tradition and history. You can join me too, but only if you act quickly. Over half of all available places are already taken. Tickets are on sale now, so reserve your spot, go to History and look for the Christmas market section. That's historydaily.com.

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Daily.

[Lindsey Graham]

History is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is May 26, 1978. America's most dangerous amusement park. It's the afternoon of May 26, 1978, in Vernon, New Jersey, two years before the test of the ball within a ball, 42 year old Gene Mulvihill presses his stopwatch and yells go. At two teenagers in racing carts alongside a few dozen other young guests. Gene cheers as the two riders fly down the Alpine Slide. It's one of four attractions at the new Vernon Valley Summer park, which has its soft launch today. The Alpine slide is a 2,700foot long toboggan ride. Riders sit on a plastic cart with a handbrake between their legs. It's meant to replicate the excitement of sledding down the mountain in winter. But if the riders flip these carts, they won't land on a pillow of fresh snow. Instead, they'll hit a track made of concrete and fiberglass. Gene knows all about the danger, but that hasn't stopped him from allowing his teenage son Jimmy to take one of the first trips downhill. And as Jimmy whizzes by, Gene even yells at him to be braver and let go of the brake. But Gene is used to risk. He's a former Wall street investor. And a few years ago, an article in Time magazine about the billion dollar resort business inspired Gene to shift careers. He traded Manhattan for the mountains of northwest New Jersey, and there he acquired a ski resort under foreclosure. But he quickly became frustrated by the lack of customers during the skiing off season. He wanted to find a way to make money all year round. So Gene decided he would add rides to his resort. Today the first attractions are ready and he's opening for the summer season. As well as the Alpine slide, there's a go kart track and two water slides. He has ambitions of adding more, but today he just wants to have some fun. As Jimmy hurtles down the Alpine slide, Gene urges him to go faster and faster until Jimmy takes one corner a little too fast. He flips his cart and screeches to a halt on the skin shredding track. Gene doesn't even consider running over to check if his boy is okay. He simply laughs, resets his stopwatch and shouts for the next rider to go. Perhaps he can do better than Jimmy. Throughout the day, there's a long line of teenagers all eager to have their turn on the Alpine slide. The time trial proves so popular that many competitive teenagers come back again and again. And for the next month and a half after the successful soft launch, a steady stream of visitors flocks through the gates of Gene's new theme park. By July 4th, he's ready for the official grand opening. Which not only features the rides, but a Dolly Parton lookalike contest and a tobacco spitting competition. He also invites the local press along to watch, telling reporters of his big plans for the park and how he wants to buy up more land in the area and install more attractions. Over the months that follow, Gene is true to his word. He expands the site until there are three separate Alpine Center, Motorworld and Waterworld. To reinforce the appeal to daredevils, Gene then changes the name of his attraction from the Vernon Valley Summer park to Action Park. He claims that of all the theme parks in America, this one is unique. There are no roller coasters where someone else decides how fast the ride goes. At Action park, the customer is in charge. Local teenagers love it, and not just because of the wild rides. There are few adults and it's not hard to get alcohol with a fake id. The result is a special kind of chaos. But this freedom isn't without consequences. Local ambulances report having to attend the park multiple times a day. And many guests come away with cuts and bruises to explain to their parents. But in July 1980, one young man doesn't get that chance. While riding on the Alpine Slide, 19 year old George Larson Jr. Veers off the track and hits his head on a rock. George is taken to the hospital, but he dies there after eight days in a coma. Tragically, this will not be the last fatality at Action Park. But such accidents won't deter Gene Mulvihil. He'll keep coming up with more and more outlandish thrills for the teenagers of New Jersey to enjoy, regardless of the cost.

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[Lindsey Graham]

I'm Kiana, and I leveled up my business with Shopify. Once I figured out that Shopify was a thing, I never turned back. I can create a site with my eyes closed. Shopify thinks ahead of us, you know, and it thinks about the customer more than anything. Every day I'm thinking about some other new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use. It's like I can't stop. I'm addicted. Start your free [e-mail]. It's the spring of 1983 in Vernon, New Jersey, three years after the first fatality at Action Park. The amusement park's owner, Gene Mulbihill, passes a cup of holy water to the priest standing at his side. In full religious garb, the priest takes the cup, turns and then flicks the holy water over the base of a large blue waterslide. He declares Gene's latest attraction is now blessed by God. Gene pats the priest on the back and turns to the assembled crowd of teenagers. He then announces that the waterslide, known as the Cannonball Loop, is open for anyone brave enough to try it. No one volunteers at first, but when Gene pulls out some hundred dollar bills, a few tentative hands rise into the air. Originally constructed in 1980, the Cannonball Loop has stood at the entrance to Action park for the past three years. It's a standard enclosed water slide, except for one remarkable feature. Just before the end, there is a full 360 degree loop. Like many of the attractions at Action park, the Cannonball Loop was not designed by engineers. Gene Mulvihill sketched his idea for it on the back of a napkin and had some local welders start building it soon after. No one calculated the forces needed to get someone around the loop or what effects those forces might have on a young body. And when it was built, the first riders were hurt so badly that even Gene decided he couldn't open the Cannonball Loop to the public. But now he believes he's tweaked the slide enough to make it safe, and it's time to test it with some brave and cash hungry volunteers. Gene's first teenage guinea pig successfully completes the 360 degree loop. He emerges looking a little dazed, but otherwise unharmed. And the Crowd cheers him loudly as he claims his hundred dollar reward. But in the weeks ahead, other guests don't fare so well. Some stagger off the new ride with broken noses. Others are left clutching their badly bruised backs. There are even reports of missing teeth getting wedged in the slide and cutting the skin of riders who follow. The Cannonball Loop is never open for more than a month at a time before repairs and further adjustments have to be made. This lax approach to safety is commonplace in a theme park that has so far seen thousands of injuries and and at least three deaths. Two years after George Larson Jr. Became the first person to die at the park, another teenager drowned in the wave pool. A week after that, a 27 year old man was electrocuted. Following these accidents, the individual attractions were shut down while investigations took place. But many of Gene's rides fall into a gray area in New Jersey law and Action park has so far been able to escape liability. Gene insists he's not responsible. He says that with the sheer number of visitors, some accidents are sadly inevitable. Still, the steady drumbeat of incidents at the park can't help but attract the attention of authorities. Gene leases his resort from the state of New Jersey and it launches an investigation into the park. There are soon suggestions that Gene has underpaid rent and he's accused of adding a dam and building a lake on the land without proper permits. But even worse allegations are to come because Gene has been committing insurance fraud. As part of his lease agreement with the state, Action park should have $2 million in liability insurance to protect New Jersey from claims relating to accidents on its land. But Gene has set up a fake company in the Cayman Islands that only pretends to insure him. This scam has saved him hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance costs. But when it's discovered by investigators from the scene, State is charged with fraud. But Gene doesn't let this tussle with the law distract him. He presses on with his latest addition to Action Park. A freshwater lagoon surrounded by man made clifftops that guests can jump from. He calls it Roaring Springs. But this new attraction will suffer from some familiar problems. Even as Gene Mulvihill awaits his day in court, the families of those killed in earlier accidents pursue him for compensation. He won't change his ways. Action park will remain the same. Chaotic. Free for all it's always been. Thousands of local young people will continue to stream through its gates. But some of them won't survive. We will eat. And Doug.

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[Lindsey Graham]

It's August 27, 1984, at Action Park, a few weeks after the opening of Roaring Springs. Annie Mulvihill bikes along one of the mountain trails that winds through the trees. 20 year old Andy is an employee at his father's theme park, and he steers to one side as a pack of excited teenagers in swimming suits race past. But as their laughter fades away down the track, the walkie talkie strapped to Andy's belt squeaks to life. Andy breaks in time to hear a strained voice announcing code red at Roaring Springs. Andy immediately turns his bike around and pedals fast downhill. There's already been one fatality at that new attraction. A man who had a cardiac arrest when he jumped into the cold water of the pool. And now it sounds like there's been another accident. And when he reaches the pool, Andy sees that the lifeguards on duty have already cleared the water of other guests and are searching for someone beneath the surface. Andy immediately pulls off his shirt and dives in to help. The water's murky, though, and Andy can't see much farther than 3ft in front of him. He feels along the edge of the pool and the and that's where he finds the young man they're looking for. And he's not moving. With the help of the other lifeguards, Andy pulls him from the water. But there's nothing that can be done. A fifth person has died at Action Park. A few months later, Andy's father, Gene Mulvihill, arrives for his day in court on charges of fraud. He pleads guilty to establishing a fake insurance company and submitting false documents to the state. He's given three years probation and a $240,000 fine. But he gets to keep Action park, and despite the five fatalities so far and countless unrecorded injuries, it remains in his hands for the rest of the decade. During that time, Gene Mulvihill will add more attractions, including bungee jumps and a German beer tent. But eventually, the trail of bruised and bloodied bodies will catch up with him. In the late 1990s, two successful lawsuits from injured guests were will force Gene to file for bankruptcy and sell the park. The new owners will remove many of the most dangerous activities and the newest version of Action park will be safer, quieter, better organized, and far less popular than the wild original that Gene Mulvihill opened for the first time on May 26, 1978. Next on History Daily May 22 On May 27, 1943, an American B24 bomber crashes in the Pacific Ocean, beginning a two year ordeal for the surviving crew. From Noiser and Airship. This is History Daily Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Mohammed Shazi Sound designed by Molly Bond Music by Thrum this episode is written and researched by Owen Paul Nichols. Edited by William Simpson Managing producer Emily Byrne Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.

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