Back in Action: The New Action Park

Action Park was once a site known more for its accidents than its rides. Now it's back, with all the thrills and none of the spills

Thriller: Zero G is a two-loop, 100-foot waterslide.
Photo courtesy of Crystal Springs Resort

In its heyday, Action Park was a magnet for thrillseekers—who sometimes got more than they bargained for. The water park in Vernon had a reputation for bloody noses, inattentive lifeguards and shoddy safety standards.

Now, Action Park is back. “We want all the thrills and none of the spills,” says Andrew Mulvihill, CEO of Mountain Creek, which owns the facility. In fact, Action Park, which launched in 1978, never went away; for the past decade it operated as Mountain Creek Waterpark.

“When we surveyed people, they knew the Action Park name better than Mountain Creek,” Mulvihill says. “We decided to take the plunge and re-embrace the name.”

The new Action Park has old-favorite attractions, plus the new Zero-G ride, a 100-foot looping waterslide reminiscent of Action Park’s infamous Cannonball Loop, which Mulvihill’s late father, Gene, is said to have designed on a napkin. The new loop was built by a renowned waterslide designer.

“The world is a different place,” says Mountain Creek president Bill Benneyan. “The new rides we’re building are meticulously engineered.”

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