The Phantom Saucer is a magic trick incorporating the use of invisible string to make a saucer look like it’s hovering in the user’s hands. It is marketed as a dazzling magic trick that will amaze your friends, but how well does this actually work?
Overview
Any magic trick that has a floating or hovering aspect to it will usually be using invisible thread that can be found at magic shops or fabric stores. If you don’t want to buy this trick you can find other floating magic tricks either online or at retail magic shops. At this price point you can basically buy any kit you want, since they’re all reasonably priced.
The Claim
The claim by the promoters of Phantom Saucer is that it’s a magic trick you can learn quickly and easily and be able to amaze your friends with. They say it comes with all of the instructions you’ll need to pull off the trick, and have your friends asking “how’d you do that?”.
The Hype
The reason this product is hyped is because of all of the reactions they show to the saucer act being performed. They are planting the idea that if you perform this trick you’re going to be the center of attention and everyone is going to think you’re great. This may be true, at least for a few minutes or so. But eventually someone will notice the string and then your moment in the sun is over. You can actually see the string in the slo-mo shots of the infomercial if you keep your eye on it.
The Cost
The Phantom Saucer is marketed at $10, plus there’s $6 for shipping, so you’re looking at $16 total. Right now there is a special where they’ll give you $15 towards your next As Seen on TV purchase, so you’d essentially be getting this for about $1 but you’d have to buy a different product from the same company.
The Commitment
You’ll have to commit to learning how to perform the trick, as it’s not the easiest thing to pull off if you’ve never performed a magic trick before. It’s true sleight of hand because you have to do certain movements with your other hands as well as your own body language to get the audience to look where you want them to and convince them that it really is floating and not simply hanging from your hand.
Evaluation
Levitating things such as tissue paper, dollar bills, and more has been a staple magic trick for decades. It’s fun to see it in real life if you’ve never seen it before, but once you learn the trick it’s really not all that impressive. In the video they show the kids taking turns performing the trick, but in order for that to happen you’d have to show them how it really works. The saucer does not actually float on its own, so anyone performing the trick is going to have a string tied to their finger or otherwise attached to their hand in some fashion.
Final Phantom Saucer Review
The Phantom Saucer is getting our Thumbs Up rating, because it actually is a pretty solid magic trick once you know how to do it. If you want to keep the trick a secret don’t show anyone else how to do it and you can leave them guessing. But if you show them how it works you won’t be able to perform it again to the same group of people since they’ll know how it works. This can be fun if you’ve got a family reunion and you want to impress the grandkids for a few minutes, or if you’ve got a birthday party that’s coming up, or if you are an aspiring magician and want to start practicing your skills.
Our Recommendation
With the special they have this can essentially be a free item for you, especially if there is another Telebrands product you’ve had your eye on. Getting the $15 credit on a $16 item isn’t a bad way to go, and there are some good products that you can apply the credit towards, essentially getting a really cheap magic trick.
The now sell them at Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, $1. Note that it does not come with the DVD, you have to download a app to learn how to do it, but in any case, one dollar is a great buy. Even if you do not want to learn how to do it yourself, they will make great gifts for children or grandchildren. I just thought I would let you know so you do not have to pay $10 on the website. Always good to get a deal like that. You’re welcome.
I bought my 7 year old son one of these for his birthday. He loved it until it ended up with a trip to the hospital. The string is very clear (obviously for the trick). After playing with the saucer, my son sat to eat dinner. Not realizing one of the strings was still on the table, he took a bite of his dinner, with the string attached. It lodged into his throat with some of the string still hanging out of his mouth. When my husband tried to pull it out, my son screamed with pain. At the ER we found the string had gotten stuck behind his soft pallet. After it was painfully removed, he had to go to x-ray to make sure no damage was done. Then to a cat scan because the doctor wasnt satisfied with the view of the x-ray. Luckily there is no serious damange done. We have now thrown the strings away and he uses the saucer as a frisbee. A painful and expensive lesson learned. Watch out for the strings lol
NO DIP SHURLOCK!!!!! There are strings and it’s a disk that you attach to them. They are a waste of time and money
A local Wal-Mart had it on a clearance rack for just $2.00. At two bucks, I bought several. Keep your eyes open at Wal-Mart for them on clearance. I really enjoy mine and handed out the other ones as gifts. My 9y/o grandson mastered it in no time flat… lol
Thank you Hope Gracia!!!! Finally Someone Agrees with me!!!!
oh my gosh I love it but just brock it I said u were good but more details and waist of time I can mot even play with it anymore this sucks I agree with Madison!!!!!!
wow so cool I have it and it it so cool thank u the Easter bunny best day ever but I have to go back to school tomorrow sad face well other than that you have teach me a lot so thank u really u are great
Okay a couple of things! If you are a magician you need to buy this because you get a load of invisible thread and it’s only a $1 at the dollar store now. Yes it’s probably not the best for little kids but my 5 year old granddaughter had no problem with it! Buy the toy and use the thread with other magic tricks! Second I think when a person reviews a toy they should actually try it out. If this reviewer actually checked out the item they would have been able to tell you that it was made of heavy poster board decorated with mylar (not plastic) and that the string does not “attach to your hand”. Not sure why anyone would listen to a post written by a blogger who has not actually played with the product.
i agree with Madison. NO kids are going to be able to play with them because if they do they will break every string. I am not saying that kids break everything because i have 2 boys of my own, but sometimes they can be little butt heads and break everything on purpose:)
I bought mine in Florida, and it sucks. the strings break so easily! how do you expect a kid to play with it??!! especially the little ones??? ITS A RIPOFF!!!
I bought mine at the dollar store today (for a dollar plus tax). Lol. My 10yo loved it! It’ll be broken tomorrow but today it’s fun.
In the commercial the smoke kind of reveals the strings
Reminds me of the magic shops you see in Vegas at some of the casinos like in the mall at the MGM. They are high profit items usually sold near performing magic shows. The kids come out worked up into a froth and want to do those tricks. They are even staffed by amateur staff magicians who pretty much just know how to do all of the tricks they sell. I usually suggest that if people want to give their kids magic trick kits, go to Toys-R-us when they get home. Its usually a phase, like Bobby Brady.
Baby Girl, could you make it any more obvious that you work for the company. What you’ve done by making it so obvious is make it obvious that this is a big waste of money. Thank you.
I know a way to keep kid’s busy. Take them to a playground, or a free refrigerator box and crayons can keep your kids busy. Anyone for this product was paid five dollars.
I think the Phantom Saucer is a great way to keep kids busy.
I agree with Donielle ^^
It’s like the fushigi thing all over again!
*to clairify i mean could you buy an item for 9.99 for example and then have the other 5 go towards shipping. Or is it just another gimmick to where you pay 10.00 lose the 5 and then pay the processing and handling(which everyone knows is where they make the money)
i know his is almost a year old post…………But i wonder if the 15$ credit is even good for shipping and handling….. Seriously anyone who believes the as seen on tv scams/false advertisements is silly.
Tricks like these need a lot of practice to master, but can be rewarding when you learn them correctly. I once bought a magic trick product that made use of “invisible” string, and it took so long to learn to do it just right. I actually gave up before getting it perfectly right, because I couldn’t wait any longer to show my friends the trick, and, as can be expected, they figured it out right away.
David: that’s so true that there are so many better magic tricks out there. Even if they are initially amazed, after a minute or two most people will correctly guess that you’re actually using string to make the saucer float.
I mean, this seems like a really fun toy that a lot of lids would have fun playing with, but I don’t think it’s like the most mysterious magic trick of all time. I think it’s being advertized too heavily on the fact that it will make you seem like a magician. It’s just kind of a really cool little toy that’s sort of interesting to figure out, but I don’t think anyone is entirely fooled about how it works. For the price and because it’s pretty cool, I think a lot of kids would really like to play with this toy and show it off to their friends, and even learn cool tricks to use it for. But I don’t think it will make you the next Houdini by any means.
I understand where you are coming from but I find this trick and those like it to be unimpressive. I think card tricks are better for two reasons, they are easy to learn, and they are much harder for the audience to figure out. For example, if you haven’t already seen the “kissing card trick” on youtube I think you should check it out.
This phantom saucer magic trick simply looks like an enormous waste of money regardless if you can get the 15 dollar credit for another As seen on TV product. I have two major issues with this phantom saucer, first: there are some way better magic tricks out there in the world and I don’t mean the really difficult ones like Penn and Teller do but ones that are easy for the magician to learn and harder for the audience to figure out. Card tricks are a great example of what I mean, like not too long ago I was looking at this youtube video called “the kissing card trick” and I simply was amazed and just could not figure out how this guy pulled off his trick, and I probably never would have known how he did it if he didn’t feature another youtube video where he revealed his secret. With this phantom saucer, regardless of how adept you are in the skill of sleight of hand, the likelihood that you will get found out is rather high, at least in my opinion. The second issue I have is that the infomercial seems heavy with false advertisement; I mean how long is the invisible string attached to it where they claim that you can spin it around your entire body or some of the other tricks the video shows. Perhaps I don’t know the particular techniques that are being used for these tricks but to me gravity is gravity.
If you’ve got a ten dollar bill in your hand and want to put a smile on the face of everyone inside of the home, this is the magic trick to purchase. It is so much fun there is really no way to put it into words. The saucer looks like a space craft and works like magic to fly in the air- all by itself. The Phantom saucer instantly turns anyone into a magician and it really works! The fact that it is something that is made for kids but loved by all ages makes it even more of a special deal. There aren’t a lot of toys out there that truly work like this one. If you want a real floating spaceship magic trick choose this one!
This is a great trick, but its expensive at $10. I realise there is a way to get it for only $1 but you have to buy something else from the site along with it.
In my opinion this trick works better with a dollar bill and some invisible string. I did it on a bus once, after buying the (much cheaper), string-and-dollar bill version from a flea market in Florida. It is a genuinely impressive, up-close magic trick, especially if there are kids around. The adults quickly realise there must be some kind of string involved, but the kids lose their minds!
If you’d never heard of this trick before, I guess this would be a good way to learn it, but it really is expensive for what you’re getting.
Just get some invisible thread and a dollar bill. Tie the string to a finger on each hand and screw the dollar bill around the string. When you pull your hands apart, the bill appears to float!
Awesome!