Behind the Scenes of NewJerseyCoasters' Clementon Park Documentary

Get ready to reel in excitement as we dive into an interview with Jason, the creator of NewJerseyCoasters, a media company that produces marketing materials for amusement parks. Jason recently released a documentary about Clementon Park, a historic amusement park in New Jersey that was facing closure. In the interview, Jason discusses the challenges he faced during the production of the documentary, what he learned about Clementon Park, and some interesting tidbits about the park’s history. He also hints at a possible connection between his documentary and the new owners of the park. If you’re a fan of amusement parks or documentaries, this interview is a must-read!

C101: For our readers who might still not know or who missed our first interview, who are you? Tell us a little about yourself and what you’ve been up to lately?

I’m Jason, creator of the pages known as NewJerseyCoasters. I am of course from New Jersey and am a huge fan of coasters… but also a huge Disney fan. I got over my fear of coasters back in 2017 after being told I needed to suck it up or I wouldn’t be brought back to Great Adventure for the rest of the year. Me, loving Holiday in the Park, gave in. April 1st 2017, I got my 3rd, 4th, and 5th credit ever. Then a week later I rode Nitro. Now I currently have 219 credits- not too many but not a small number.

What have I been up to lately? Well I run a media company that shoots marketing materials for amusement parks. My content has been on display at IAAPA and I have worked with companies like Cedar Fair and SeaWorld.

Photo courtesy NewJerseyCoasters

C101: What did you learn from the Storybook Land documentary that you applied to Clementon Park: A Dying Breed?

The Storybook Land documentary was the first major thing I ever did. Most of it was filmed on an iPhone and edited on iMovie. It has its issues but I was only 14. So with this film I wanted it to be at least double the length, and for me to have some idea of what I was trying to shoot. Storybook Land was only made in 4 months. It shows, this project took much longer.

C101: Why did you decide to make a documentary about Clementon Park?

I had visited the park in late 2019. I was there the day Jersey Devil Coaster was announced for my home park. I was given a behind the scenes tour of Hellcat from their marketing team and was making plans to work with them the next year- and then the closure happened. It was very abrupt, and sad. The park had been operating for well over one hundred years by this time. I decided to head out and speak to the GM who I knew at the property. The original idea for the documentary was to showcase the history to potential buyers to help him out. I throughout the early research process reached out on his behalf to hundreds of people who I thought would be interested in the property. I just wanted to help. Not a single person was interested. Things took a turn for the worst when the property was locked up and COVID happened. I was unable to do interviews, unable to move forward with the project and that plus delays with the new owners is the reason the project released two years late.

Photo courtesy NewJerseyCoasters

C101: What was the creation process like and how did it differ from your previous projects?

This whole project was very overwhelming. I filmed with PTC, I tracked down the original designer for Hellcat who is uncredited on RCDB, I tracked down people from Premier Parks and even the old operators of Adrenaline Family Entertainment. Everyone had the same story, nothing of interest , no real background on the history.

I knew there had to be something, so I waited until 2021 when I was allowed access into the historical society of Clementon. I spent 5 hours in their archives and most of the research came from that day. Overall, this project’s research was insane. With over 40 hours being dedicated to this, while Storybook land took about 5 overall.

C101: Were there any challenges in the production of the documentary?

Oh, there were major challenges involved in this production. COVID was the first one. The pandemic shut down most parks, and of course meant I couldn’t get access to my research or interviews for the documentary to be even filmed. That is one of the setbacks. Then you have the limbo period before the auction where we didn’t know what was happening. I wasn’t gonna put something out that would become outdated very quickly, and then I tried for a year to interview Gene Staples but sadly it never happened. I gave up on that and decided to just finish the thing.

C101: What did you learn about Clementon that you didn’t know before?

Well, I didn’t know hardly anything about Clementon before this project. I knew it was historic and had an ok wooden coaster. I learned a ton about the park, how it influenced south Jersey in ways most don’t realize. If you want to learn more, of course watching the documentary is the best option.

Photo courtesy NewJerseyCoasters

C101: Any other interesting tidbits you want to share?

Well, there is lots.. for time sakes I’ll just mention the main ones. Clementon Park’s Jack Rabbit, the original PTC, if still running would be in the top 10 oldest rollercoasters in the world. The reason it closed was lack of time and money. That is the main reason a lot was lost to time on that property. Heck, the ballroom is somewhat still there, but the roof was lowered and is unusable. What’s left is storage now.

The other major thing was how I think I may have influenced Gene to purchase the park… now this is going out on a limb but his son, started following my account after they bought Indiana Beach. When I first dropped my first trailer I got comments from him asking about the property and stating it wouldn’t be closed for long. Once the auction came around a year later- there they were. Buying the park. His son even has a canvas photo of Hellcat that I took. So I feel a sort of connection to the property that in a way, I helped save it by sheer luck.

C101: So, I have to ask, what documentary is next? Anything planned?

My next documentary is actually in early development right now and if all goes well will release THIS YEAR! Stay tuned for that..

C101: We always end with: what’s your current favorite roller coaster?

Favorite Rollercoaster? I’m basic. It used to be Phantom’s Revenge but last year I got on Iron Gwazi so that is currently my #1.

Thanks again to Jason for taking the time to share his experiences in making the documentary about Clementon Park with Coaster101. The documentary started as a way to showcase the park’s history, but it took on a life of its own, with Jason conducting extensive research, tracking down designers and operators, and spending time in the historical society’s archives. The project was delayed due to COVID and other setbacks, but Jason persisted and released the documentary two years later. Throughout the interview, Jason shared interesting tidbits about the park, such as how it influenced South Jersey and how the original Jack Rabbit would have been in the top 10 oldest roller coasters in the world if still running. Overall, the interview provided an insightful look into the documentary creation process and the history of Clementon Park. Can’t wait to see what you work on next!

Have you been to Clementon Park? If so, let us know about your experience in the comments below!

Tags: documentary interview Interviews