Finally made it to Magic Springs! I had a great time with my family, but the park itself was disappointing. I'd still recommend going for two specific rides, because overall we enjoyed ourselves, but I probably won't do so until it falls under new management. Much of the experience was frustrating.

Why three stars, instead of five? Let's talk about the rides, the park itself, and the entertainment.

As far as the rides go, we decided to hit the roller coasters first. We got there early, which meant there was very little wait. This is a great thing, but you might not have the same experience. The park operates only one train on each of the coasters, even the ones designed to have two. Many of the major thrill rides were closed. This includes the Hawk, the log flume, the sky coaster, and the best wooden coaster they had to offer, the Arkansas Twister. (This last closure was understandable, as a park employee told us it was recently struck by lightening.)

Of the available coasters, Big Bad John won't provide much of a thrill, but is a good ride for those who aren't thrill seekers. My mom loved it and rode it twice, which along with Plummet Summit might have made up for some of the closures. So while this ride and the nearby Diamond Mine Coaster won't impress coaster aficionados, they provide a good introductory experience.

So what about the adrenaline junkies? There were exactly two rides that impressed me. The others, that might have, remember, were closed. Thankfully X Coaster was there to redeem Magic Springs. It made the entire experience worth it. Had they lacked that ride, I would have rated the park even lower. But I've been wanting to experience the XT-150, and in America this is the only place to do so. The ride lived up to the hype. It was fast, tall, and felt great. I actually tensed up. The other star attraction is The Gauntlet. This is an inverted coaster. It has a good feel overall and five inversions.

The attractions in the water park didn't fair much better. Several of the water attractions were closed (slides not functional) or unusable because they were apparently reserved for private use. One attraction had all the water drained. The available pools were overcrowded, and there were not enough inner tubes. We waited more than an hour to get a tube, before we gave up trying any of the tube slides. For the hour we waited by the tube slides, they were sending people down the tube slides at a rate of about one person every five minutes. That's simply not an acceptable through rate for any water slide operator.

My son and I did ride some of the body slides, because they didn't require a tube but were still fun. But during that time, I personally witnessed, multiple guests throw objects off the tower or spit off it with no repercussions. Apparently security is nonexistent. At least one water attraction had all the water drained. The same was true for the surfing attraction. It was closed.

This problem with nonfunctioning fixtures at the park wasn't limited to rides. The vast majority of the vendors were closed. Which means while the park had an adequate number of food stands and gift shops, most were not open. A hundred degree day and the ice cream and snow cone stands are closed? Really? As for regular entertainment, there was none. Both theatres were closed. But Sevendust rocked the amphitheater. That was a great venue!

As for the layout of the park, it's bad. Navigating the water park is not intuitive. It isn't easy to get from one ride to another. Magic Springs was obviously a much smaller park that grew into a bigger one without careful planning. As a result some rides are awkwardly placed behind others.

Employees seemed bored and careless. In one instance I witnessed a solo ride operator load and unload a roller coaster without removing the safety key. Afterwards, he realized it and said oops! Thankfully, no one hit the start button or got hurt.

After visiting Nashville Shores, also operated by Premier Parks, I expected much better. I did want to say that despite my criticism, we did have fun.