Overwhelmingly positive (1391 ratings)
Mark as done to rate
Become a student at Irvine School of Wizardry and put your magical skills to the test through a series of puzzles and challenges. Learn to cast magical spells, brew mystical potions and unlock secret chambers to defeat the Dark Lord!
All (1391)
Overwhelmingly positive
Gameplay
Overwhelmingly positive
Atmosphere
Overwhelmingly positive
Customer service
Overwhelmingly positive
62 escape rooms
I loved the theming for this room and enjoyed playing through it. I was only disappointed that it was so quick and easy. We got out in 38 minutes as a group of experienced escape room enthusiasts. Some parts were simply following directions with nothing to figure out. So while a fun experience, it wasn’t challenging enough. I would have given it a ❤️ if the puzzles had been more difficult and we had gotten to spend more time in the room solving things.
The overall gameplay was great, I just wish there was more of it. We got out with over 20 minutes, which is always a let down.
Yes
The wizarding theme is fun!
Medium
There was a pretty good puzzle or two here that was unique. Overall pretty straightforward though.
High tech
1
We would have liked to do this room with just 2 people, but it was more expensive per person. But 2 would have been enough.
Not scary
10
No
No
Somewhat
There is a part that everyone would ideally like to crawl for so you can all participate in a puzzle.
Good except the small crawling part would be difficult for some.
Yes
Easy
2 escape rooms
Friendly staff! Game play was very fun! Just the right level! Some unique puzzles
So clever! Unique games! We loved the theme!
46 escape rooms
The Dragon Wand is an amazing room! The set design, props, and puzzles are high end and very immersive. This was the second room I played at Hidden Donkey tonight and I loved both. In total I have played 46 rooms (41W - 5L) so I still consider myself a bit of a novice. Tonight I played with two other adults with similar stats. We finished with 12:33 remaining and used no hints. We agree that this mostly linear room is medium difficulty so it was nice to have three brains looking at the puzzles from different angles (and checking each others' math). I would definitely recommend this room for all ages and abilities.
The story and theme were novel and extremely fun. The story flowed through the puzzles very well.
The set design and props were high quality creating a very immersive experience.
The GMs for both rooms were very friendly, welcoming and respectful of our request for no hints or nudges. They provided us with time updates which was nice, but a room clock would have been better.
Yes
I love the wizard theme! I felt it was very interesting and immersive.
I rarely listen to the story within rooms but this time I did and feel that everything in the room lent to the experience.
Medium
I think this was a mostly linear room with medium difficulty puzzles. (That's just the opinion of someone with 46 escape rooms completed)
High tech
The room is a nice mix of tech and mechanical
3
I played as a group of three adults. We play almost all of our rooms together so we know who is strong in certain tasks. You can play with two to increase the challenge. The room is large enough to accommodate more, but since it is mostly linear, folks might be standing around.
Not scary
We don't do scary...
8
I set this at eight only based on typical attention spans. If you have a younger enthusiast, certainly include them! This is a family-friendly room.
No
Everything was in top notch condition.
No
No live actors, thank goodness...
Somewhat
There is the usual scurrying around, a little stooping and crawling, but nothing strenuous.
Vision and hearing are necessary, I don't remember the size of doorways. But I don't think the room can accommodate wheelchairs.
Yes
Easy
245 escape rooms
Great atmosphere, very immersive and on theme, tech all worked well, and there were some great reveals. But it’s only a 👍 not a ❤️ for me because there weren’t enough puzzles to do. A whole chunk of this room felt like following instructions to complete a task rather than solving puzzles that require thinking. Because you have to pay extra to do the room as a team of just 2, we did the room with 2 other escape room enthusiast friends, and we got out in just 38 minutes. Again, a few more puzzles would’ve helped make this a better experience for us, but it was still fun!
99 escape rooms
A very fun room, I loved everything from the spells to the potions. This was a great experience. Parking is easy right out front! My only con is that they take the photo with their camera. I like it when you can take the picture with your own camera, and I wish they would have taken a few.
4
36 escape rooms
My favorite escape room at Hidden Donkey! I even wore my entire Slytherin uniform set so I could totally immerse myself in the theme. Everything is just 10/10. 😁 #teamslytherin 🐍
Easy
38 escape rooms
This room was very well designed and thought out. All the puzzles were so much fun, the atmosphere made you feel like you were a real wizard student. If you love Harry Potter and pretending to be a wizard, this is very close to living out those dreams. My only criticism was that there was a part of the room, that bottlenecks because the puzzle was only big enough for 2 people to really do and during this puzzles there nothing else for others to do. The of the group may need to wait until the puzzle is complete, which is a perfect time for the rest of the group to admire all the detailed decorations in the rooms. It was such a fun room, I’m thinking about doing it again because the first group I went with did most of the puzzles and I don’t remember a lot of it. So I’m excited for the possibility of that, also excited the goblin’s secret room.
High tech
I think some may be the game master releasing the puzzles.
56 escape rooms
I truly had a great time and would highly recommend this escape room because of how immersive and magical it was! We were absolutely in awe! One of the highlights was definitely the added touch of having each player pick their own wand, say spells in synchronously with each other, and unlock clues without even touching the locks. Between Dragon Wand and their other room (Goblin Secrets), I would definitely have to say that Dragon Wand was my favorite! Personally, I enjoyed Dragon Wand more than Goblin Secrets because of the high tech, mechanical, and scientific aspects of the escape room. This one was linear as well, but I felt that we were able to plan accordingly and complete the puzzles more easily. This space is massive and you truly feel like you’re in the wizardry world! Hidden Donkey did a phenomenal job at utilizing the space that it has, and you can tell that a lot of hard work, creativity, and heart went into Dragon Wand. Give this one a shot. You won’t regret it!
We had a lot of fun. The puzzles were a little complex because you really had to analyze the room to know what to do next. Because Dragon Wand is linear, it’s important to work with the clues that you are given in order to proceed. Overall, the puzzles were creative, a mixture of high tech and mechanical, and were very interactive and engaging.
We were in awe of this room and how well the space was utilized. This was definitely a high quality escape room through the props, storyline, and mechanics, and our jaws dropped quite a bit for how magical this room was!
Our Game Master was welcoming and straightforward. We didn’t utilize our Game Master much because we didn’t ask for any assistance, but overall a great Game Master and answered any questions that we had about puzzles after the completion of our game.
Easy
Parking is located in a business center, and there is ample room for parking; however, it was a little challenging finding Hidden Donkey itself. The outside building looks the same, so it’s important to look at the Suite Letter to make it easier on yourself.
176 escape rooms
A magical masterpiece! The Irvine School of Wizardry features some of the most gorgeous set design I've ever seen in an escape room. Every detail feels authentically magical, with tech-based puzzles that flow intuitively and create genuine "wow" moments. Our game master was awesome - super welcoming and great to chat with before and after the game. A must-try experience perfect for both newcomers and experienced players.
No
Expert
High tech
6
Spooky
6
Yes
Spider prop not working, but it's not a big deal
No
Somewhat
Yes
Easy
“It was an enchanting experience…filled with...wizard-y interactions…and some fun multi-step puzzles.“