Transcript of Amusement Park Disasters (Volume 2) : Theme Parks New

Hey weirdos, I'm Ash and I'm Alayna and this is Morbid. This is Morbid. Morbidito. This is gonna be a morbid one for sure.

Is it?

It is. What are you doing? Amusement Park Disasters Part 2, baby. She takes us here again. She takes us here again.

I remember Last time I went to Disney and I posted, everyone was like, damn, didn't you say you were never getting on another roller coaster again? I was like, no, I trust Disney.

Okay.

No, no, don't look at me like that. She just had the smuggest look on her big redhead.

We're doing theme parks today.

You're doing theme parks?

Not just amusement parks. Oh goodness.

I haven't been to, I mean, it'll be a while I think before I go back to Disney because I was just there.

Yeah. So. For sure. That's, see, you know what my thing—

Talk to me.

I'm realizing more and more that I, and this is not everybody's bag, obviously, I'm just like a little bitch when it comes to like not wanting to die. So— Well, that's good. I am not one of those people who seeks risk in any way, shape, or form. And I'm okay admitting that. I know that probably makes me a little boring and that's fine.

I don't think it necessarily makes you boring. I think you're exciting in different ways.

I think, well, I try to be, but I'm certainly boring in that way, I think, because when I say don't seek out risk, I don't seek out risk in any way. If something is risky, it's a no for me.

I know, that's where we've always differed.

Yeah, we differ violently in that respect.

My God, I was risky business as a younger girl.

And I've never been a risky business person. I've always had a really healthy, maybe unhealthy at times, respect for the— Uh, for my mortality.

Your chart in general though, and it makes so much sense because even just like, even just looking at your big three, you are a Capricorn Sun, so you are so rooted to this Earth you don't want to go. Yeah, no, you are a Virgo, uh, Rising, so the older you get, even less likely you are to seek that out. And then you're a Cancer, uh, Moon, so you're like like you're good where you are.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? Like you like your home.

Yeah.

You like your things. You like your creature comforts.

I like my routines. I like my, yeah.

That's how, and I also like, you're not, I mean, you're a goat, you're a crab. And I forget what represents Virgo.

A virgin. There you go.

Not willing to change. Stubborn and unwilling to change.

Yeah. That's me.

Yeah.

And it's, I think finally I've realized like, like I'm like, All right. Yeah, that's just who I am because I've always been like, I know I just don't like it and I don't know why, blah, blah, blah. And then I was finally like, I don't— I swear you hit a certain age and you're just like, oh yeah, fuck it. Like, because I'm just like, oh yeah, that's just— I'm boring and that's okay.

I don't think you should say it like that. Yeah, because I don't think you are boring.

I'm just not risky.

You're not a thrill seeker. I think that's really—

that's what you need to say.

What it is, you're not a thrill seeker.

I have absolutely— when I tell you that not one cell in my body feels like I need any kind of thrill. I can't stress it enough.

Well, now, no, that's not true. That's not true at all.

No, but like to seek out thrills, I feel like I have thrills.

You seek, but you seek out a different kind of thrill is the thing. Like I do, I personally, I really do think you require thrills because you love a haunted house.

Yeah.

And you love a scary movie. So that's a different thrill. That in and of itself is a thrill. It's just a different kind of thrill. I don't, I think you don't need like life-threatening thrills.

No, I absolutely do not.

And I think some people like, I also think like you are a very like, is the word pragmatic?

Like, yeah, that's the word I had in my head.

Okay. Analytical. Like I think you think of the risks and the risk reward.

Risk reward for me is, is big.

And I don't think necessarily everybody is as analytical as you or as pragmatic when it comes to those things.

Mm-hmm.

So they're— it's not that they need like a— like they're not like, I would love to have a life-threatening experience today.

Some people are just a little freer with how they think about it.

That's how I feel.

Yeah. Which is not a bad thing. That's the thing. No, I don't think it is either.

I think we're just different.

I think this makes me understand the other side of it a little better. Yeah. Once I understand— because I understand my point of view a little better. Because for so long I've been like, I don't understand why you want to do these things. And I still don't. Like, I can't like— put myself in that place to understand it, but I can sit there and look at my point of view and go, well, it's just the complete opposite point of view. Well, right now, so valid.

It is valid. Yeah, of course, whatever you want to do with your body as long as you're not harming somebody else is valid. So like, fuck anybody who's going to give you a hard time.

Exactly.

But are we talking about like thrill rides right now specifically?

Things that are, that are risky business.

See, I think a lot of people, myself included, just are like, oh, that'll be so much fun, and people do that all the time. Like, what's the likelihood of anything going wrong? Whereas you actually think about like data. Yeah. And like probability and like you're getting out your marbles from like 5th grade when we learned about probability.

Your thought is, oh, what's the likelihood that anything could go wrong? My point of view is there's so much likelihood that something could go wrong. There is likelihood, period. Right. Like yours is like, what's the likelihood?

Like, how high?

There is though, period. Yeah. And so it's like those are two— it's so funny, like the different—

It's like, ways of thinking, what are the odds? And you're like, there are odds.

And I'm like, well, the odds exist. I don't like—

you're like, what if they're not in my favor?

Which is crazy.

See, I also just think— well, and I think having kids has a lot to do with this too. Yeah, like, I think, I think you've gotten even—

I—

and I think that's probably why you're even more comfortable, like, with the way you are now though, because you're like, well, I have kids, like, I'm not going to fucking do that.

I'm not going to do— be different with humans.

But I do wonder if I'll feel different because like even when we go to the beach, like if like we go on like a friend's like boat or something like that, like you don't want them tubing or like, yeah, like you don't enjoy that. And I'm always like, oh, like what, it's fine, I'll go with them. Yeah. And I know that makes you feel better.

Yeah, which like, which like I do. So like, because I know that that'll be taken as like Elena doesn't let her kids do anything. I go with them and it's great. Um, I, what she, what Ash is saying is like, I don't love it.

Like you're scared of the experience.

I don't watch them doing it and be like, wow, how free and exciting.

Yeah, my nervous system feels like I'm being hunted for sport during the whole thing.

I'm always glad I did it because they had fun and whatever. But like, I don't enjoy watching people I love do risky things.

Yeah.

No, you don't. Like, I, it's, I'm, I'm, I'm strange and—

But I don't, I don't necessarily think you are because I think a lot of times when people become moms, they, they do change like their, their views on a lot of that stuff. So I wonder, cause like, yeah. 2 years ago, I'd be like, come on, Elena, like, it's fine. Yeah. But like, the older that I get and like maybe the closer I get to having kids, I'm like, I wonder if I'll feel that way. And I think I might—

it might change it a little. Yeah, it might. It, it might not change it a lot. It might not, you know.

Yeah, who knows. But even like your fear of flying, I know that got so much worse after you had kids. And I know I've heard of a lot of other people like that happening to them.

Mhm.

Cuz I'm not afraid of flying at all. Yeah.

But I wonder— you feel like you have like I always— you always have something to lose, obviously, but you feel like it's even bigger. It's just an inconceivable amount to lose when you add kids to the equation. Yeah, it's interesting, you know? So.

So that's how we feel about things.

Yeah, I just— I thought it was interesting because I always go into this being like, fuck this, which like I still say, fuck this.

But see, and I go into this and I'm like, you're like, God, don't ruin it for him. I just don't want you to talk about a ride I've been on.

I don't think I will. Okay. I'm pretty sure. All right. I guess we'll see. Do we have business that we need to say?

Like buy tickets to Radio City Music Hall?

Yeah, buy tickets to Radio City Music Hall.

Radio City next Saturday, you guys, the 27th. Like it's coming up so quickly. There's still so much to figure out and we're like stressed, but we're also so excited.

We're getting the butterflies.

But we have a really good show for you.

Oh, and we announced our special guest.

By the time you listen to this, you will know that the special guest is the one and only Jonathan Van Ness. JVN. Like, we also just have the perfect segment planned with him. It is going to be glorious.

It's going to be hilarious. I can't wait. I can't wait. So there's only a few tickets left. Yeah, there's not many. So snatch them up. And I also posted about the Butcher Legacy Tour. I'm excited for that. That's happening in August. That's going to be fun. But get your tickets to some stops on that because I'll be letting you guys know any updates. There might be some updates to that. All that fun stuff and preorder The Butcher Legacy.

And we're going to try to get her to fly soon.

Yeah, I'll try to get to—

because I know she is really trying. We talked about it this morning.

I had such a moment because I was seeing you guys be like, come to the South, come to, you know, come to Louisiana, like, come to California. Come here. And I was like, I want to. And I, and I want to see you and I want to come sign your books and like, do all that fun stuff. And I will. Yeah, I'm going to— I'm trying to make it more of a priority to, like, fight through the fear.

I think you need to get hypnotized.

I really do. I feel I'm going to try it. I'll try anything to get on.

We should find somebody.

Anybody know any hypnotists? Because I want to go to Scotland. That's the next big thing I want to do.

We have to get to Scotland.

Scotland is calling me. So I feel like I want to pet a Highland cow. That's—

I just— And I do realize that I can do that here, but I want to do it in Scotland, please.

I just need to land in Scotland because I feel like the second I step on that soil, I'm going to burst into tears. Yeah, I feel like that's where I'm supposed to be, and then maybe never come back. Then we'll just stay in Scotland.

Just Rosie O'Donnell it. So yeah, she went to Ireland and yeah, it's just like, let's go, see ya.

But yeah, so I'll figure that out. Everybody, everybody in the club going to Scotland. I mean, they have been fucking taking over Boston. I know, it's been sick. Let me tell you, any Scottish listeners, we could not be happier to have you. Could not. Boston is trying to figure out a way—

I was just gonna say—

to have Scotland come back every year. Yeah, our governor is working on that. Like literally trying to figure out a way to entice you to come back every year because you have healed us in a way that I can't describe. Yeah. So we love you. Let's work on that. We love you guys a lot.

So let's split some haggis.

Let's, let's get to it, shall we? I'm nervous for this one. This one's crazy.

So you said you should be.

This is wild. Let's, let's start with with Walt Disney, shall we? You bitch. By the time Walt Disney conceived the idea of just, you know, a massive park where, you know, parents and children can play together in a world that was modeled by his— like, after his creations. Yes. Amusement parks, or at least something like amusement parks, were definitely already part of the landscape around the world. But what Disney had in mind was something way more elaborate than, like, Coney Island or Knott's Berry Farm. When it finally opened in July 1955, the rides and attractions Disneyland had to offer were definitely a far cry from the hyper-modern rides that were in parks today. Right. That we know. The early rides included the Disneyland Railroad, which was a scaled-down version of a locomotive that carried passengers to various parts of the park.

Which they still have.

Yeah, there you go. Junior Autopia, a miniature car racetrack that operated on a rail. And the Astro Jets, a rocket-themed spinning ride that lifted passengers into the air to simulate flying. And they still have that too in Tomorrowland. Wow.

It's not called the same thing.

It's called something else. Well, the park also included boat rides, a movie theater, animatronic shows, and the centerpiece of the park, a replica of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Gorgeous. Now, the construction of the castle alone created a significant amount of dirt and debris, obviously. But rather than just like haul it away, the engineers at Disneyland were like, wait a minute, we could use this stuff to build other features in the park. And in the years that followed, the dirt from the excavation of the castle site was gathered together into a massive mountain used to hide one of the pylons of the Disneyland Skyway. Oh, they initially named the massive pile Holiday Hill, and then it was Lookout Mountain, and finally, after many design elements and details were added, it became the Matterhorn. Oh shit. Named after the mountain in the European Alps.

I've never been on the Matterhorn.

The Matterhorn is a big pile of dirt. Uh, with that mountain complete in 1956, Walt Disney got a new idea. For a new ride. This one would be designed to simulate a toboggan ride through a snowy mountain environment. It was like a combination between a roller coaster and a dark ride. The Matterhorn Bobsleds quickly became one of the park's most popular rides when it opened in 1959. It was also the world's first tubular roller coaster, they're called.

Tubular!

Hollywood! Which allowed passengers to go through tunnels and holes in the mountain's exterior, like interior, rather than stay on a singular open-air track. Now, the first major safety incident at Disneyland occurred in 1964 on the Matterhorn.

Long, long ago.

It was a little before 11 p.m. on May 15th when 15-year-old Mark Maples boarded the sled with his friends Doug Gibbs and Gary Payne. Mark was in the middle seat with his friends seated in front of and behind him. The bobsled had reached the top level of the track at the top of the mountain. It was just about to begin the steepest descent when Mark was thrown violently from the sled headfirst. And landed beside the lower track. Oh. Now, when the ride reached the terminal and the accident was reported, park attendants refused to believe the story and assumed the boys were joking.

I'm sorry, what?

Yeah. It was only when the two girls riding in the car behind them confirmed the story that they rushed to find Mark in the tunnel and called paramedics. Jesus. When they found him, he was unconscious. He was bleeding from several wounds. He was taken to nearby Palm Harbor Hospital, but he never regained consciousness and died from his injuries 4 days later. Oh, that's awful. He was only 15.

Yeah.

When Mark's friends Doug and Gary were interviewed, they both claimed they had no idea what caused Mark to be thrown from the sled. Gary said, I was looking up, heard a noise, looked down, and recognized Mark's sweater as he was falling out of the side.

Oh my God.

Doug Gibbs was kind of like in the similar vein. He said, I felt him bump into me, but there was no way to tell what he was doing. It's a bumpy ride. According to witnesses, it appeared that Mark, quote, stood up on the ride when it was about one-third of the way down the course. Okay. In standing up, Mark's head hit the one of the concrete beams on the ceiling of the tunnel, knocking him out of the sled and causing severe head injuries. Yeah. Which were obviously exacerbated when he landed headfirst on the walkway beside the track. The official response from Disneyland executives stood in direct conflict to the theory that Mark was thrown from the sled. In their statement, Disneyland said Mark, quote, unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, then fell out. Okay, that's what the witnesses are saying. Okay. Now, on the day of Mark's death, the Orange County coroner James Beisner opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the boy's death and whether Disneyland execs could be held responsible. The first step in his investigation was a visit to the park, and he actually rode the Matterhorn himself. Wow, that was brave.

I— that would suck. Imagine if I, as a, like, If I was like the medical examiner and I had to go ride a roller coaster too, I'd be like, I don't want to do that. No, don't make me do that.

And especially after seeing a poor young man who died from his injuries on that ride.

Yeah. Now, after completing the ride, Beisner determined, quote, the boy, if strapped in, couldn't have fallen out. Okay. In addition to riding the sled himself, Beisner had two employees about Mark's size sit in one of the sleds and attempt to stand or free themselves from the sled. Without unbuckling the belt. Neither of them was able to do it. Okay. Now, according to Mark's friends, nothing seemed out of the ordinary while they waited in line to board the ride, and Mark gave no indication that he was planning to do anything reckless. Yeah, but in the days that followed, the deputy coroner Eugene Miller reported receiving multiple phone calls, quote, which have indicated the accident resulted from a hazing. Oh. When asked about a potential hazing, Doug and Gary did admit that they were part of what they referred to as a, quote, boys' social club. Ew. Called Fidius, I think it is. Okay. And 2 weeks earlier, they'd invited Mark to join, but he declined the invitation.

Okay.

Both denied any involvement in a hazing that or any other night. Okay. Now, after the brief investigation, James Brisner concluded Mark Maple's death was, quote, purely accidental. And a coroner's inquest was ruled out. Okay. In their statement to the public, the coroner's office said, quote, they found that Maples and two young companions had been engaged in so-called horseplay, such as shoving each other, shouting at people, crowding ahead of others in the line, and that no proof has been found that it is part of any club initiation. Okay. Their conclusion was that one of the boys unbuckled the safety belt, quote, for no explainable reason, which ultimately led to Maple's tragic death. That's horrible. So it was simply just horseplay gone wrong. Yeah. Now, Mark Maple's death was just the first of several incidents in which parkgoers were injured or killed as a result of failing to follow the rules of the park. In fact, in the years that followed, there were several bizarre incidents, including park attendees not only violating the park rules, but also violating the law in order to, like, impress their friends or, like, achieve some sort of, like, like social status or something.

Right. Now, on June 18th, 1966, Disneyland held an all-night graduation party for the graduating class of a local high school. Oh wow. The plan was for the park to close to the public at 11 PM but remain open the rest of the night for the graduating seniors. Can you imagine that?

I'm like, I feel like they would not do that now.

Oh no, I don't think they would. Yeah. And this was 1966.

Yeah.

Knowing that the party would be off limits to anyone outside the class of seniors and the chaperones, But still wanting to join his friends for the party, 19-year-old Thomas Cleveland hatched a plan to sneak into the park and join the group, assuming no one was going to notice that he graduated the year before that.

Okay.

Now, around 9:20 p.m., Cleveland scaled the 16-foot fence at the northern edge of the park. That's dedication. Yeah. Then climbed one of the pylons in order to get onto the tracks of the monorail, which was the train that carries visitors to and from various parts of the park.

Yeah.

It's unclear what his plan was beyond that. I guess we can speculate that he was planning to walk the length of the tracks until he reached an area where his friends were gathered, I guess. Oh, whatever the plan was, it was quickly interrupted when Thomas was spotted by two security guards who shouted, "Get down! Jump! Get off of there!" Yeah. It must not have occurred to Thomas that the monorail would still be in operation as long as the park was open or somebody was in there, because as soon as the guards yelled, he seemed to realize the danger he was in. But rather than jump to the ground below, he fell to the fiberglass canopy between the tracks and tried to conceal himself from sight. Just as he did that, the monorail rounded the corner at about 25 miles per hour and struck him.

Oh my God.

He was killed instantly.

Yeah.

The driver of the monorail, Dallas Baker, never saw him on the tracks, but he did say he, quote, felt a bump after hitting him. Now, the coroner's office determined that Thomas Cleveland's death from crush injuries were— it was purely accidental. Yeah. And Disneyland was not held responsible in any way. No. That said, the coroner's report did mention that just after Thomas was struck by a train, guards saw, quote, two other youths who had not scaled the Disneyland fence running from the area. They were never identified and they were presumed to just be additional friends of the graduating class. Mm-hmm. Now, Thomas Cleveland wasn't the only person who suffered serious consequences for trying to sneak into the park undetected. In June 1973, 7 years after Cleveland's tragic death, 18-year-old Bogdan Delarotte and his 10-year-old brother Dorian attempted to stay in the park overnight by swimming across the rivers of America and hiding on Tom Sawyer's Island. Oh, God.

I just think of alligators or crocodiles.

Well, and it's located in, like, that manmade river. Now, in the evening of June 22nd, Bogdan and Dorian took the ferry across to Tom Sawyer's Island and hid from park security until after the park closed. Okay. So they were on the island. Once they were certain the park was closed and assumed everyone had left for the night, they entered the water and started swimming across to reach the shore. It appears that they probably misjudged the distance from the shore to the island because it's pretty far. Yeah. Because not long after they entered the water, Dorian became exhausted and told his brother he couldn't swim any further. Oh. It's so sad. That's awful. In order to help him, Bogdan told his brother to put his arms around his neck and he would carry him across. Oh, but then you're going to get exhausted. Unfortunately though, it became clear that his brother's weight was too much to carry and he too became tired. Around 10 PM that evening, security officers heard Dorian's cries for help and took a boat out to find where it was coming from. It didn't take long for them to find Dorian, who'd managed to stay afloat by just like treading water, like doggy paddling essentially.

But Bogdan was nowhere to be found. When they returned to shore, park security called Anaheim Fire and Rescue for help. And the following morning, just before 6 AM, Bogdan's body was discovered, quote, lodged in the rapid section of the river. He had drowned at some point during the night. Oh, that's so So sad. Now, while incidents like these are very rare, obviously they did continue to happen at the park. And in 1984, for example, two drunk visitors stole a maintenance boat and took it for a ride on the Rivers of America.

Hello?

Not long after leaving the dock, the boat hit a rock and one of the men was thrown overboard. Oh. By the time his friend was able to get back to shore to help him, his friend had drowned. Oh, man. Following the drowning death of the man who stole the boat, Disneyland managed to avoid serious accidents and deaths for nearly 15 years. And when the next death did occur, it was not the result of recklessness, but of negligence on behalf of the park. Oh, no. On December 24th, 1998, Luan Phi Dawson and his wife, Liu Thuy Vuong, were visiting Disneyland with their young son and were excited to go on the Columbia, which was a replica of an 18th century tall ship that was described as, quote, one of the park's tamest rides. As the boat approached the dock, Luan and the other visitors waited in line while an employee threw the mooring line around one of the ship's cleats, which is the metal bar where the line is tied, before the boat had stopped moving. Now, with the line tied securely to the dock, the weight of the ship pulling in the other direction— because it was still moving, it had not stopped— was too much strain on the cleat, and the bolts holding it down sheared off.

No longer bolted to the ship, the 8-pound, 12-inch iron cleat went flying in the direction of the crowd with tremendous force. The cleat hit park employee Christine Carpenter in the leg first, shattering her foot and breaking her ankle.

Oh my God.

Then flew into the crowd, striking Liu in the face and Luan in the head. Oh. Yeah. Park employees immediately called emergency services and the injured were taken to the hospital for treatment. All three had suffered serious injuries. Liu had extensive damage to her face that caused nerve damage and paralysis.

Oh my God.

But Luan's were way more severe. In addition to the blunt force injuries to his skull, the impact caused severe brain injuries and injuries to the blood vessels in his head. Dr. Richard Kim told a reporter a few days later that the injuries were both together made it unlikely he could survive.

Yeah.

By the time he arrived at UC Irvine Medical Center, Luan was already brain dead. He was placed on life support in order to give family time to come to the hospital and say goodbye, and support was ended 11 hours later. The same day, Liu had extensive surgery to repair the cuts to the right side of her face. Which, mind you, is Christmas Day. Yeah. That just occurred to me because they were waiting on December 24th in line and the next day, Christmas. Their family has to come say goodbye to him. Yeah.

Oh my God, that poor fucking family.

It's horrific. And in the months after that, Liu would have several more surgeries, but it was unlikely she would ever regain full control over the right side of her face again. Wow. And following the death, the coroner's office began an investigation, and an investigation was also opened by the Anaheim Police Department. In their official statement, Disney officials released pretty vague statement, clearly intending to avoid, you know, incriminating language of any kind. They said, "We're checking the Columbia's mechanical and structural components." And that was it. In the coroner's investigation, Deputy Coroner Richard McAnally determined that the accident had been caused by the Disney workers' failure to follow proper procedure with regard to the ship's docking. McAnally wrote in the report, "The normal procedure when the ship is coming in too fast is to not secure the mooring line." Makes sense. Makes sense. Instead, Carpenter should have waited for the captain to overshoot the dock and slowly reverse into position at the dock.

Right.

That makes sense. Because she didn't know the captain was planning to overshoot, she threw the mooring line around the cleat too soon, and the tension on the rope essentially created a high-velocity projectile that was fired into the crowd. Yeah. The police investigation into the accident also revealed somewhat troubling aspects to the park's approach to such incidents. Rather than being taken directly to the scene of the accident, when a detective arrived at the park, he was taken to a conference room where he waited for, quote, a considerable time before being met by a park official. By the time he was taken to the accident site, the entire scene had been cleaned up by park staff and anything that could be collected was gone. Well, that's not good. A few days later, the debris from the accident site, which included the broken cleat that hit everybody and two teeth were located in a dumpster and turned over to investigators. Oh, that's fucked up. By the end of the week, the Anaheim Police Department did conclude that there was no attempt to destroy evidence or impede the investigation. Lieutenant John Harridan said, we determined that Disneyland didn't clean it up to destroy evidence of criminal conduct.

They cleaned it up, in my opinion, because it was unsightly. Yeah. Which like, that probably was the reason. Yeah. More like morally, is it? Is it? Maybe.

No. Put it away to like give to investigators.

Exactly. You know, don't throw it in a dumpster. 2 years after the accident, Liu and her family settled with Disney, but the terms are not made public. Though it's not nearly as popular. We're moving away from Disneyland. Okay. Don't worry. Though it's not nearly as popular, well-known as Disneyland. California's Great America amusement park has been a heavily attended park since it opened in the mid-1970s.

I've never been there.

Like Disneyland and many other parks, they've had their fair share of tragic accidents over the years. Developed by the Marriott Corporation and opened to the public in the spring of 1976, Great America was just trying to capitalize on the growing popularity of amusement parks and compete with the parks like Disneyland in California and Kings Island in Ohio. Although it never really reached that level of popularity, Marriott did successfully open a second park less than 2 months later, and eventually both were sold to Six Flags. Ah. Now, among the park's most popular rides was Willard's Whizzer, a Speed Racer model steel roller coaster with a height of 70 feet and a stop and a top speed of 45 miles an hour. Okay. Despite being the park's biggest and most popular attraction, The Whizzer had a myriad of problems from the start. Among the biggest issues was the ride's braking system. Oh. Which would occasionally fail to engage as quickly or fully as necessary. Wow. And trains would sometimes bump into one another at the terminal.

That feels like a big deal.

Feels like a big one. Between the opening of the ride in 1976 and an evaluation in 1979, it was found that the malfunctions had resulted in 11 reported incidents of injury. But the extent of those injuries was not detailed. Hmm. The first fatality occurred on March 29th, 1980, under similar circumstances to those known to be problems on the Whizzer. Mm-hmm. That afternoon, 13-year-old Kyle Foss waited in line with friends, and when the car train pulled up to the terminal, he and the other passengers were given the go-ahead to climb on board. Just as Kyle was climbing onto the last car in the train, a second train pulled into the station, although it was only traveling between 3 and 6 miles per hour. When the second train struck the first, the velocity and weight of the train was enough to knock Kyle off balance, and he fell between the two crane trains and was crushed to death.

Oh my God.

Of the 6 passengers already seated in the train, 3 were ejected from the ride and landed in a pond.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

The thought of being ejected from a roller coaster is one of the scariest things.

That's what keeps me off roller coasters.

I have to tell you, like, nothing bad happened to me by any means, but the VelociCoaster at Universal goes so fucking fast and you go over water and you're like upside down and it's just— I thought I was a cool, cool girl who could do cool, cool roller coasters. I can't fucking handle that one anymore because the thought of being ejected into a cool, cool pond No, no, no, no, no. I can't see—

that's my problem. I can't— the possibility is there, so I'm out.

I can't really fuck with water near rides.

No, it's, it's a no.

Which, like, you would think, like, the thought of, like, plummeting to the ground is much worse, which, like, obviously it is, but something about, like, a ride that goes, like, through the water or, like, something like that—

well, it's like a plane. People on a plane, they say they're more scared to fly over the ocean.

Yeah.

Than land, when, like, in reality which one they really want to go. It's just something about water. Yeah, I don't know. We all know we're not supposed to really be in it. No, I know. That's the thing. Like, we know it somewhere in ourselves. It's true. But so in their response to this tragedy, officials from Great America were surprisingly terse. After confirming the death, the park released an official statement to the press that read simply, quote, in order to avoid possible conflicting information, unnecessary speculation, and any further confusion, We will not have any further comment at this time. Oh, whether they wanted it to or not, speculation quickly followed. I was going to say. And many started to blame the ride's braking system for the accident. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one park employee told a reporter, quote, two systems had to break down for this to occur. The odds against that must be astronomical.

Yeah, I would think so.

After a 2-month investigation into the cause of Kyle's death, The park reported that, quote, nothing was wrong with the Wizard and none of its systems had malfunctioned. Not true, though. Despite that, Vice President of the park J. Robert Schultz went on to say, quote, a false electrical signal made the Wizard's safety system think it was holding a train in an automatic braking system at almost the same moment the real train signaled that it was coming into the same braking system.

So that's a problem.

The specifics of the explanation are like a little difficult to follow.

They are.

But essentially, when the system realized it had made a mistake, it released the braking system to clear out this fake train that it thought was there, exactly as the real train was coming into the station. The fluke caused the system to be opened right when the real train pulled into the station. Although the braking system did catch the mistake, it only managed to slow the train down before it hit the car, right, where Kyle was climbing into. Right. The entire accident unfolded in like less than 3 seconds. Wow. In the aftermath of Kyle's death, the ride underwent several upgrades to its safety systems and seatbelts were added to the cars.

I feel like seatbelts should always be in the cars.

Should always be added. Kyle's parents filed suit against Marriott asking $11 million in damages. The result of that suit is unknown. Okay. With the exception of an accidental drowning at the water park in 1989, Great America managed to avoid any catastrophes for almost two decades. Wow. Until a bizarre accident put them back in the spotlight in 1998. Now, around 2:30 PM on September 7th, 25-year-old Hector Mendoza, his wife of 2 months, and his brother-in-law rode the Top Gun roller coaster, now called Flight Deck. Okay. During this experience, Hector's baseball cap was blown off his head and landed somewhere on the ground below. After getting off the ride, the three decided to retrieve the hat. So they either climbed or otherwise got past the security fence around the perimeter of the ride, either ignoring or possibly not understanding the sign ordering visitors to stay out. Okay. The area would have been dangerous regardless of the model of the ride, but as an inverted roller coaster, where passengers hang from the rail in the seats, the danger was much greater here. Yeah. It didn't take long for Hector to find his hat, but just as he went to pick it up, the coaster came around the corner, and Hector was struck in the head by the dangling foot of a passenger.

The force of the blow killed Hector, and it also broke the passenger's leg.

Oh my God. Yeah. Holy shit.

The day after the incident, park inspectors tested the ride and determined that Top Gun, quote, in no way malfunctioned or experienced any other problems. A spokesperson, Tim Chenod, told reporters, this was a case of somebody that had entered an area off limits to park guests. We aren't entirely sure how Mr. Mendoza got into the area, but he went through a clearly marked gate and over a 6-foot locked fence marked with bright red warning signs. That's according to them. Sure. Now, although the situation seems straightforward, Hector's family described things differently. A lawyer speaking on behalf of the family said, quote, the gate in the fence was either open or wide enough to go through very easily. There was no climbing or jumping on the fence. Okay. The discrepancy started a public dispute between the family and the Great and Great America. In response to their claims, Shanad gave another public statement explaining, two of our employees were the first to respond to the incident, and the first thing they had to do to get to the victim was unlock the gate. In fact, the investigation by Santa Clara Police backed up his version of events. Sergeant Anton Marek said the first maintenance person tried to unlock the gate but didn't have the right key.

They had to wait for the second maintenance person to arrive. Okay, what's bizarre— because I'm sure you're like, where's the bizarre part about this?

This is tragic, it's very sad.

A week after the accident, it was reported that the man everyone had identified as Hector Mendoza Mendoza was not who he seemed to be. The identification had been made based on interviews with the family and the man's documents found in his wallet. However, they turned out to be fraudulent, and the real Hector Mendoza was alive and living in Mexico. What? The man who died at Great America was eventually identified through fingerprints as Suárez Robles. What? Following the identification, his body was released to his family, family who returned to bury him. What? Isn't that just—

what? So like the family fighting and saying like, no, like the gate was open.

I don't know what became of that.

Was a man who's— who was alive?

I suppose so.

What?

Yeah, isn't that just bizarre?

Yeah, but it's like, I didn't know where you were going with that.

Yeah, and I feel bad for the, the woman who's leg hit this person as well. Like, obviously I feel horrible about the person who died. Yeah, duh, Suarez. But I feel like, uh, the person whose foot— leg hit his head and he died. Yeah, that's— and then her leg broke in the process. So it's like, to have to deal with all of that, the emotional and physical toll of all of that, right? The whole thing is just bizarre and sad. You're like, holy shit, that's so— and so avoidable. You're like, oh, I wish somebody had stopped them.

Yeah, I know, that's the thing.

Like, oh, it's just a really wild one. Yeah, that's wild for sure. Now, the operators of Great America had been fortunate to experience a very large gap between the deaths of Kyle Foss and of Suarez Robles. The next tragedy, though, occurred less than a year later. Oh no. And this time it wasn't the result of any kind of, like, reckless behavior. Okay. On the afternoon of August 22nd, 1999, 12-year-old Joshua Smurfit and his family were winding down their visit to Great America when they decided to ride Drop Zone. It's a free fall, like, tower ride where riders are taken to the top of a 224-foot tower and then dropped.

Those are like some of my favorite rides.

Could not pay me.

I love those rides.

After settling into the 4-seat coach, the ride attendant checked the steel safety harness on each rider and confirmed they were all locked in place. Then the car began its ascent to the top of the tower. When the car reached the 207-foot mark, it began its first big drop, at which point Joshua slipped out of the seat and fell 20 stories to the ground below.

Oh my God.

As his family watched in horror from the waiting area. According to spokesperson Tim Shenod, the harness was checked and locked before the coach started. We simply don't know what happened.

That's not settling.

That said, he did acknowledge that Joshua was among the last of the riders that afternoon as the ride was being taken out of commission for what they referred to as an unrelated maintenance problem, uh, with one of the other cars. Okay. He said there is absolutely no way it could have contributed to the accident. Okay. During a months-long investigation into the incident, it was determined that the ride had not malfunctioned during the ascent or descent., and they determined there was no problem with the safety harness itself.

But then how did he fall out of the fucking ride?

Unfortunately, for all the things the investigation ruled out, experts were unable to identify how Joshua had managed to fall out of that safety bar. Still, the investigation did raise serious concerns about potential violations that could have contributed to his death. Among other things, the 900-page incident report describes, quote, poor training procedures and other potential problems at the park. One of those problems was that the ride attendant working the drop zone that day was 14 years old.

Oh my God, what?

Yes. And the other attendant who checked the safety harness was 16. No, like, I'm sorry, I'm not putting my life on the hands of a 16 and 14-year-old. And obviously like people riding have no idea.

No, how are you supposed to know? You're not going to be like, excuse me, how old are you? Holy shit. That is, that would send me. I'd be like, and we're not riding that ride. Like if I knew.

The safety harness was not found to be malfunctioning, but was it secured properly?

We don't know. Is the question.

Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh, and he's 12 years old. 12 years old.

And his family watched that. Yeah. These are, are so awful.

In response to her son's death, Joshua's mother Tammy said she had no plans to sue the park, nor did she believe that they were solely responsible. She later said All I can say is treasure every moment with your child because you never know when you might lose him. Oh, Joshua's father did not rule out a civil suit. He said, I'd like to see this report before I speak about it. But he— the lawyer on behalf of Terry, the father, said, but I'll say this: if the child were strapped in properly, the accident wouldn't have taken place. It's a matter of gravity, right? Ultimately, they did choose not to sue. Great America. Big people. Big people. Now, the relatively limited number of accidents and deaths at parks like Disneyland and Great America is due in large part to, like, really high safety standards. Yeah, of course. But in the history of amusement parks and theme parks, there's one name that is so notorious for low standards that the risk of injury associated with the park actually became part of its allure during its 20 years in operation. I've never heard of this.

Tell me.

This is insane.

What was it called?

Oh, I'm going to tell you. Okay. In 1976, New Jersey businessman Eugene Mulvihill was looking for a way to make money during the off-season when his Vernon Township, New Jersey ski resort, Vernon Valley, was closed. Inspired by the success of parks like Disney and Six Flags, he found a new company called Great American Recreation. And in May 1978, he opened Action Park in Vernon.

I get so many TikToks about Action Park.

Really? Yes. Now Mulvihill's son, Andy Mulvihill, said before he opened Action Park, he had no experience of any kind running an amusement park. He said, in contrast to Disney's carefully conceived fantasy lands, my father pieced together a series of ambitious and often ill-advised attractions on the side of a ski mountain in rural New Jersey. That he had come to own virtually by accident. That's quite a—

That's a hefty statement.

Yeah. At first, the park amounted to little more than a few go-kart tracks and miniature racing rides, but he quickly expanded to include water rides, boat rides, and musical shows like those at larger parks, but on like a smaller budget. In almost no time at all, Action Park grew from a few hundred visitors in its first season to millions in the year or two that followed. Andy said, we went from selling off-brand soda and taking out local newspaper ads to getting a Pepsi sponsorship and seeing our logo on McDonald's tray liners. Wow. The key to Action Park's notoriety was in Mulvihill's own theories about American society in the late 20th century. Andy said, my father seized upon the idea that we were all tired of being coddled, of society dictating our behaviors and lecturing us on our vices. In order to reject that supposed coddling, Eugene embraced risk as part of his brand, which is— this is a nightmare to me.

Yeah, like, what?

He wasn't embracing his risk. He was embracing other people's risk.

Is that even allowed when you own an amusement park?

Well, rather than strap riders into the boat on a wave pool, visitors would simply have to cling to the raft lest they be thrown from the boat. Likewise, riders on an Alpine slide-style ride weren't confined to a track. They could control the speed of their car and its brakes. Wow. Of course, with a guiding principle based on increased risk rather than safety and family fun, it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. Yup. Andy said, it was not long before our visitors reworked our advertising to better reflect their experience. That new informal slogan? Action Park, where you're the center of the accident.

Oh my God.

The first serious accident came in 1980, just 2 years into the park's operation. In July, 19-year-old George Larson was riding the Alpine Sled ride at the park when about halfway down the slide, he was thrown from the car he was riding in, rolled down an embankment to landing 25 feet away and smashing his head on a rock in the ground.

Oh my God.

When emergency crews arrived a short time later, Larson was unconscious, and soon he lapsed into a coma. He died a few days later on July 16th. That's an awful way. George Larson's family and friends contend that the lax safety protocols at the park were entirely responsible for George's death, but Mulvihill and Action Park spokespeople saw it a different way. Spokesperson Wesley Smith told reporters, this is an action park where people are doing physical things to themselves. Their situation is not totally in our control. But Smith went a step further in denying any responsibility, saying the ride didn't injure Larson. It was a rock 25 feet away that hurt him. That same thing could have happened to someone falling off a bicycle.

How did they get insurance for this?

She smiles. Now, despite Smith's assertion that George Larson knew the risks of the ride and had in fact ignored several safety warnings, Others at the park were far less convinced it was operator error. Yeah. In an investigation into the accident by the Office of Workplace and Compliance at the State Department of Labor, investigators spoke to several park employees who had previously voiced concerns about public safety at the park. And on that slide specifically, one of the summer attendants said, "We knew something would happen. It could have been any of us." Oh my God. According to the report, there was no controls over the cart's speed on the concrete track. Park, and any number of factors, including whether the concrete was wet, could affect how the car performed, none of which was taken into consideration by the park. The park was cited for 7 violations of safety standards, including having no access road for emergency vehicles to arrive.

You got to be fucking kidding me.

But ultimately, George's death was ruled an accident. Wow. Now, in the weeks and months that followed Larson's death, reports of injuries began to pile Andy Mulvihill, remember Eugene's son, said they careened down towering water slides that spit them into shower pools at such velocity that sometimes overshot and landed them in the dirt, laughing or bleeding, sometimes both. They often lost their grip on swinging ropes and plunged into the freezing mountain. They emerged from lakes stinking of spilled diesel fuel from the overworked motorboats.

This is a nightmare.

Repeat visitors stuffed their pockets with Band-Aids and sported scabs and scars along their arms and legs. And yet none of those injuries seem to keep people from attending the park.

This feels like, like an episode of Jackass. Yeah.

Like, truly. On the contrary, the rumors of heightened risk seem to be one of the reasons people were so enthusiastic to come in the first place. Mm-hmm. Then in the summer of 1982, 2 years after George Larson's death, it happened again. In late July, 15-year-old George Lopez drowned in one of the wave pools. That same week, two men filed civil suits against the park alleging serious injuries suffered on a waterslide 2 years earlier. Then in August, 27-year-old Nathan Langenthal collapsed while riding the whitewater kayak experience. Langenthal was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead when he arrived. In a statement to the press, Action Park spokesperson Diane Beauchamp said, there are reports of a possible electric shock. But no evidence of electrical malfunction has been found at the ride yet. Hello? Despite the park's repeated denials that Langenthal's death was due to their negligence, the Orange County, New Jersey coroner determined that Nathan's cause of death was, quote, heart failure by electrocution. What the fuck? Still, Action Park refused to acknowledge reality, saying they tested all 11 fans that produced the waves and everything was in perfect working order.

Something has to be wrong.

Yeah. Operations manager Adam Ringler told a reporter, at this point, there's absolutely no malfunction. We would say it's not electrocution at this point, but like there's nothing wrong with the ride. But the coroner literally said that's the cause of death.

You can't argue with the coroner.

Like you're an operations manager at a kooky, kooky amusement park with no safety standards and you're telling the coroner you are wrong.

It's like in Widow's Bay, the doctor that's always just like, where did you go to medical school? I love that guy.

Are you sure it's not an animal wound? Does it look like it could be an animal wound? No, not to me. I love that. So funny. Watch Widow's Bay, everybody.

Oh, you got to. I watched it all in one day.

So good. So, yeah. In the state's investigation of the ride, however, investigators discovered a short circuit in one of the fans. Imagine that. Action Park said no problems.

Yeah, of course not.

Although they could not definitively say that was what caused the death, they acknowledged it was likely what caused the electrocution. I would think. In response to the coroner's report, Eugene Mulvihill said there was nothing wrong with the ride and he had no marks on him. He probably had some kind of stroke or something.

Again, guys, where did you go to medical school?

Literal coroner whose job is to determine cause of death by actually looking inside of his body said the cause of death was heart failure by electrocution.

Eugene said, nah, it's a stroke.

Do you understand how different heart failure and a stroke are?

Yes, those are two different parts of the body, babe. They sure are.

Now, despite the near-constant injuries to parkgoers, the popularity of Action Park continued to grow. Day after day in the park's wave pool, swimmers were pummeled by waves that were stronger than they should have been for an amusement park. Wow. Andy Mulvihill said, when the waves hit, their force caught our guests unprepared. Powered by the insulation-sucking fans, the waves struck with the same violent menace originally meant to create a mini— a series of mini shipwrecks. Trex.

What?

Yeah.

The fuck?

In fact, if there was any attraction more notorious for causing injuries at the park, it was the water slides in the wave pool. In August 1984, 20-year-old Donald DePass drowned when he was, quote, overcome by the water after rocketing from a 10-foot-high water slide into the pool. Holy shit. In response to the death, our guy Adam Ringler there said, told reporters it was, quote, a simple drowning. And the lifeguards were adequately trained. Okay. However, several park-goers were less convinced, including one man who told a reporter the lifeguards on duty, quote, definitely need a little more help.

That's one thing that you don't want your lifeguard to need, is help. Is more help.

Yeah. A few years later, in the summer of 1987, another death occurred when 18—

stay open for so long.

Well, this was when 18-year-old Gregory Grandchamps drowned in wave pool. As always, the park went on the defensive. Marketing director Vernon Merritt said there was no indication that the wave had anything to do with it.

But he drowned.

There's actually like a pretty big indication of that.

So yeah.

When you're drowning in a wave pool. Yeah. He also called the death a, quote, basic drowning. Yeah. Although they were not held liable for the death during their investigation, the prosecutor's discovered that after being pulled from the pool, lifeguards didn't attempt any life-saving actions like CPR.

Aren't they literally trained to do that?

That's part of their job. Yeah. When asked about that fact, Merritt simply said, quote, we're not quite sure he was not resuscitated. Okay. I'd ask, is everyone okay there? But I know the answer is absolutely not.

To answer, IDK.

We're not real sure why they didn't try to save his life.

Life.

Why the lifeguards did not attempt to resuscitate his life? Yeah, shit. Despite the park's wild popularity, by the late 1980s, state and local officials had grown kind of tired of the constant— the constant injuries and the constant deaths related to activities at Action Park. Andy Mulvihill said the state of New Jersey had never seen anything like it and had little idea how to control My father loomed large in the small town of Vernon, keeping hundreds of people employed and using his political savvy, as well as his sometimes questionable legal means, to make sure his passion project remained afloat.

I love this kid just reading his father's self.

Action Park remained open for 20 years despite injuries being a near hourly occurrence. His son said.

20 years this place was open?

Finally, in 1996, the year Ashkel came screaming down the world. I said shut it down.

Shut it down.

I said, shut it down, everybody.

I said, I like a safe amusement park.

Action Park was forced to close, period. Not as a result of accident or death, but because the company's creditors forced them into bankruptcy when they learned that they were not carrying any liability insurance.

So that's why you smiled at me when I asked that. I was sitting here being like, how the fuck would any insurance company sign on to rep this place? Exactly.

In the years since the park's closure, more information has come to light that explained at least in part some of the problems experienced at Action Park in the 20 years. In addition to limited testing of new rides, the development of those rides was often undertaken by complete non-experts. Oh, good. And they were almost always built on very small shoestring budgets where corners were constantly being cut. Fantastic. There was also a serious problem with training. Many, if not most, of the park's employees were just local teenagers who received completely inadequate training on the operations of the rides, safety protocols, life-saving techniques. But more than anything else, it was likely the libertine attitude of the park itself that contributed to the accidents. With a park built on a, quote, enter at your own risk ideology, patrons and employees were almost encouraged to behave recklessly. Yeah. Without regard for their own safety much less the safety of anyone around them. Mm-hmm. Andy Mulvihill said, that approach made us national news. The New York Times called our father's creation the area's most distinctive expression of the amusement park in our age. They also called it a human zoo. Both of things were true.

That's what his son said.

A human zoo?

Which it kind of is.

I mean, that's like—

Like you're seeing people at their most base behavior.

Yeah.

Like, truly.

Yeah.

In reflecting on his father's creation and its legacy of risk and chaos, Andy Mulvihill summed up Action Park like this: It was a place that admitted anyone—misfits to clergymen, rich and poor, young and old—and told them it was theirs to do with as they pleased. Never again would they have such freedom in their lives. But the price for its success was sometimes paid by visitors, not all of whom came out alive. Wow.

And now like America kind of feels like Action Park right now.

It absolutely does. Yeah, that's a— absolutely. We are. We are Action Park right now.

And we got to get— because that quote, I was just like, whoa. He was like, never again in their lives.

I was like, ah, they made it this far.

They'll see it again. Yeah. Life kind of feels like a human zoo.

That, that is Amusement Parks Part 2, period. Uh, wowza. Yeah, so those are some crazy—

well, I'm happy that I've never gone on any of those rides.

Nope. Um, and you don't actually want to go to Action Park?

No, I wouldn't. I would not be— I would not be trying to go to Action Park. I don't— I like safety precautions. I like a thrill of safety. I like a thrill with a safety precaution in place, you know.

So that's what— I don't love a thrill, but I love safety precautions.

But you like a haunted house, scary movie thrill. Yeah. Yeah.

A thrill that does not cause me bodily harm. Yes, yes, yes. Wow.

All right.

Well, that was a fun episode. Pretty intense.

Do I have to get us a fun fact?

Yeah. I guess I do. Get a goddamn fun fact. All right.

Cows have regional accents and they form tight friendships and get depressed if they're separated.

So cows over here are just being like, "Moo, kid." Moo, bitch, get out the way.

And then in England they're like, "Moo, bitch." Moo, you little twat. Moo. Yeah.

I love that. I'm obsessed with it.

Funny, because this all just came full circle. I'd like to pet a Highland cow. There you go. I cannot do a Scottish accent, though I am quite Scottish. Yeah. I've never been able to.

Never been able to. I really only do British and Southern. It's a hard one to do.

I got 3 accents and that's it. That's it. All right. We love you. We hope you keep listening.

And we hope you keep it weird.

But not so weird that you separate cows and it makes them sad. Yeah. And then they have to moo in their different languages.

Or have really no safety protocols at a park you open.

Yeah. Open a safe park, if anything.

Yeah. Or just don't open one. We have enough. She doesn't want your— we have enough, it's fine.