The Great Escape Room in downtown Orlando

Just one month ago, the newest attraction to hit Orlando opened it’s doors.  While it’s not a new coaster or show, it is, however, thrilling & completely immersive!  The  premise is simple….. escape the locked room.  We were recently invited to try our wits against the room.  How do you think we did?  Did we make it out in time?

The Great Escape Room can be found in downtown Orlando behind a fairly unassuming door.  Groups of up to 10 people are given one hour to find the way out of the locked room by ransacking the room to find clues then using those clues to solve puzzles, which ultimately lead to the way out once finished.

Our group consisted of Jason, Jaca, her 12 year old daughter, & a mother/son duo (he was approximately 17).  Once everyone has registered & the room is ready, everyone is assembled to begin the fun.  The room monitor leads your group into the dreaded room.  The door is locked.  The room monitor then tells us that someone has left us a message.  It was a recording of none other than Sherlock Holmes telling us the rules.  Then, the timer starts.  A big clock on the bookshelf in the corner counts down those 60 minutes & periodically Holmes would chastise us because we hadn’t figured it out yet!

There were 4 problems & each had multiple clues.  The first order of business was to find clues!  Let the ransacking begin!!  The clues are clearly marked so that you know when one is found.  Some are well hidden….really well hidden.  And, I have to admit, I found a little joy tearing apart the room.  The clues are color coded so that you know which problem they will help solve.  When we had gathered a lot of clues, a couple of us started on the problems while the others continued to search for the remaining clues.  This is a good strategy & an effective use of time as well.  Large chalkboards cover 2 walls so that you can take notes or use them to figure out problems.  We would work out what we could & move on until the remaining clues were found.  My 12 year-old really enjoyed hunting for the clues & was instrumental in finding the last ones.  While solving the puzzles was a little challenging for someone her age, she did help near the end & had great ideas.

So our time was winding down & Holmes so graciously reminded us that we have 5 minutes remaining.  Oh no!  We only had 1 little problem to finish & we were out of that room.  It was a frantic, mad dash with everyone working together but we did it!  We escaped with 43 seconds left on the clock!!  We were told that only 20% of the groups are successful.  Wow!

I have to say that I really enjoyed The Great Escape Room!  We had fun tearing things apart to look for clues & also engaging our brains to figure out the puzzles.  Teamwork is the secret to this game & our team was amazing.  We were told that a couple of new rooms were in the process of being added.  I would love to bring our friends along next time to see how we all do together!

If you are looking for something to do that’s fun & different, look no further! Have you been to The Great Escape Room? If so first off, what did you think? Did you make it out in time? If not, would this be something you would want to do? Why or why not? Comment below!