The 2017 grand opening of Magic Springs Theme and Water Park on Saturday gave the park's management and public officials an opportunity to tout its role as an economic driver for Hot Springs and the state of Arkansas.
The theme park, which opened for its 39th year at 11 a.m. Saturday, was preceded by speeches from Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, Magic Springs General Manager Steve Honeycutt and Hot Springs officials, as well as a performance by Fountain Lake High School's marching band and a ribbon cutting presented by The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce.
The ceremony's speeches addressed the importance of the park's role in the city's economy, highlighted the experience that the park gives to its visitors and brought excitement to the line of guests watching through the front gate as they awaited their entry.
Honeycutt spoke highly of the park's grand opening, stating that it has long been anticipated by his crew.
"This is something that we've looked forward to the whole winter," Honeycutt said. "It was the best opening ceremony we've ever had here."
The speakers pointed out that the park has not only enjoyed its own monetary success, but has also brought dollars into the city of Hot Springs. Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, called Magic Springs a "key to tourism in Hot Springs," while Jim Fram, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, explained Arrison's concept in more detail.
Fram estimated that 85-90 percent of the park's visitors are not from the Hot Springs area. He said that those who visit the park are naturally drawn into the city, which has much to offer for tourists.
"They don't usually just stay in the parking lot," Fram told his audience. "They usually go into town."
Following the grand opening, Griffin expressed a similar sentiment. He called Magic Springs an "economic driver."
"People work here, people get paid to work here, people come spend money here, people from out of state spend money here," Griffin said. "This is a key part of economic development in this community, and also, in the state."
Though many consider Magic Springs to be a driving force for the local economy, Honeycutt and his team are still looking for ways to succeed in 2017. Honeycutt described 2016 as a down year due to 38 days of rain that canceled the park's four biggest concerts.
"That's really hard to try to recover from," Honeycutt said.
Though the weather is out of the park's control, Magic Springs' management mentioned several innovative ways in which they could potentially draw visitors. Michael Wampler, Magic Springs' director of sales and marketing, said that the 2017 season will feature an all-American dive show, which will feature former Olympic divers and run May 27 through June 4.
Wampler also said that the park is looking to create a "Wacky Wednesday" event that will feature live versions of cartoon characters and enhance Magic Springs' Crystal Falls water park's Dive-In movie series with live versions of characters from the movies they show.
"Our goal is to try to offer something for everyone," Wampler said. "A family with a season's pass sees real value in making repeat visits because there will always be something new every week."
The grand opening came only a day after Premier Parks LLC, which currently manages 17 theme parks, took over Magic Springs' management. Honeycutt spoke positively of the switch in management, as being in communication and sharing ideas with other parks could strengthen their performance.
"Now we're a family of 17, so there's strength in numbers, right? That really is gonna help us," Honeycutt said. "These people have been in the theme park industry for years."
Magic Springs will now be open to the public every weekend through May 14, will be open every day after that through Aug. 13 and will then be open select weekends after that through Oct. 29. Crystal Falls will open May 13 and will close Sept. 4.
Overall, Honeycutt has high hopes for 2017, stating that he is going to "grow" his park by putting capital into it. He also said that he is looking forward to how the visitors will react to their time in Magic Springs.
"The park has never looked better, so we're looking forward to the summer," It should be a very good season."
Local on 04/09/2017