Universal's Great Movie Escape: A Detailed Review

Universal's Great Movie Escape offers a unique blend of escape room elements and immersive theme park attractions, housed in the beautifully decorated, old-timey movie house setting of the former Groove nightclub in CityWalk. The venue boasts a massive, two-story lobby with bars, seating areas, and balconies. Before diving into the experiences, guests can enjoy themed drinks like The Gigawatt Glow, The Raptor Bite, and The Hoverboard Highball, available as both cocktails and mocktails.

What to Expect: Beyond the Traditional Escape Room

It's important to note that these are not traditional escape rooms with one-hour time limits and classic lock-and-key puzzles. The attraction's materials accurately describe it as "not just an escape room, but an escape adventure," leaning more towards interactive walk-through attractions with puzzles. This means that the focus is less on escaping against the clock and more on engaging with the story and environment.

A filmed actress appears on screens as a video guide, also voicing clues in each room, helping to guide participants. The amount of dialogue recorded for various scenarios is impressive. Each experience features eight different rooms/show scenes, each containing puzzles or puzzle-like tasks to solve before progressing. There is no backtracking, and doors close behind you, likely to facilitate multiple groups moving through the attraction simultaneously.

The design minimizes the need for attendants to reset the rooms. Many puzzles have varying solutions, allowing subsequent groups to solve them with different instructions. There doesn't seem to be a "fail" state; if a group takes too long, an in-game reason is given for the room to be automatically solved, and the story progresses. Some rooms feature repeatable puzzles with different variables, while others are one-and-done, adjusting to the group size. Larger groups may encounter more variables, while smaller groups can still complete each task.

While there is no possibility of "not escaping" within the time limit, every group is guaranteed to spend around an hour completing the experience, regardless of skill level.

Immersive Experiences: Back to the Future and Jurassic World

The two experiences, "Back to the Future: Outatime" and "Jurassic World: Escape," offer distinct themes, atmospheres, and puzzle styles. The puzzle types are varied, blending physical, digital, and analog elements. Each room provides an enjoyable experience even without familiarity with the source material, while also offering "Easter eggs" and additional enjoyment for those who know the movies well. Both games feel different enough that guests who enjoy one would likely enjoy the other.

Back to the Future: Outatime

In "Back to the Future: Outatime," guests become visitors at Doc Brown's Institute of Future Technology when Biff Tannen steals a time-travel device and begins disrupting the timeline. A quirky institute employee guides players via video, while Doc Brown (voiced by Christopher Lloyd) provides unseen assistance. The experience involves traveling through different times and locations, some familiar and some new to the franchise.

This experience particularly rewards fans of the original trilogy with numerous references and nods to the films, ranging from obvious to obscure.

Jurassic World: Escape

In "Jurassic World: Escape," guests play the role of new geneticists on their first day at Jurassic World. As expected, things go awry, and dinosaurs start escaping. While not as culturally iconic as "Back to the Future," "Jurassic World" relies more on its theming, atmosphere, and puzzle design.

The experience effectively uses sounds, lights, and fog effects to create a recognizable atmosphere from the films. The set designs in both experiences are commendable, with the "Jurassic World" theming being particularly impressive. Note that both experiences offer the option to turn off fog effects.

A Critical Look: Strengths and Weaknesses

Overall, Universal's Great Movie Escape offers an enjoyable experience, though it may not satisfy those seeking a classic escape room challenge. Its strength lies in its immersive theming and interactive storytelling, making it a hybrid between an escape room and a theme park attraction.

Escape room elements like searching for clues, lateral thinking, and logic are present, and the puzzles are generally fun to solve, even if some become repetitive. However, some reviewers have noted instances of props not working correctly and uncertainty about whether puzzles were solved correctly, issues that can detract from the experience.

The price point is higher than traditional escape rooms, but the guaranteed full experience and high production values offer some justification. Be aware that you may be grouped with strangers unless you opt for a private room buyout.

Criticisms and Concerns

Some reviewers have expressed disappointment with the execution of "Jurassic World," citing a convoluted and confusing plot. They felt that the experience didn't live up to Universal's potential, given their expertise in set and animatronic design. Criticisms include:

Boring exposition and lengthy introductions that reveal solutions too quickly.
Underwhelming sets compared to other Universal projects.
Terrible user interfaces with illegible fonts and non-interactive elements.
Poorly explained puzzles and a feeling of being overwhelmed with information.
Non-existent cluing and gradual hinting, with the game often providing the exact solution.
Unacceptable wear and tear on the game, with sticky and peeling paint.
A tone-deaf ending script with no boss fight or finale.
A rushed experience that cuts off interactions before they can be fully solved.

Potential Positives

Despite the criticisms, some positive aspects were noted:

One exciting team-based interaction with a great visual effect.
Good audio engineering and fitting sound design.
Some fun and well-designed sets.

Practical Information

Tickets to Universal's Great Movie Escape include free park parking for the day, delivered as a QR code with the tickets. The attraction is located on Universal City Walk, which offers numerous food options. The on-site bar features creative, funky cocktails.

Customer Reviews: A Mixed Bag

Customer reviews are mixed, with some praising the immersive adventure and unique format, while others express disappointment with the lack of a traditional escape room experience. Some reviewers found the puzzles easy or frustrating, while others appreciated the theming and time travel effects.

tags: #the #universal #great #movie #escape #review