Monday, June 22, 2015

Magic Springs and a Magical Birthday!




*FTC- My family enjoyed the day at Magic Springs and I was financially compensated for this post. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience. 



Magic Springs and a Magical Birthday!

As part of our normal family traditions the birthday boy gets to pick a place he would like to go for his birthday. Remembering his 6th birthday when we went to Magic Springs , our soon to be 12 year old decided he wanted to go back for his 12th birthday!

When we arrived at Magic Springs we got the ultimate in VIP experience, a cabana!!! Our cabana had a table and chairs inside and a table, chairs, and umbrella outside overlooking the wave pool. The cabana included a safe and a cooler. We also had a ceiling fan to keep us cool. But the part I could not believe…. A TV with Dish Network! We stayed at the cabana for a little while before embarking on the park because it was such a neat experience. J
  













We left the comfort of our amazing cabana to check out all the cool rides. It was at this point I found out my younger son was a daredevil! The lady at Diamond Mine Coaster, said that he was tall enough to ride on his own and he suddenly did not want us near him. So I let him ride by himself.  Every ride he exclaimed “was the best ride ever!!” and “I don’t want to get off.” I kept having to calm him down to tell him that he should try other rides so he could compare them all. 








The boys had a blast on the first round of rides. We also checked out some of the fun games they had in the park. The cool thing about the games we played is that you always win at least a small prize.










Next it was time for lunch, so we headed back to our cabana. We were greeted with someone ready to take our lunch order. Since it was a birthday lunch, we let the birthday boy choose the food. He chose food from the pizza place, Pizza DiLagoThe food was delivered to us while we lounged in our nice cool cabana and watched TV.




I don’t know what my husband was thinking when he ordered the 29 inch pizza! It was bigger than the table! But it sure did taste good. They told us that it was handmade with fresh ingredients. It would rival any pizza place outside the park.






Since this was a birthday trip, I brought along candles for the birthday boy’s bread sticks. I did not light them because I am sure that would have been frowned upon.





This was about the time my younger son asked, “Can we live here?”






After lunch we ran into some friends. That turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. We had fun visiting with them. We also figured out a great partnership idea. Since they like to ride the “scary” rides and my husband and I do not, we watched their children and they rode with ours. It was perfect, since their children were too small for the big rides, and we were just plain chicken.






I am thankful for friends who will ride upside down roller coasters. This was the cherry on top for the birthday boy. He had never ridden anything like this before and The Gauntlet  was the main thing he talked about on the way home.





I am so glad that we got to spend a great 12th birthday with my son making family memories. According to him, “This was the best birthday ever!”



Thoughts while at Magic Springs

1.     If you enjoy riding rides without going to the water park you will still have enough to keep you busy all day. Most of the people stay at the water park. A great benefit was we had virtually no wait for any of the “non- water park rides.”

2.     If you do enjoy the water park and you live anywhere near Hot Springs, then it might be worth it to get a season pass.  There are three separate water parks located inside Magic Springs. There is no way you could do it all in one day.

3.     The cabanas are great! I was thinking how wonderful it would have been to have one the first time we brought the boys to Magic Springs. At that time my younger son was two and he still needed naps. I could have taken him back to the cabana to drift off to sleep under the cool ceiling fan and watching Dora the Explorer. My older son and husband could have continued their adventure without interruption.

4.     Also the cabanas would be great for a nursing moms. It would give you a nice place to relax and a quiet place where the baby would not be distracted. A bonus is they bring you complimentary bottles of water to drink.

5.     To avoid crowds, go at the beginning of the week and at the beginning of the summer. I spoke with Aaron, who is the marketing assistant. He said it gets really crowded beginning in the middle of July and going into August before school starts back. 

How long has it been since you visited Magic Springs? 
What is your favorite memory?