On the East Side, Magic Screams Is Cheaper as a Habit Than a Night Out

"Smiles by day with afternoons filled with seasonal fun and activities for little ghouls, then the Screams ring through the trees and rides at night with the scares amped up after dark."

That is how Magic Springs describes this year's Magic Screams, which runs six weekends from September 26 through November 1 at 1701 E. Grand Avenue. Read the line again and you'll see two events. One is a trick-or-treat afternoon built for small children. The other is a nighttime haunt with an attraction recommended for ages 12 and up. They share a ticket window, but their schedules barely overlap. If you live on the east side, a few minutes from the gate, the pricing makes it cheaper to treat them as two separate visits, or four, than to fit everything into one long Saturday.

The Price Sheet Gives Neighbors the Advantage

Start with the one-day ticket. Bought online, Magic Screams admission is $34.99 plus tax, down from a $39.99 gate price. It's good for any one operating day between 9/26/26 and 11/1/26, children 3 and under get in free, and each online order adds a $7.99 processing fee. Parking is separate. According to the park's FAQ, daily parking is $20 plus tax per vehicle.

The 2027 season passes now on sale also cover the rest of 2026. The Silver pass is $52.99 and includes unlimited visits through all of 2027, plus the remaining 2026 operating days at no extra cost. The Gold pass is $62.99 and adds free season parking, which the park values at $20 a visit.

Here's how that works out for one adult, before tax and the per-order online fee:

A Gold pass costs $8 more than one visit with parking. From the second visit on, it's the cheapest option on the sheet, and it keeps working through every 2027 operating day. Parking is charged per vehicle, so the math shifts for a family that arrives in one car. With four people, one night on day tickets comes to about $160 with parking. Four Gold passes cost about $252 and cover every remaining weekend this fall and all of next year. Families buying for a group of 10 or more can also look at the group ticket, which is $32.99 online with one free ticket for every 10 purchased.

The deal is better still for current passholders. Gold renewals are $54.99 each when you buy two or more, and that renewal 2-pack comes with a free Magic Screams friend ticket. The lowest-price pass sale, which started at $49.99, ended September 7, so today's prices are the ones above.

The Schedule Is Built for Short, Separate Visits

Once the gate is paid for, a quick trip costs nothing extra, and the park's hours suit that kind of visit. Saturdays run 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., with haunted attractions opening after 6 p.m. Fun By Day takes over Booville, the kiddieland, every Saturday and Sunday. Its activities close at dusk, and the rides there usually stay open until around 8 p.m. According to the park's FAQ, roaming scare characters stay out of the children's area, and the scarier characters don't enter the park until dusk.

That divides each operating day into two blocks you can treat as separate trips.

The afternoon block, about 2 to 6 p.m. These are all free with admission unless a price is noted:

• Trick-or-Treat Trail, 2 to 6 p.m., running from the front gate to the bridge at the pond
• Potions & Paints, 2 to 6 p.m. on the deck by Goodie Gallery, $5 to paint a pumpkin or canvas
• Zombie Mini, 3 to 6 p.m. at Slash Island, an inflatable zombie maze for younger kids, entered just past the Rum Runner swinging ship
• Kids Fairy Hay Maze and photo spots in Booville, starting at 2 p.m.
• Kids' Costume Contests at 4 p.m. at the Pinecone Playhouse Theater each Saturday and Sunday in October, in three age groups: 0 to 5, 6 to 10, and 11 and up

The night block, 6 p.m. to close. Two zones are open all event hours and get more intense after dark. One is Blackwater Holler on the bridge, with its moonshiners and "monsters of the deep." The other is Dollgrave Grove, between the kiddieland rides and the bridge. Lost World opens at 6 p.m. in the log flume area. The Clown Lounge opens at 6 p.m. in the Funnel Cake House near the bridge, and Serenity Asylum opens at 6 p.m. by the deck of Pizza di Lago. Cowboys & Aliens is another of the walkthrough areas. The two biggest attractions open at 7 p.m. The Wasteland Haunted House & Maze is the event's most intense attraction and is recommended for ages 12 and up. Children can't be carried through it, and there are several "chicken exits" along the route. SLASH Island turns the water park into a guided zombie laser-tag course and is described as suitable for families and kids ages 9 and up.

On a one-day ticket, a family with a 6-year-old and a 13-year-old pays for 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. and needs both halves of the day. With passes and free parking, the same family can come Saturday afternoon for the trail and the costume contest, go home, and bring the older child back another night for Wasteland after 7.

Four Weekends Left, Each With Its Own Draw

Today's Sunday session is the last Pirate Academy. After that, the 3 p.m. Kiddie Academy at Pinecone Theater changes each weekend, which gives repeat visitors a different reason to return:

1. October 10 and 11: Monster Academy
2. October 17 and 18: Witch Academy, with the witch sisters
3. October 24 and 25: Mad Scientist Academy
4. October 31 and November 1: Halloween is on a Saturday this year, so the park is open 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. that night. Sunday, November 1, runs 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is the final scheduled operating day of the 2026 season.

The costume contest adds another reason to come back. Each age-group winner takes home a 2027 Season Pass, and runners-up get other park prizes. The water park closed for the year on September 20, so these fall weekends are the last chance for any visit this year. Hours can still change without notice, and the park's calendar is the one to check before you leave.

Dinner Without Leaving the East Side

Short visits make room for a meal close to home. Most of these spots are within a short drive of the park on East Grand and Malvern.

• 501 Prime, 215 E. Grand Ave., lists dinner every day from 4 to 9 p.m. on its website. That works after a Sunday afternoon in Booville.
• Via Roma, 1521 Malvern Ave., is open Tuesday through Sunday starting at 5 p.m. It closes at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 9 p.m. on Sundays, according to its site.
• Cafe 1217, 1217 Malvern Ave., was featured by the Sentinel-Record in July 2026 for its salads, sandwiches, entrees, pies and cakes.
• Jefferson's Bar-B-Que & More is a locally run barbecue food truck that the Sentinel-Record profiled in June 2026. It's typically parked at 1200 Malvern Ave., so check that it's there before you go.

What the Pass Covers Once the Haunt Ends

A pass bought this month covers more than the remaining fall weekends. The Silver pass includes free lawn seating for every show in the 2027 Summer Concert Series at Timberwood Amphitheater. The park says that lineup hasn't been announced yet. This year, Timberwood hosted a 10-show concert series and the park's first EDM festival, headlined by Crankdat. The Gold pass adds a one-time friend ticket good through June 30, plus a souvenir bottle with $2 refills for visits by May 31. The Platinum pass, at $72.99, includes three friend tickets for June, July and August.

The east side has another event the week after the park closes. Hot Springs Country Club hosts the Arkansas State Golf Association's Lou Miller Mixed Team tournament November 7 and 8. The team fee is $395, and entries close October 30 at 4 p.m.

Living a few minutes from the gate means you can visit the park more often for less. If you're curious what living this close to East Grand means for your own home's value, 501 House to Home is glad to talk it through. Jeff and Paulia Kennedy have followed the east side for more than two decades. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll put a number to it.