Posession at Haddon Heights – The Bureau – Orlando, Fl

Operatives you will be heading to Haddon Heights Elementary school on Halloween night. The school was shut down because students and teachers. were losing their minds. The school district? thinks it was black mold driving people insane, but The bureau knows the truth: it’s an evil entity trying to possess a new host. we need you to summon the dormant entity so you can confront it once and for all.

Facility

The Bureau probably has the best location of any escape room I have ever played but, Good luck finding this place! Intrigued? Well, let me explain… When you go to the Bureau you are not just playing an escape room, you are taking on a role as the agency’s top operatives. Like any good agency the Bureau is not going to reveal their intent to the world, so they pose as a lowly travel agency. Should you choose to accept a mission I can assure you it will be hard to find the small office, when you walk in you will question strongly if you are in the right place, the reveal of the facility will be amazing, and the hidden nature will add to the total immersion from the minute you pull in until the minute you walk back out the door!

There is an ample amount of free parking available outside the facility. 

The gamemasters have been awesome for every mission we have played. They are aware of our progress and ready to assist whenever we need it without ever crossing the line to pushy or annoying. They are friendly and willing to  converse with you while you wait for your mission. There seems to always be an adequate amount of staff to keep things running smoothly. 

The waiting areas are clean and well furnished. They do offer drinks for sale; however you cannot take them into the rooms with you (probably due to the volume of tech within the room)

 

Setting 

There is a prop that you are given before entering the school that is used throughout the entire mission in a very unique way. But not to worry, you are just exploring an abandoned, potentially haunted, school, what could go wrong? This room has a creepy vibe throughout; however it never crosses the line into terrifying. Although there is one section that, as a chicken, I felt was quite intense. 

The room was designed to look like a school and overall it was well designed. The decorations and props made it obvious where you were at all times. My partner felt that some areas could use a little more in the way of theming however.

This room is played in extremely dim light as you have only flashlights to illuminate key areas

Puzzles 

The rooms at the Bureau rarely rely on traditional locks and keys and this room was no exception. The puzzles were well fitted into the storyline of the room. There were unfortunately two puzzles that we were very confused about, even after we knew the solution; however, you may have a different perspective on those puzzles. There were also quite a few red herrings, and in my opinion missed opportunities, in this room which was disappointing. There was one puzzle that left us totally amazed, even after we solved it we were impressed with how unique it was and at a loss as to how it worked. 

This room had a prop in the room that was used repeatedly throughout the mission; however it was clear when you needed it and it definitely felt like something you would be using frequently if you were legitimate in the situation. 

 

Accessibility 

☆ Wheelchair users would have no problem navigating this room

☆ no strong scents or fog effects were used

x  the room was very dark

☆ nothing relied on identifying colors or sounds 

 

Group recommendations:

We had a group of two and made it out with seconds to spare. 

We think three would be a good number for the size and challenge of this room; however 4 could play comfortably.

We would not recommend this room for young children due to the nature of the room and a very intense area at the end. 

Overall

This was probably my least favorite room at the Bureau: partially because I am a chicken  and I disliked the the content of the intense area, and partially due to the red herrings and the puzzle to room/ratio being smaller. However, that is not to say this room is a failure by any means. It was still well thought out, interesting, spooky and immerse. If you are a fan of paranormal themes and want to be spooked without being scared out of your mind join the Bureau and discover the secret behind Haddon Heights. 

 

Dream – Escape Artists – Orlando Fl.

You have been implanted into the dreaming mind of an infamous sociopath.  You must escape with the information in time, or the consequences will be catastrophic. A strange and thrilling multi-level dream world awaits you, full of bizarre and difficult challenges that increase in difficulty as you progress. Can you escape before time runs out?

Facility 

Escape artists is located in a storefront in downtown Orlando. Plan to arrive a few minutes early because the parking is along the road rather then being a designated parking area for this facility. The facility itself was clean, well-kept and very attractive. We ended up running late after getting stuck in Orlando traffic and then searching for a place to park; however, the staff was very gracious. 

The gamemaster that we had was extremely well organized and friendly. He was not intrusive to our game; however, on the occasions when we needed a nudge, he was ready to jump in before we even had to stop and ask. 

I was slightly disappointed in the management of the facility itself. In the middle of our adventure we were met with a fire alarm which required us to evacuate until the issue could be resolved. At this time we discovered that our gamemaster was the only one working at the time. We were blessed to be the only players in the facility. However 1 person trying to run the front desk, answer phones, manage 3 simultaneous games and reset games for the next team could easily lend to some issues if there were more games booked at that time.

 

Plot

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the minds of others? Well today is your lucky day. Well… maybe not so lucky since you chose to enter the mind of a sociopath (of all people), and quickly realize that you are trapped. The only way to escape, travel through the levels of consciousness to reach the subconscious and convince him to free you. Sounds easy right? Did I mention that his mind is going to try to stop you? Ok, well… good luck 

Setting 

From the minute you walk in the door you feel as if you are transported into a different world (or mind…) You enter through a bedroom. Even the room however, is a visual of his twisted mind. Grunge posters on the wall, furniture hanging from the ceiling… things that are familiar but not quite the same. This theme remained consistent throughout the game. It never crossed the line from strange into scary however there is one room towards the end that may be slightly disturbing to younger players. 

Puzzles 

I hope you didn’t think that breaking into a subconscious would be as easy as walking right through… Oh yeah and the deeper into his brain you venture the harder he is going to make it to escape with said key information. This adventure through the brain was met with some locks and keys, combinations and a fair amount of tech. Everything felt well fitted to the story although there were a couple of tech pieces in the second room that felt very clunky and bordered on frustrating. One of the rooms also had an element that had us all groaning in frustration over a simple mistake I made while simultaneously admiring the genius of said puzzle. Some escape companies get caught up in the theme and fall back on the same type of puzzles over and over and over again, not here though. This room provided an excellent variety of puzzles along with varying the modes of solving. There were times when we were challenged but never to a point where we felt it was impossible to solve. 

Group recommendations:

We had a group of three players and it worked well for us. The majority of the rooms are spacious enough to easily accommodate 5 average sized players. As noted above there is one section of the game that may be slightly disturbing to younger viewers  ** Click to see why** At one point our host is dreaming of Disney World but not the Disney of childhood innocence. Creepy music, an animatronic rat whose body becomes the basis for a key puzzle and even a cryogenically frozen Walt are contained within the mind of this sociopath. 

Overall

Dream was a well thought out adventure with an excellent balance of traditional locks and tech. It’s Intuitive nature makes it easy to determine the next step in the adventure and its non-linear progression lends excitement and challenge to the game. The gamemaster that we met was one of the best I have encountered although that may not be your experience if they are not better staffed when you go. Overall Dream was an exceptional experience that I would highly recommend for fans of sci-fi themes. 

 

Dungeon VII – Legends – Tampa FL

You find yourself in a Medieval European dungeon. No mercy will be given. Your team’s skills will be tested in order to escape your ill fate from the executioner. 

Plot 

Many have been imprisioned, few have lived to tell the tale and even fewer have found freedom. 

 

From the minute you found yourself in the clutches of the infamous dungeon VII, to the moment you breathed your first breath of fresh air, or lost your head to the executioner, you are fully imersed in the story. The scenery is impecable and the challanges are exactally the type you would expect from a dungeon with a history for bloodshed and violence. There were no modern combinations or locks, the escape relied on skeleton keys with enough tech thrown in to keep it fresh. The dungeon flowed in a very nonlinear fassion, in fact one puzzle required us to pull elements from four separate rooms in order to solve it. There was one puzzle that was a major red herring and ended up causing our group some frustration as there were multiple points in the game when it made sense to use it but then never was used. there was also one puzzle in the last room that was a little dated and didnt work like it seemed it should. The dungeon was very intuitive, the majority of the time it was obious what came next. 

Puzzles 

 

Group  

Size – 4

Parental Discression advised  

The jail cell that you start the game in is a little on the small side; however once you break into the main room the rest of the rooms are all fairly spacious, for a dungeon at least. Our group of 5 never felt uncomfortable with the size.  

The puzzles were very intuitive, however this led to only one puzzle at a time in play for the majority of the game. if you have a larger group there will be some times when people are standing around waiting for the other players to solve things so they have something to do. 

This room is set around a mideval dungeon, not the nicest of places. The first few rooms are rife with skelotons, rotting heads, skills hanging from the chandaleer… and several of the chalanges involve the players directly interacting with these props  There is nothing “scary”, nothing is going to pop out at you ar start making noises. However younger players may be disturbed by the blood and gore. We had a 12 year old in our group and she did not enjoy seeing that element of the room. It is also more dimply lit then other rooms to fit with the ambiance