Getting to Know Universal – Universal’s Great Movie Escape

Step into your very own Universal Pictures adventure at the Universal Great Movie Escape! These brand-new escape rooms take you through time in Back to the Future and inside the containment operations of Jurassic World. Great Movie Escape replaced The Groove dance club in CityWalk, located between Antojitos and Pat O’Briens.

Quick Glance

• Location: CityWalk
• Attraction Type: Themed escape rooms
• Scope: Minor attraction
• Hours: 11:30am – 12:00am
• Cost: Starts at $39.99 per person plus tax; group pricing is available starting at $300 plus tax.

What is Universal’s Great Movie Escape?

Universal’s Great Movie Escape is an escape room – an interactive entertainment experience centered around solving puzzles to progress through a story. Guests progress through the experience room by room solving puzzles and unlocking the next room. Escape rooms are found in many major cities with original concepts or licensed intellectual properties (IP). Universal’s version takes advantage of its own IPs to tell iconic stories – Jurassic World and Back to the Future.

Unlike other escape rooms, you cannot fail at the Great Movie Escape. Instead, guests will move to the next room after a set amount of time if a puzzle cannot be solved. The continuous nature of the experience allows Universal to move multiple parties through each experience at once. Escape room veterans might be disappointed in the lack of such a timed threat or forced progression through the experience. Pro Tip: Listen carefully to in-game narration for clues and directions.

Universal’s Great Movie Escape is located behind the Universal Legacy Store, next to Antojitos in CityWalk. Inside is a two-story lobby with a ticket booth, check-in desk, and shop on the first floor. The Back to the Future attraction is on the first floor and the Jurassic Park attraction is on the second floor. Bars are located on both floors to calm pre-game jitters. The beer and wine menu is very standard, but the themed mixed cocktails are some of the best at the resort.

Jurassic World: Escape

Isla Nublar is home to the Jurassic World theme park, a park built on splicing dinosaur DNA to bring these beats back to life. Enter one such lab, a secret to many on the island, but quickly things go wrong and a genetically enhanced dinosaur is headed to the lab right now. Learn about this new dinosaur, splice DNA, and save your group from destruction.

Jurassic World: Escape receives positive reviews from guests but it is considered the easier of the two experiences. The puzzles and presentation are more straightforward which is great for first-time players. Parties with smaller kids will also like the high-tech, modern set decoration over a 1980s diner.

Back to the Future: OUTATIME

Biff is up to it again, messing with the timelines for all the familiar reasons. Doc Brown and a lab assistant (our guide) need our assistance to race travel through time to find Biff, retrieve the time travel device, and fix the timeline. Christoper Llyod reprises his role as Doc Brown but only his voice, a stand-in actor plays the famous inventor from afar.

Those who I talked to consider OUTATIME the stronger, but harder, of the two experiences. Guests liked the more comedic tone of this adventure and found the puzzles to be more out-of-the-box and innovative. While lateral puzzles and memory puzzles come easy to some, others found this the harder of the two experiences. Also one of the tasks requires the whole group to touch hands, something many do not feel comfortable doing let alone during a pandemic.

Restrictions & Accommodations

• Great Movie Escape uses strobe lights, theatrical lighting, loud noises, and theatrical fog.
• Rooms are enclosed and opened once a puzzle is solved which can cause claustrophobia.
• The experience is wheelchair accessible but those using ECVs must transfer to a wheelchair.
• If you or someone else needs assistance make an X pattern over your head with your arms.

Touring Tips

We expect Universal’s Great Movie Escape to be popular throughout its opening year. While the experience accepts walk-ups we advise booking in person or online, at least a week before your trip. The larger your party the fewer spots will be open, so book at least two weeks out if your party is four or more. Guests with a party of 6 or larger should consider a private escape room booking, not only will you be in your own group but you will save money.

So far non-holiday weekdays

Have you played through Universal’s Great Movie Escape? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!