Magic Island for a Spooky and Mystifying Night Out

Unless you’re Indiana Jones, your concept of fun probably doesn’t allow for spending several hours poking through an Egyptian tomb.

Still, if you happen to be anywhere near Lido Village in Newport Beach, you might want to consider the idea. That small corner of the Balboa Peninsula is the home of Magic Island, Orange County’s shrine to illusion, sleight of hand and the mystic arts.

Similar in concept to Los Angeles’ Magic Castle, Magic Island has a uniformity of motif that helps to lend an air of mystery and mysticism to the place: nearly every room is decorated as if it were part of an ancient Egyptian palace or tomb. Which, naturally enough, is an idea helped along by an immediate illusion. Upon arrival in the small entrance room, customers are ushered through a sliding panel in one wall and into an elevator--a sort of elevator, anyway. The elevator actually doesn’t go anywhere but gives the illusion of descending deep into the earth, Amy McCloskey, Magic Island’s manager, said. The visitors emerge from the bogus elevator on the other side of the wall, into the Magic Lounge--the bar area, where psychics, numerologists and Tarot card readers offer their services throughout the evening.

It is difficult to say whether Magic Island is a dinner club that offers magic acts or a magic club that serves dinner. There are a handful of dining rooms on two floors, but there are even more rooms in which magic is performed, both on larger stages and in smaller areas that are used for “close-up” acts. Also, magicians circulate among the tables in each dining room.

It can all get a bit complex, too, which is why Magic Island provides maps of the club for each visitor. The map shows not only the location of each room but of several secret door panels located throughout the building.

The rooms have appropriately Egyptian names, such as Cleopatra’s Chamber and the Garden of Nefertiti, and the decor can resemble a Pharaoh’s throne room or a chamber of a pyramid. In one upstairs chamber, quite dimly lit, is the Seance Room, which is entered by sliding a bookcase away from a wall. It is a room that must be specially booked, McCloskey said, and the seance, complete with dinner and special effects, lasts about 3 hours.

Just off the bar are a pair of large glass cases displaying magic artifacts, such as original props that several famous magicians once used to perform their illusions. Even the restrooms are tricked up; it is necessary only to pass your hands underneath the faucets to turn them on.

Magic Island, which has been operating for about 8 years, was a members-only club until last April, when it was opened to the public for the first time, McCloskey said. A membership plan still exists (initiation fee is $500 and yearly dues are $250) and members are accorded discounts and preferential seating. However, the club’s business has increased since it opened its doors to the public, which, according to McCloskey, was the intention of the current owners, who have operated Magic Island for the last 2 years.

“We’ve considered going back to being private,” McCloskey said, “but then we look at how busy we’ve been since we’ve been open to the public. . . .”

MAGIC ISLAND AT A GLANCE

Where: 3434 Via Lido, Newport Beach.

Opening days and hours: Dinner and magic acts Wednesday through Saturday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday brunch 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Magic acts begin at 11:30 a.m.).

Prices: Dinner entrees in the $25 range. Brunch, $30 for adults, $18 for children 12 and under. Access to magic acts included in meal price. Admission to magic acts only, $15. Psychic readings, $15. Seance Room booking (dinner for 12), $250. Banquets arranged Monday and Tuesday.

Reservations: Required. Should book at least 3 days in advance by calling (714) 675-0900.

Dress code: Coat and tie for men, “after 5” dress for women.