deniecee

Reviews

Reviews

Election Day

Election Day

Appleseed Avenue

  • Escape room
  • Other
This is an experience to be fully present for. The minute we walked in, our group was already immersed in the story. Out of the now 250+ rooms I’ve played, this has become one of my top rooms to recommend in the area. The set, puppets, narrative, and game play were fantastic! When they say this is a real-life video game, they really do mean it. The set up of this room could be replayable with different stories (or cases) and I am excited to see what Appleseed Avenue comes up with next. It felt more like being thrown into a detective case rather than your traditional escape room so stay open-minded and you will be in for a surprise. We got a chance to talk to Matt and learn more about the process behind the magic. 🪄 We had a group of four and there was so much to do that it did increase the challenge of the room. A group of six would be ideal to split up!
THE ENDings [Immersive Experience]

THE ENDings [Immersive Experience]

Strange Bird Immersive

  • Escape room
  • Other
Not an escape room but a “choose your own adventure” experience. Strange Bird Immersive has done something special with this space and I’m so grateful I got to write my own story before they close at the end of the month. This is a must try at least once and I love how creative and empowering it could be to be the literal author. We always hear a “Be the author of your own story” and what a unique take on this piece of advice! Can’t wait to see what they have cooking up next :)
The Nest [Immersive Theatre]

The Nest [Immersive Theatre]

Hatch Escapes

  • Escape room
  • Other
This experience is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The combination of set design, interaction and detail progression - really brought the story to life for me. I did this escape room with my partner for his birthday and the shared experience added a layer of reflection and connection to the narrative that I will remember forever. I cried at the end. It was touching and I would highly recommend going into this with an open mind and an open heart. You can get more out of the immersion that way. Would recommend this for 2 people at most and to go in with the expectation that this is not an escape room. Be attentive of time but enjoy every minute. Parking could be difficult here because of LA street parking so allot a few minutes before your start time to secure that parking.
Squirrelor's Tavern Experience

Squirrelor's Tavern Experience

Squirrelor’s Tavern

  • Escape room
  • Other
I wanted to drop by and give this review to show Squirrelor’s Tavern some love. This is not your typical escape room. Think of Dungeon and Dragons with dinner and immersion and puzzles. My group and I were able to snag some final week seats and right away, I was impressed with the atmosphere and the set. They had food for us a la carte but the ticket came with two drinks. During the dinner, guests were welcome to roam around and follow the main quest or to do some of the side quest puzzles. The main quests were heavy on the word scramble, riddles, and cyphers and I would have liked to see other types of puzzles! The side quests were more of the wooden blocks and tactile. I was only able to experience Season 1 but I heard there was a Season 2. I hope that the tavern gets reincarnated in some way so that everyone can enjoy. This is the type of experience that the more you put in, the more you get out of it!
Hijinx Hotel [Immersive Experience]

Hijinx Hotel [Immersive Experience]

Hijinx Hotel - Irvine

  • Escape room
  • Other
This would be considered an immersive experience rather than an escape room but it does have some puzzle elements and physicality involved that makes for a great time. Hijinx Hotel is an amusement park wonderland. My group participated in their challenge rooms and when we checked in to the “hotel”, they gave us a key with our room number. We then made our way to the elevator where we were greeted by the concierge and they shared with us that each room in the hotel is a 5 minute experience. Some rooms are more physical in nature while others require teamwork to solve a puzzle. During your stay, you earn points to get on the leaderboard. The points don’t seem to have a reward system other than the sheer pride of seeing your group’s name on the leaderboard but that was enough for us to do our best on all the rooms. There is the option to do 1-2-3 sets. Each set is a 30 minute experience where you get to try out 5 rooms in total. If you opt in for the 3 sets, that means 90 minutes of 15 different rooms! This was a great time that reminds me a lot of Activate! The price point is higher than I would like but the visuals and the production value cannot be beat. A wonderful addition to the Irvine Spectrum and they have other attractions that I would like to try in the future - such as the Holey Moley Mini Golf, karaoke, and dinner experiences.