An Extremely Late First-Time Magic Springs TR

By reading the title, you might could guess how old this will be, but, believe it or not, this comes straight from June 9. The family was taking one of those free time shares vacations up in Arkansas, so why not hit some coasters while we're at it?

The drive to Magic Springs was easy to get to; signs were posted very well directing us to the park. We arrived at this gem set in those beautiful green "mountains," and immediately noticed a quite empty parking lot.

For four of us, the tab was just above $100, so it wasn't too bad. The entance was nice and clean, with a bright sign and a fountain. It was quite warm out, so we knew we'd be heading to Crystal Falls, the waterpark.

Here's a basic order of rides ridden:

ARKANSAS TWISTER- wood out-and-back

This coaster looked very enticing from the pictures I'd seen, so I was excited to ride this woodsy out-and-back. We walked straight into the station and onto the train, as there was absolutely NO line. The ride itself looked great, but I really wanted it to be so much better than it actually was. There was no air anywhere on the train, but there's an EXTREMELY rough hill towards the end, but it was all good fun. Not top 25 material, but still pretty good.

TWIST & SHOUT- wild mouse

I can't help but compare every mouse I've ridden to Wild Chipmunk at Lakeside in Denver, and this one didn't live up to my expectations. An okay ride.

BIG BAD JOHN- mine train

This was the biggest letdown of the day. This new-for-2002 relocated mine train (Opryland?) was built into a specially carved ravine, and featured three lift hills and a ride-ending underground tunnel. However, the whole ride ended up being extremely boring, unlike every other mine train I've ridden. Big YAWN.

The park also had two Zamperla rides, a Hawk and something else, which both had VERY uncomfortable restraints. I also rode the very short S&S tower, but it provided some great air. The log ride was great (I loved the ivy tunnel), and I bumped bm head on the wet/dry slide, giving me an uncomfortable headache for an hour or so.

Crystal Falls had a great slide complex, and the wave pool lasted very long. However, I've NEVER seen such strict rules on a lazy river! You must be in a tube at all times, you can't go without a tube, and it's only one person per tube. I thought you could do pretty much what you want.

Overall-

GUEST SERVICE- C+

RIDES- C+

THEMING/LANDSCAPING- B

It was a good park, nice to visit, but there just wasn't much to it. Unless they add some superstar attraction, I won't be visiting again any time soon.

(Edit: Grammatical Errors)

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*** This post was edited by Valpengeist on 8/31/2002. ***