The Universal Orlando Resort is one of the premier vacation destinations not only in Florida but throughout the entire world. Universal is known for its world renowned thrill rides & attractions as well as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley). Beyond just the theme parks and attractions, guests that there are so many other unique things do like Universal’s Great Movie Escape.
First opened in December 2022, Universal’s Great Movie Escape is considerable more than your typical escape room. Guests become part of an immersive adventure that is inspired by the hit movies Back to the Future and Jurassic World.
This experience is located on the second floor of Universal’s CityWalk right next to Antojitos Authentic Mexican Restaurant in the place of the former Groove dance club. The size of the space is really large and as one can imagine, is extraordinarily well themed with a number of features from the two movies. There venue has ample seating for guests waiting to start as well as two bars where cocktails can be enjoyed before of after their adventure.
While the price is higher than the traditional “escape room”, we feel that this experience is a great compliment to your theme park vacation and one that should not be missed when visiting Universal.
About Universal’s Great Movie Escape
Universal’s Great Movie Escape is an immersive experience where guests traverse a serious of mind-bending challenges in a continuing storyline. There are two individual escape adventures which include Back to the Future Outatime and Jurassic World: Escape.
While summarizing the two individual adventures, we kept our descriptions intentionally vague as not to spoil the experience for future participants.
Back to the Future Outatime
This adventure is inspired by the movie franchise Back to the Future. Guests that have not watched any of the Back to the Future movies will still have fun but there is little doubt that those familiar with story will have a more enjoyable experience.
Your Back to the Future Outatime adventure beings with Biff Tannen having stolen the latest time travel device developed by Doc Brown. Since Biff is begging to mess with the timeline, it’s up to you to follow Doc’s clues and save the future. But don’t delay as you will be “OUTATIME”.
There are eight individual rooms which host a variety of different intellectual challenges. These rooms have fantastic theming and references to the movies including the wild west, a 50’s diner room and a room inspired by the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance.
There is even a “hat tip” to the for Back to the Future: The Ride with the storyline using Doc Brown’s Institute of Future Technology.
Jurassic World: Escape
This adventure is inspired by the movie franchise Jurassic World and Jurassic Park. Similar to Back to the Future, guests that have not watched any of the Jurassic World / Park movies will still have fun but the experience is enhanced by having some familiarity with the storylines.
Guests become part of Jurassic World: Escape which starts in a secret genetics lab from the first of the Jurassic World movies. While on Isla Nublar, the power goes out and an Indominus rex is on the loose.
There are also eight individual rooms where you will need to solve genetic puzzles to move through the story and survive the experience.
The Cost of Universal’s Great Movie Escape
The cost of Universal’s great movie escape is higher than the typical escape room that you will find throughout the greater Orlando area. As of July 2023, tickets range from $49.99 to $64.99 (plus tax) per guest before 6:PM depending the the individual date. After 6:PM, tickets range from $59.99 to $64.99 (plus tax) per guest.
During our most recent visit in June 2023, we paid $55.24 each (with our annual passholder discount) for an 11:15 AM experience. An additional feature that is quite nice is that advance purchase tickets include complimentary regular self-parking (one ticket per vehicle).
The Venue
As we indicated above, we thought the venue itself was great. There are two separate floors with plenty of movie theming throughout. There is also plenty of seating for guests waiting for their turn to being their escape adventure.
There were also two separate bars within the venue, one on each floor. Guests can partake in a number of adult beverages which include draft & bottled beer, red & white wine and a number of themed specialty cocktails including:
- Smoke & Mirrors
- Wake Up Juice
- Grand Banks Swizzle
- Gigawatt Glow
- Raptor Bite
- Silent Era
- Hill Valley Gin & Tonic
- Hoverboard Highball
- Nublar Cooler
Our Thoughts
These two adventures are not your typical escape rooms but more of an interactive experience that features a number of puzzles that when solved, allow the guests to proceed deeper into the story.
Our initial experience was with the Back to the Future Outatime adventure. There were only two of us in our group and since we were not paired with any other parties, it made solving the puzzles a little more difficult than if we had more “hands on deck”. We were warned that this could be the case but choose to proceed anyways.
Throughout the experience there were not any “hints” that were provided by team members so when we got stuck (which we did several times), the room’s puzzle was unfortunately not solved in time. However, the adventure does continue and we pressed on.
Overall we enjoyed the experience and recommend it as a nice change of pace for your theme park vacation. We definitely will be back are looking forward to trying Jurassic World: Escape at some point in the near future.
