Universal Orlando Debuts 'Great Movie Escape' with Themed Escape Rooms

Escape rooms, theme parks, movies - worlds have now collided at Universal Orlando Resort.

On Friday, Universal Orlando Resort officially opens their first-ever escape room experience, Universal's Great Movie Escape. The new attraction at Universal CityWalk, the resort's shopping, dining and entertainment district, offers two separate ticketed escape room experiences, Jurassic World: Escape and Back to the Future: OUTATIME, themed to two of the company's most popular and beloved film franchises.

"These are two of the most iconic brands of all time and it was so great to be able to work hand in hand with the filmmakers to make sure the experiences were authentic to the brand," said Nate Stevenson, show director with the Creative Development Group at Universal Orlando Resort. "We wanted people to experience these brands in a way they've never experienced them before. Here, it feels like you're a part of the movie and you're actually pushing the action forward."

Each escape room experience is separately ticketed and lasts about an hour, taking guests through eight highly detailed, immersive rooms where they'll work together to complete challenges and solve puzzles. Certain elements of each environment and task are randomized, yielding varying solutions with each visit. The experience is also customized to party size and skill level, satisfying both beginners and escape-room veterans.

"We wanted everyone to have something to do, whether you've never done an escape room or you've done hundreds," Stevenson says. "We added different stages to every challenge, so if you come in and only get to the first or second phase, you'll still feel like you've been a part of the story. But if you're more advanced, every single challenge has scenarios that enable you to progress further and unlock new challenges you might not have known were there."

Choosing an Experience

IP isn't the only factor that differentiates the two experiences, but it's the one we'd recommend prioritizing when picking one.

"They are very different," Stevenson says. "Jurassic is very technical, with more screens and tech-focused elements; Back to the Future is a lot more prop based."

Jurassic World: Escape

Aside from the obvious "there will be dinosaurs" aspect to Jurassic World, most families will likely find this one more kid-friendly. Guests enter a secret lab on Isla Nublar as geneticists in training. Challenges focus on day-to-day tasks like feeding the dinosaurs and splicing dinosaur DNA to create new genetic codes before the action really starts to heat up.

Our group of adults found the tasks in this experience to be a bit more intuitive and quicker to figure out - enabling us to do more of them and progress further within each room. There are more screens, plenty of impressive dinosaur effects, and some minor scares, but I wouldn't hesitate to bring my Jurassic-loving 6-year-old.

The timeline of Jurassic World: Escape runs in tandem with the first Jurassic World film, Stevenson said. "The same beats the first Jurassic World film hits are the same beats in our story - you're just over here in a secret lab in our story."

This means whether guests have watched Jurassic World or the animated Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, which also takes place concurrently with the first film, they will quickly recognize dinosaurs, character and plot references - and may even find themselves party to some parallel heart-racing conflicts courtesy of an apex predator.

Back to the Future: OUTATIME

Back to the Future incorporates all three films from the iconic trilogy and even brings back the legendary Christopher Lloyd to reprise the role of Doc Brown (though you'll only hear his voice). Guests enter Brown's Institute for Future Technology, a nod to now-defunct Back to the Future: The Ride, and fans won't be surprised to find out who the big baddie is in this one. Biff Tannen steals Doc's time-travel tech, threatening to disrupt time as we know it.

"We really worked hard to make sure we worked within the canon of the three films," Stevenson said. "Our story does have a beginning point that happens at the end of Back to the Future II and it goes right along with the canon of all three films."

Thanks to the magic of time travel, guests are able to jump between time periods, experiencing scenes inspired by iconic moments in all three films.

While it's not at all necessary to be familiar with the IP in order to complete the tasks, "It will make the experience more rich if you watch the Back to the Future trilogy or Jurassic World and then come," Stevenson said.

Tickets On Sale Now

Tickets for Universal's Great Movie Escape are now available, with prices starting at $49.99 plus tax per person for one experience. The rooms accommodate groups of up to six and guests may be paired with other parties.

Private group bookings are also available starting at $300 plus tax and can accommodate up to eight guests, though Stevenson recommends six as the optimal number.

Both experiences are housed within an art deco-style, theater-inspired venue. A few costumes and props from the films are on display, and merchandise is for sale.

Two bars within the space serve a variety of signature cocktails inspired by the film, like the "Gigawatt Glow" and the "Raptor Bite." Lockers are available for storing bags and jackets, and both experiences are wheelchair accessible.

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