Magic Springs — Attraction in Hot Springs

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...

I've been going for many years now, have been employed there, know a lot of staff and share the love whenever present. Tonight, I went to see my favorite Christian artist. I wanted to get away from the light show and the over enthusiastic material nature of the show but still listen and share my gift that Jesus gave me as they left the venue. I prayed for people and was showered with their love as well for sharing my gift. I have been juggling at magic springs for 4 years with no trouble. Tonight, i was threatened and was the recipient of a security guard bad mouthing Christians to my face as I left. One security guard told me I couldn't stay because I was only allowed to leave or go back in the concert and still juggle. This being said, juggling wasn't the issue. It was me standing on the side of the walkway and telling people Jesus loves them. The man named Ace was extremely condescending and tried to get me upset by sliding in aggressive comments about Christians. Is this how we treat our paying guests? I admit i was asked to go back to the venue or leave, and I refused because I wanted to be away from the crowds, lights and commercially seduced atmosphere. I told him that I paid in full to listen to the music, and I was already turning down tips from people. I told him it was my constitutional right to have freedom of expression, and he told me I have no rights in private property. I am appalled by the behavior, actions, threats, and nasty words I was presented with this evening. I tried to peacefully speak my side and was threatened to be arrested.... I never once said anything bad about any of them. Nor did I spread hate. I spoke my rights, quoted the Bible, and chose to leave after being threatened with incarceration. The last thing he said to me was how Christians are really showing us who they are the past few concerts... like... what did I do? Not want to leave an event i paid for and have paid for for years?????? Never did i do anything but quote the constitution of the United States and the Bible while letting them know I had every right to be there. Now, I feel uncomfortable ever coming back because of the actions taken today. My wife is in Africa installing water purification systems for orphans as I write this. Magic springs has responded. They now claim it was my juggling and unsolicited words towards guests (me spreading the love of Christ and denying tips at a Christian concert). Like I have stated... i have been juggling for years at the concerts. This one was packed, so I left to juggle on the side of the walkway in between the venue and the exit. They responded with insensitive and harsh words, in turn directly showing their hate once again. Don't be fooled folks, they only want your money. They hire Christian artists so they can collect Chriatian money. They set up a glow booth at a Christian event to temp your children... we all know that is the devil at work. They clearly have stated they want no evangelicals or prayer on the property in their response to me, as well as not addressing Ace openingly bad mouthing Christians for the entire escorted walk out of the park. Its their private property to do what they will. I can email the person who wrote the insensitive response, but will get nowhere. I know I did nothing wrong. I know I only stood up for my rights as a US citizen and paying customer for years. Last night, I was threatened, spoken down to, and harassed by staff. That's my side, and yes, Magic Springs, my side does matter. Thanks for reading folks. Skip the Christian concerts and go to church where they actually love you and do great things with your donations 🙏🏻❤️✊️☝️God is good. Cooperations are...

A quick summary of my time employed at this institution for anyone interested as it is my right to publish and state my truth. They offer no 15 minute breaks out of the sun, pay $11/hr, dont fix rides in a timely manner, and will work someone from 8 am until after the concert...

Any “magic” this place had is gone. This place is a dump. It might as well be Action Park in New Jersey because you are taking your life into your own hands. I have never seen such poor mismanagement of a park ever and I am 50 years old. Upon entering the park, even my child knew something was up with all the flowers being dead. I paid $200 to enter this garbage dump and when I get inside, half the rides are either broken or not working. I go to the log flume and I am there for an hour and 10 minutes because it broke down twice while I was waiting in line. I walked past “The Hawk” and you could hear the squeaks on this ride that sounded like all the parts were rusted. I took my child over to the lazy river and even though there’s water in it, it’s roped off. I asked the lifeguard why and she told me it’s because they were understaffed. So, I had been there for over two hours and not been on one ride. I go back up to the front and asked to speak to a manager and get a refund and she tells me they don’t give refunds and that it’s posted outside the park. When I got there when the park opened, there was nothing posted. They posted a note someplace where nobody can see it after the park opened. You’d think when you buy your ticket for a park day, they would let you know on the front end the the rides aren’t working or they are understaffed. What did they do instead? They offered me a season pass that was on sale for $49. I told her I drove three hours to get there and she didn’t care at all. I asked her what she thought Dollywood or Disney or Universal would do? She said “we don’t run our parts like they do.” You’re damn right you don’t. You run it like you’re begging for a lawsuit or you wanna hurt little kids. Seriously, there are parts in this park that are broken with sharp jagged edges where you’re supposed to sit at the tables. Don’t believe me? Go look over where you rent inner tubes for $10 between the bathrooms. The bathrooms were dirty and torn up. My child even got stuck at the top of the waterslide because the lifeguard decides he’s going to go on break without a replacement so the lifeguard that’s up top just stands there and waits for him to come back. He’s not relieved or anything. Then he saunters back over like the arrogant punk he is and gives the signal for the kids to come down. The parents around me were fuming mad. All he did was walk around the kiddie pool where there are four other lifeguards. He just stood there and we asked him after 15 minutes if our kids could come down. He just nodded his head and didn’t even verbally respond to us. I didn’t see any signs of management walking through the park. What the hell has happened to this place? I’ll tell you. I went to get Dippin Dots and I mentioned to the employee that I’m glad something still worked (referring to the credit card machine) and he told me they’ve let the park deteriorate and it makes him sad because he used to come there as a child with his parents. They just don’t care. There are parts of the park that are marked off and there are parts of the park that have signs that say do not enter/under construction. I will never be back with my family and don’t think that Magic Springs has heard the last of me because they haven’t. Take your family elsewhere. If they want to go to waterpark they’re better off standing in the shower with the cold water running. With the way this place is operating, if they don’t do a major overhaul on their rides and customer service, this place will not be open in two...