RATING: 5 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 24:00

Close your eyes and take a leap into a world where magic is real, and where nothing should be as expected.

The Magic Kingdom: a place of wonder where all things are possible and magic is real. Join this fairytale adventure and save the Magic Kingdom before time runs out, and the magic is gone forever.

Being the most powerful sorcerers in all the land, it should come as no surprise that we were called to this Magic Kingdom to restore enchantment to its inhabitants before it’s too late. Maze Rooms has created a game like no other; one where from the moment we step foot into the moonlit forest on the edge of its world, there is simply no question that we are active, vital participants in its over-arcing story.

Magic Kingdom is a light-hearted adventure full of a fantastical cast of characters, including a living Jackalope, various pixies, a very tall giant and a very small, occasionally helpful mouse, depending on his mood. That mouse is, in fact, our hint system within the Magic Kingdom – with two elephant-sized caveats: he doesn’t work for free, so we’ll need to find a means of bribing him to talk to us, and sometimes he finds no objection in using us for his treat with no intention of actually offering a hint in return. That’s right, the mouse can be kind of a jerk at times, but in others, he’s down right helpful if he wants to be.

I’ll say this – that little mouse was such a fun storyworld treat that our extremely experienced team simultaneously stopped what we were doing any time a hint was needed, and pretty much fought over who got to feed him. We also found ourselves trying to “need hints” as often as possible, because interacting with the mouse was just so different and so unique that we wanted to make use if it as much as we possibly could in what time we had left inside this enchanted world!

Magic Kingdom is simply packed with surprises. Starting in the fairy tale forest, we find ourselves surrounded by animated projection walls and ceiling – bringing the world to life in a whole new way like we’ve never seen before. Fantastical trees and bushes straight from our imagination transport us deeper into the woods.

A quaint village cottage offers a tease of things to come, though not immediately accessible for us to explore. But it’s the charming windmill that offers the biggest surprise: the realization that Magic Kingdom is in fact a very rare multiple-floor game!

A winding narrow staircase through the inside of this authentic-feeling whimsical windmill  leads to what will go down as one of the biggest surprises we’ve ever encountered in any escape game. You’re more than welcome to try to bribe us into giving specifics, but unlike the mouse, we’d never fall for such tactics.

At first glance, Magic Kingdom feels as though it doesn’t have a single puzzle. And that’s a massive compliment. Every single step along this flowing narrative adventure feels organic. Every moment feels as though we are the main characters, taking the logical actions needed to further our time in this fantastical storyworld.

Every action is rich in creativity, redefining what a quote “escape game” can be, and reimagining it into something so fresh and so unique – and more importantly so fun – that it’s destined to be instantly appealing to audiences young and old, experienced and novice alike.

And what Magic Kingdom would be complete without wands? Yes. They work. And yes, even the most jaded adults will fight over who gets to cast the next spell using one of them.

Magic Kingdom is yet another example of how different and evolved the newer crop of Maze Rooms games have become. And frankly, this one may just be their most imaginative and most creative outing to date. Magic Kingdom is story driven and dares to be different – two things we absolutely love to find in a new game.

It would be difficult to compare Magic Kingdom to other games in the market. Much of what it does is so unique– and it does all of it so well. No matter your age, no matter your experience level, if you’re somehow not a fan of Maze Rooms yet, venture into the Magic Kingdom and you’re destined to fall in love!

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Venue:  Maze Rooms

Location: Los Angeles, California

Number of Games: 4

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 5 people

Group Type: Private  / You will not be paired with strangers.

Cost: $90+ per group (price varies more larger parties)

We thank Maze Rooms for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.