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The Magic Springs & Crystal Falls Discussion Thread


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I think they added an up charge sky coaster last year.

 

Yes, they added an up charge skycoaster last year. Aside from that I think X-Coaster was the last major ride added. Aside from the Flowrider, and some new slides in the water park.

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It almost seems pointless to continue operating the park. I hate to see park closures, but I also hate to see a park sit stagnant and not move forward. Someone should talk the Koch Family into buying Magic Springs lol!

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It almost seems pointless to continue operating the park. I hate to see park closures, but I also hate to see a park sit stagnant and not move forward. Someone should talk the Koch Family into buying Magic Springs lol!

 

You would be shocked at the amount of families that go to.Oaklawn during the meet, Arkansas Derby weekends regularly see 100,000. Magic Springs misses most all of that and the water park side kiss all of it. You have to think of it as a water park first with some dry side rides. They added a new water fortress not too long ago, I think it was four seasons ago. Hot Springs had enormous potential as a gambling resort but Arkansas would not legalize gambling when it mattered(1950s). Reading up on it's history shows it could have been Vegas but with trees. Hard to believe this is where the Yankees went for spring training back in the day(for the casinos)

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6221

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It almost seems pointless to continue operating the park. I hate to see park closures, but I also hate to see a park sit stagnant and not move forward. Someone should talk the Koch Family into buying Magic Springs lol!

 

New waterpark additions and a skycoaster results in stagnation? I think you're very confused on the subject. I'm no expert on Magic Springs because I've never been but it seems like it's the kind of park that doesn't really pull in a whole lot of excess money. Call me crazy. They're doing the best they can with the money they've got. Small regional parks don't have nearly the bankroll that large chains have.

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The new addition for 2015 was Crystal Lagoon Jr., which is an "in-between" kiddie pool at 3 1/2 ft. deep. It has two tiny slides, including one that mimics a bowl slide. It was very popular when we were there.

 

Most people don't go for the roller coasters; they go for the water park. That's where the new additions are going, and it seems like a solid strategy.

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It almost seems pointless to continue operating the park. I hate to see park closures, but I also hate to see a park sit stagnant and not move forward. Someone should talk the Koch Family into buying Magic Springs lol!

 

New waterpark additions and a skycoaster results in stagnation? I think you're very confused on the subject. I'm no expert on Magic Springs because I've never been but it seems like it's the kind of park that doesn't really pull in a whole lot of excess money. Call me crazy. They're doing the best they can with the money they've got. Small regional parks don't have nearly the bankroll that large chains have.

 

A) I'm not a believer in Dan Koch: General Manager and probably won't be until I see actual results.

 

B) Looking at the history of Magic Springs, the place has barely ever made money and is currently owned by CNL, for whom the title "shitshow" could be a conservative description of their present state. I don't know what specifically they need to do to make big money, or even if there is that kind of demand for a major park there. My sense is that no such demand exists and they should be concentrating on being a really solid mid size park operating really solid rides, of which, I don't know if they have any outside the Skyloop. They seem like competitors/complementary at best to SDC, which leads me to think that festivals and live performing acts would probably be wiser investments than a hyper coaster or another 10 million sunk into the water park.

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It almost seems pointless to continue operating the park. I hate to see park closures, but I also hate to see a park sit stagnant and not move forward. Someone should talk the Koch Family into buying Magic Springs lol!

 

New waterpark additions and a skycoaster results in stagnation? I think you're very confused on the subject. I'm no expert on Magic Springs because I've never been but it seems like it's the kind of park that doesn't really pull in a whole lot of excess money. Call me crazy. They're doing the best they can with the money they've got. Small regional parks don't have nearly the bankroll that large chains have.

 

A) I'm not a believer in Dan Koch: General Manager and probably won't be until I see actual results.

 

B) Looking at the history of Magic Springs, the place has barely ever made money and is currently owned by CNL, for whom the title "shitshow" could be a conservative description of their present state. I don't know what specifically they need to do to make big money, or even if there is that kind of demand for a major park there. My sense is that no such demand exists and they should be concentrating on being a really solid mid size park operating really solid rides, of which, I don't know if they have any outside the Skyloop. They seem like competitors/complementary at best to SDC, which leads me to think that festivals and live performing acts would probably be wiser investments than a hyper coaster or another 10 million sunk into the water park.

 

Magic Springs, really Hot Springs as a whole is not located adjacent to an interstate or connected to be an interstate quality road to an interstate even though the town has an interstate quality loop around it. That's drawback #1. Hot Springs has several quality lakes around it with loads of vacation rentals but you get a situation much like the Lake of the Ozarks region, where the lakes and boating are the major draw. Competeing with Ma Nature is Drawback #2. It'a a good hour away from Little Rock, meaning it's not right there. It's the main market for the draw to draw from but it isn't even in a suburban area. That's good and bad. Good in that it's not a babysitter during the week. Bad in that Sat is really the only day the place will get really busy and that effects operations from a staffing standpoint. It's hard to justify additional hires/staffing for just one day. So, that's Drawback 3. I already mentioned that it and Oaklawn miss each other for the most part. All that mean is that it will never be a major park, I don't think anyone is under the illusion that it could be anytime soon. It can be a solid regional park though in my opinion. It does have a solid for what it is summer concert series that targets all kinds of demographics. It's waterpark isn't bad and only a major addition away from being quite solid. The dryside needs love. It needs a better woody and mine train style coaster. This isn't the park for large scale B&Ms but some of of the smaller scale lsms and eurofighters. I think of all the great highly themed additions of smaller European parks and I think "what if" for this park. Take the the new kiddie area of Djurs, or the how Toverland has grown. It's got a great setting, quite a bit of room as well. It's in an area that really doesn't ever gets snowed in and should think about adding a lodge with a sizable indoor waterpark and market it as a winter weekend blues buster to the Dallas as well as Memphis markets plus that would tie into the Oaklawn season.

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Headed here for the first time. I should be getting to the park Saturday around 2. Will I have enough time to get all the coaster credits? How are the crowds in the fall? Thanks.

 

You'll have plenty of time... as long as none of the rides break down. The maintenance team seems like they couldn't care less about getting the rides fixed in a timely manor.

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  • 3 months later...
Does anyone plan on visiting the park this upcoming season? Maybe for a credit run?

 

Personally not me! Been there, done that, got the credits... and I have no desire to ever return to that park. . . But that's just me.

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Does anyone plan on visiting the park this upcoming season? Maybe for a credit run?

 

Personally not me! Been there, done that, got the credits... and I have no desire to ever return to that park. . . But that's just me.

That's how I feel too, and I even missed the Arkansas Twister since it was down for maintenance on the day I went. It's not a good theme park. It is a very good waterpark, though, and worth it for a waterpark fan who's not too far away.

 

It will definitely be years until I return, but I need the Gauntlet and X Coaster credits. Although, I'm still not sure how to feel about X Coaster. It looks very intimidating.

X-Coaster is the best ride they have, by far. It's more intimidating to look at than it is to ride. The vertical lift actually isn't too bad, considering that you can look up at the track the whole time. There is AMAZING hangtime at the top of that lift and on the slow barrel roll. The rest of the ride feels a lot like a Vertical Velocity type. I loved it; if you haven't ridden one of those, do so. Gauntlet, on the other hand, is possibly in the running with Ninja (SFStL) for the worst full-size coaster I've ever ridden.

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  • 3 weeks later...

According to Screamscape, Wild Thang, and the S&S shot tower are being removed from the park. Apparently Wild Thang is going to Frontier City and will be called Gunslinger. The S&S tower is apparently headed to another park as well.

 

I'm really surprised about the shot tower. Wasn't that one of the more popular rides at the park?

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. . . Apparently Wild Thang is going to Frontier City and will be called Gunslinger.

 

Frontier City has confirmed that Gunslinger will NOT be Wild Thang from Magic Springs, but instead a brand new Power Surge ride. This was discussed in the thread talking about Frontier Cites new ride for 2016.

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Screamscape actually changed that again today (for the third time) and is reporting that Wild Thang truly is leaving. It's sad to see that their reliability has gone down through the past few years. I remember when that site was pretty legit and the rumors were plausible, not fanboy garbage.

 

CNL will likely keep the Space Shot in the chain. They did the same thing a few years ago when they moved one to Darien Lake. It's still a very popular attraction, but capacity is a big issue. Waits are rarely lower than 45 minutes, making it the longest or one of the longest in the park.

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