Remembering The ‘World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park’

by Libby Zay on

Amusement park safety has been a hot topic this summer. After a deadly fall from a Six Flags roller coaster in July, even minor injuries have been making headlines. But are amusement parks really as dangerous as they used to be? A new documentary sheds light on what Mashable is calling “The World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park,” a New Jersey waterpark called Action Park that closed in 1996. Inside this lawless park, which seemed to be staffed mostly by intoxicated teenagers, were nonsensical attractions like:

  • The “Cannonball Loop” slide, which had a complete loop at the end.
  • A winding cement track called the “Alpine Slide” that children barreled down on carts while people tried to spit on them from a chairlift that ran above it.
  • A rope swing called “Tarzan swing” where men regularly exposed themselves to onlookers.

Seriously, is this place for real? We went to Twitter to do some investigating, and found many people recalling-and even lamenting-their injuries at the park:

%Slideshow-76622%

Ouch, sounds painful. Although these people walked away with minor injuries, at least seven people died at Action Park during its existence. Watch the first half of the documentary above, and the second half after the jump.
The Most Insane Amusement Park Ever – Part 2 of 2 by insane-amusement-park

Amusement Parks Are Making Long Lines More Amusing

by Libby Zay on

Let’s face it: amusement park lines aren’t going anywhere. Attendance at parks is on the up and up in recent years, forcing some parks to create diversions that make waiting more fun. Disney World is leading the charge, with games, interactive displays and other distractions to entertain people waiting in long queues. At the famous Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, an air-conditioned play area under a big-top tent (pictured) keeps the kids entertained while parents wait for a pager to buzz and let them know their time to ride has arrived.

But Disney World isn’t the only amusement park hopping on the trend. Many parks now have video entertainment that visitors can watch as they snake through lines. For example, at all 16 Six Flags parks, visitors can use their cellphones as game controllers to play games on television screens. And across the country, it’s becoming less common to wait under the blaring sun; many parks now have tents over their lines, or at the very least supply fans that spray water on visitors.

Across the travelsphere, entertainment is in high demand. Some flights even have live stand-up comedy and music on board to amuse passengers. It just goes to show that in a world where we’re used to having entertainment at our fingertips, our attention span is becoming shorter and shorter.