Magic show or the SkyWheel?

The short answer

If you have a whole evening and children who enjoy a show, book the magic show. If you have half an hour between dinner and bed, or you want to see the falls from above, book the wheel. The two are different kinds of outing: one is a ninety-minute performance in a 550-seat theatre, the other a ride of around ten minutes in an enclosed gondola on a 53-metre wheel. Families with time often book both, because the wheel stands in the middle of Clifton Hill and the theatre is nearby. The rest of this guide sets them side by side on the questions that decide it.

• Rainy or freezing evening: the magic show
• Clear evening with little time: the SkyWheel
• A free evening and energetic children: both, wheel first

What each one is

Niagara Magic Live is a stage magic show: grand illusions, close-up sleight of hand and a storyline, performed for all ages, with a bar, a snack counter and a magic shop at every performance. The Niagara SkyWheel is a Ferris wheel that Wikipedia puts at 53.3 metres (175 feet) tall in the middle of Clifton Hill. It opened on 17 June 2006 and has 42 Swiss-made, fully enclosed cars, each carrying six to eight people. The booking page for the wheel adds optional audio narration about the falls and about how the wheel was built. One is an evening's entertainment; the other is a view with a short ride attached.

How much time each takes

The show runs about 90 minutes, and you will want a little time before it for the bar or the magic shop, plus whatever dinner plan you have. The wheel is quick: Wikipedia gives the ride as roughly ten to twelve minutes, and the booking page says eight to twelve. Queues are the unknown on a busy summer evening, so allow some slack. In practice the wheel fits into the gap before a show or after it, while the show shapes the whole evening. If your family flags after dinner, that difference matters more than anything else in this comparison. Travelling with grandparents as well as children? The show gives everyone a seat for the whole evening, with a bar and snack counter on hand.

Children and age rules

The magic show is pitched at all ages, and reviews mention children from about six upwards having a good time. Strollers are not allowed in the theatre. The wheel's rule is about height rather than age: children under 42 inches must ride with an adult, and taller children may ride on their own. Unaccompanied minors are listed as not allowed, so treat it as a family ride. For children who struggle to sit still, the wheel is the safer bet: short, moving and full of things to point at. For children who love a performance and like to be picked as volunteers, the magic show wins.

Weather and season

This is where the two split most clearly. The theatre is indoors, so a wet or bitterly cold evening changes nothing about the show. The wheel is more exposed to conditions: its booking page says it will not operate in winds over 50 kilometres an hour or in temperatures below minus 15 degrees Celsius. Inside the gondolas you are comfortable, since Wikipedia says they are heated in winter and air-conditioned in the warmer months, and the wheel runs all year with hours that change by season. On a stormy night, the magic show is the dependable choice.

What you actually see

From the wheel you look out over the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Niagara River, and on an evening ride the lights of Clifton Hill and the Niagara skyline spread out below. Wikipedia notes that floodlights light both falls from the Canadian side for several hours after dusk, so a ride after dark adds colour to the view. In the theatre the view is the stage, and the point is to be fooled: large illusions in front of you and sleight of hand close enough that you can try, and fail, to catch the move. One gives you Niagara as a panorama; the other gives you an evening you cannot photograph.

Cost, in general terms

Prices move with the date, and this guide leaves them to the booking calendar. In broad terms, a SkyWheel ride is the cheaper booking, and the show costs more but fills far more of the evening. Neither ticket includes food. The theatre sells drinks and snacks and offers a buffet dinner as a separate add-on through its box office, while no open drinks or food are allowed on the wheel. Both allow a reservation now with payment later, and both give a full refund for cancellations 24 hours or more ahead. If you are counting every dollar, remember that walking Clifton Hill costs nothing, and that the falls under floodlights are free to watch from the river path.

Doing both in one evening

Both are close to Clifton Hill, so pairing them is straightforward. The usual order is wheel first, while children still have energy and the light is going, then a walk to the theatre for the show. If your performance starts early, reverse it and ride after the show, when the falls are lit and Clifton Hill is at its busiest. Check the start time in your confirmation before you plan around it. Keep the camera for the wheel and Clifton Hill, since cameras stay out of the theatre, and remember the ID: both bookings list a passport or ID card under things to bring.

Who neither suits

Neither is a substitute for standing at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, which costs nothing and is a short walk away. Visitors with a fear of heights will not enjoy the wheel, and those who struggle to sit through a performance will find ninety minutes long. Families with a baby in a stroller face a rule at the theatre, and travellers with heavy bags face one at the wheel, which does not allow luggage or large bags. If that is you, a walk along the river after dark may beat both.

How to book either one

On this site's booking section, the magic show is the first card and the wheel the second. Open either one, pick an evening, and the calendar lists what is still available. Holding a booking now and paying later is allowed on both, and so is a full refund for cancellations made a day or more before. If you want dinner with the show, ask the theatre's box office about the buffet. For the wheel, a dry, calm evening gives the best view. The guide to the show itself covers the theatre's door rules in more detail.

Read next: Is Niagara Magic Live worth it?