Plan
Planning a magic-show night
How to build a day on the Grand Strand around the illusion show: a morning on the water, an afternoon off, dinner and the theatre.
Choose your show night ↗Quick answer
Put the water in the morning, the show in the evening, and dinner on either side of it. Book the show first, check its start time on your date, and keep free cancellation in hand while you watch the forecast.
Start with the show
Book the show first, because its start time on your date shapes everything else. The calendar on this site shows each date's times, and the same time appears on your confirmation. Being able to cancel for free until the day before, and to pay later, makes it easy to hold seats early and adjust. In the summer holiday weeks, evening shows fill first, so a booking a few days ahead is sensible, even if you later move it.
A morning on the water
Two water trips pair well with a show night. The dolphin-watch cruise from Murrells Inlet runs about ninety minutes through the inlet and out past the jetties on a narrated boat that carries a hydrophone to listen for dolphins; its operator advises booking early in the day, when sea conditions are usually better for spotting wildlife. Dolphins are never guaranteed. The kayak trip on the Waccamaw River lasts two hours behind a guide, around a private island with a stop ashore, with equipment included; children under eight cannot join.
Cruise or kayak
Pick the cruise if you want to sit back, if the party includes children under eight, or if dolphins are the point of the morning: the boat does the work, a narrator explains what you see, and the trip runs out to the open sea. Children under three and pregnant women are advised not to join. Pick the kayak if your group is older and wants to paddle, prefers shade and quiet water to open sea, and likes the idea of stepping ashore on an island halfway round.
The afternoon
Leave a gap. A morning on the water followed by an evening show is a full day for children, and the hours between are best spent at the hotel pool, on the beach or somewhere cool. If the weather turns, the show becomes the anchor of the day rather than the finale, and the complex the theatre sits in has enough under cover to fill a wet afternoon.
Dinner and the drive
Dinner is yours to arrange, since the show ticket covers the seat alone. The complex has a long list of restaurants and snack counters, which makes it simple to eat there and walk to the theatre. Drive to the complex rather than to a street address, then follow the map link in your booking to the theatre door, and give yourself spare minutes: the complex is large and the theatre is easy to miss on a first visit.
At the theatre
The show runs about ninety minutes, with large illusions, sleight of hand and comedy performed close to the seats. Audience members are invited up, so seat keen volunteers near the aisle and shy ones further in. The theatre is wheelchair accessible. When it ends, the lake and the lit observation wheel make a pleasant walk back to the car.
If it rains
Rain is the show's best friend. Keep the booking as your wet-weather plan, and if the morning cruise or paddle is called off, swap it for a slow start and an earlier show. Because the cruise, the paddle and the show all refund in full if cancelled before the final day, rearranging a day around the forecast costs nothing if you do it in time.
Frequently asked questions
Is the dolphin cruise better in the morning?
Its operator advises booking early in the day, because wind and sea conditions usually pick up in the afternoon.
Can young children do the kayak trip?
Children under eight cannot join the Waccamaw River kayak trip.
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