Action Park was a cultural touchstone for many Generation X-ers who grew up in North and Central Jersey, as well as nearby locales in New York and Connecticut. A popular list of "You Know You're from New Jersey When ..." that circulates in email begins with, "You've been seriously injured at Action Park."[65]
Some even credit the park for making them learn some difficult lessons. In 2000, one Matthew Callan recalled Action Park thus: “ Action Park made adults of a generation of Tri-State Area kids who strolled through its blood-stained gates, by teaching us the truth about life: it is not safe, you will get hurt a lot, and you'll ride all the way home burnt beyond belief.[60] ”
Chris Gethard, a writer for Weird NJ and the associated book series, concurs: “ Action Park was a true rite of passage for any New Jerseyan of my generation. When I get to talking about it with other Jerseyans, we share stories as if we are veterans who served in combat together. I suspect that many of us may have come closest to death on some of those rides up in Vernon Valley. I consider it a true shame that future generations will never know the terror of proving their grit at New Jersey's most dangerous amusement park.[43]
On August 1, 1993, MTV's Headbanger's Ball taped an episode at the park. The host, Riki Rachtman, interviewed and went on the rides with the band Alice In Chains. Action Park was the topic of the first episode of the Relay FM podcast Ungeniused in June 2016, which explores the legacy of the park, how unsafe it was, and why people continued to visit it. The original version of the park's notoriety for its unsafe reputation inspired a film by Jackass star Johnny Knoxville; filming started in March 2017 and wrapped in June 2017.[66][67][68] The film will be released under the title Action Point by Paramount Pictures on June 1, 2018.[69]