This post is in partnership with Magic Springs. Get your discounted tickets here!

It’s OCTOBER – the best month of the year! And what better way to kick off our favorite month by going on an adventure to Hot Springs (for my birthday weekend, no less)? Magic Springs invited us to visit their annual Magic Screams event on opening weekend, which ended up being the best way to dive straight into autumn. We decided to make a weekend out of it so after grabbing Iris as soon as school let out, we hit the road. Typically we visit this quaint, historic town when the horse races are happening, but it was fun to see the city from a different perspective. Arriving just in time for dinner, we checked out a brewery and pizza joint Todd wanted to try, SQZBX. Tasty!

On Saturday, my birthday, we managed to sleep in until almost 9:00 the next morning, which was a birthday present all in itself. Before Magic Springs opened for the day, we wandered around Hot Springs’ charming downtown area and had nice little lunch. Getting to the park in the afternoon, we went straight for the rides. Never knowing how brave Iris will be, she impressed us by riding one roller coaster four times in a row!

But the true magic was how Magic Springs had been transformed into Magic Screams – a spooky Halloween-themed destination that’s fun for all ages. I appreciated how they had a lot of stuff for the younger (or easily frightened) folks in the earlier hours and, as it got later, everything turned a bit more frightening. The only thing is that if you want to experience Magic Screams, you gotta do it soon! For the month of October it’s open beginning at noon Saturdays until 11 p.m. and Sundays until 9 p.m. The spooks last until October 28, so if you are anywhere nearby, make a fun weekend out of it like we did. Hot Springs is only about three and a half hours from Fayetteville, less than three hours from my hometown of Memphis, and less than an hour away from Little Rock.

My favorite part of Magic Screams is that you get to experience the best of both worlds – during the day we rode all the rides our hearts desired (with little or no wait times), and then as it got closer to dark more Halloween activities started popping up. From the six themed haunted houses, to the trick-or-treat trail where kids got to play carnival games for candy, Iris quite a blast. And so did we! Did I mention that they actually have a beer garden in the park? We stopped for a drink and a jello shot, which of course was also in theme and presented in a syringe.

So if you are headed to Magic Screams, I have an insider special on tickets just for you guys! Get your tickets using this link right here. It will give you an $8 savings per gate ticket and is even $3 cheaper than the Magic Springs’ online discounted price. Also, there’s even an option to buy 2019 season passes that are not only discounted, but you can use them at the 2018 Magic Screams, all of the 2019 Season including concerts, special events, and 2019 Magic Screams. And if that isn’t enough, I’m giving away four free tickets to Magic Screams on Instagram, so be sure to check head over and check it out. The giveaway will open on Thursday evening, October 11 and will end on Friday, October 12. It’s a quick turnaround time so that we make sure the winner can use them before Magic Screams comes to a close.

As the sun went down, we could tell things were getting creepier by the minute. After we had all the fun (and spooks) we could stand, we made our way back to our hotel. We took one last Hot Springs pit-stop though at The Purple Cow where we were treated to dinner and their famous purple milkshakes. From there it was off to bed, exhausted but happy and full. And wouldn’t you know it? We managed to sleep until almost 9 am the next morning too.

Thanks for having us, Magic Screams! See you next year!