Magic Springs and Crystal Falls is a combination theme and water park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 50 miles southwest of Little Rock. The theme park side opened on July 22, 1978, as Magic Springs Family Fun Park, closed in the mid-1990s, and reopened on May 27, 2000, alongside the newly built Crystal Falls water park after Hot Springs voters approved bond financing to revive the property.
Today the park is owned by EPR Properties and operated by Premier Parks, LLC, running a single-admission combo of dry-side thrill rides and wet-side slides and pools. It’s billed as the only major combination amusement and water park in Arkansas, giving the state a one-stop option for coasters, flat rides, and a wave pool in the same visit.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Operator: Premier Parks, LLC (owned by EPR Properties)
- Opened: July 22, 1978 (reopened May 27, 2000 as Magic Springs and Crystal Falls)
- Operating Roller Coasters: 3 total: Big Bad John, Diamond Mine Run, and The Gauntlet
- Non-Operating Ride: X-Coaster, a rare Maurer Söhne SkyLoop, remains standing on-site but is not running and is not counted among the park’s operating coasters
- Signature Attraction: The Gauntlet, a Vekoma suspended looping coaster with 5 inversions
- Historic Attendance: Topped 400,000 visitors in 2004
- Operating Season: Roughly May through October
The Ride Experience
The park’s current headline coaster is The Gauntlet, a Vekoma suspended looping coaster that opened April 10, 2004, sending riders through five inversions and a 110-foot drop. Big Bad John adds family-friendly mine-train thrills: it’s a relocated Arrow Dynamics coaster originally built in 1971 as one of a pair of mine trains at Six Flags St. Louis, which later ran at Dollywood as Thunder Express before being rebuilt at Magic Springs in 2002. Diamond Mine Run rounds out the park’s three operating coasters as a smaller-scale ride for younger riders.
The X-Coaster, a Maurer Söhne SkyLoop that opened in 2006 as one of only two of its kind built worldwide, still stands on the property but is not operating and has not reopened to riders, so it is not part of the park’s current, active ride lineup. Elsewhere on the dry side, the Sky Shark skycoaster, the Brain Drain drop tower, and the Old No. 2 Logging Company log flume — one of the few rides still running from the park’s 1978 opening — keep the thrill lineup varied.
Crystal Falls Water Park
Crystal Falls opened in 2000 as the water park half of the property and is included with general park admission. It features a wave pool, a lazy river, mat racers, and a kids’ water play area alongside slides built for the Arkansas summer heat.
The park also hosts the Timberwood Amphitheater, a 5,000-seat concert venue that debuted in 2003 and has drawn touring acts to Hot Springs throughout the summer season, adding a live-music draw alongside the rides.
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Magic Springs and Crystal Falls FAQs
Is Magic Springs a water park or a theme park?
Both. Magic Springs is the dry-side theme park with roller coasters and flat rides, while Crystal Falls is the adjoining water park with slides and pools, and a single admission covers both.
What is the main roller coaster at Magic Springs?
The Gauntlet, a Vekoma suspended looping coaster with five inversions, is the park’s main operating thrill coaster, alongside Big Bad John and Diamond Mine Run. The park’s Maurer Söhne SkyLoop, X-Coaster, still stands on-site but is not operating and isn’t part of the current ride lineup.
When did Magic Springs and Crystal Falls open?
The theme park originally opened on July 22, 1978. It closed in the mid-1990s and reopened on May 27, 2000, with the newly built Crystal Falls water park added alongside it.
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Photo: Jeremy Thompson / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.