The Future of Magic Springs

[shodowhater]

This might warrant splitting off into a new thread - but is there anything that can be done to right that ship? Perhaps a different operator could bring it around??
Edit - Thank you, O Great Zachary (or other admin) for the split

Magic Springs doesn't even have enough money to keep what they do have operating, throwing aireforce and all of it's problems in there would certainly sink the ship.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Yea there's no urgent doomsday situation surrounding this park but Premier's been making moves lately away from ownerships and re-evaluating properties so who knows.

Generally they're just not in a great area for a park and don't have a great market. They kind of suffered the Six Flags America growing pain of adding a bunch of thrill rides in the 2000's only for those to form a bit of an anchor with operational costs and their ability to keep them open. The park itself is in a holding pattern really, stuff gets removed without replacement and the wooden coaster is just staying closed forever because they don't have the money to maintain, demo, or replace it. As someone who hasn't been it doesn't strike me as a particularly nice place. The waterpark has a weird setup but probably does very well as all waterparks do in the south.

It's probably better off than Wild Waves is, given the climate and location. But they both suffer from similar issues of just being really tired parks with no money to really improve their trajectory.

 

[Justlarry]

There was an actual point where Magic Springs was a great park and constant short drive destination park.
Hot Springs, Arkansas was for about 100 years is a major tourist destination to the eastern Midwest, lower Ozarks, and western deep south. The mineral baths brought in people from all around the world. They come to soak in the natural hot water, get massages, and take home jugs and jugs of the water to drink.
My family and I used to go in the 80's and 90s and there was a ton to do ...
Theater shows on the main strip,
Great local restaurants.
The lakes were filled with timeshares and tons of boats, skiing, etc. and the horse track was packed and making $$.
There was a (and still is) a really crazy, terrible in a good way, wax museum from the brother, of a cousin, of a hairdresser, to an aunt, of Madam Tussaud. (The museum is built into an old casino run by Al Capone)
Other attractions like-
Educated animals zoos with rollerskating parrots, and raccoons that played basketball.
The Arkansas Alligator Farm, which is still there, had a baseball Babe Ruth hit from a nearby stadium and landed 575 feet into enclosure! (It was the first ever home run to clear 500+ feet ) They also had a turn of the century made FiJi mermaid gaff that was nifty.
Magic Springs itself was pretty jammin in the 90s. Lines were long, the park was paled in the summer. It is a seasonal park, only really open between Memorial Day and Labor Day full-time and a few weeks before and after.
For a hot minute in the early 90's, it (and Fiesta Texas) was the sister park to Libertyland, and most of the show's that were produced for LL would be reproduced over at Magic Springs.
(Libertyland's shows were very quality and won numerous IAPPA awards over the years)
I was in a show at Libertyland called Mr. Giggle's Jungle Adventure. After my season there, I was brought into help build the show the next two season for Magic Springs.
The big investments with the coasters and such felt very right the time.
The area has taking such a down turn in tourism in the past 2 decades sadly.