For the herd

Location: Kissimmee, FL

Date Played: February 15, 2026

Team Size: 2-8; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: $57.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: None that we are aware of

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

“Doldrick’s Escape Room has made another hilarious and novel escape room. They packed Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow with character, comedy, and fantastic team-based gameplay.“

REA Reaction

Doldrick’s Escape Room has always had a comedic bent to their games, and with their previous game, Crazy Train, they set a new bar. In their latest game, Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow, they have truly seized the crown. Our team laughed our way through this hilarious experience.

The humor alone would make Galactic Beef an easy recommendation… but the greatness didn’t stop there. Doldrick’s packed Galactic Beef with characters and dialogue well past the point of what I had thought an escape room could handle… and they landed it. The story was as funny as it was followable.

To top it all off, Galactic Beef played extremely well. The gameplay was focused on team-based action. It did a fantastic job of keeping our full team engaged from start to finish.

The one big adjustment that I hope comes for Galactic Beef is providing clearer feedback when players get something wrong. As it stands, when we got something wrong, nothing happened. It wasn’t game-breaking, but it was an opportunity to make the ship feel more responsive.

Galactic Beef joins Crazy Train as an Orlando-area must-play escape room. With this latest game, Doldrick’s Escape Room is now a full venue, but I hope that this isn’t the last creation we see from this team. They are really damn good at this escape room thing.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Sci-fi fans
• Comedy lovers
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• It’s hilarious
• Compelling, team-focused gameplay
• An abundance of endearing characters

Story

Join Star Cow’s legendary crew on an intergalactic adventure to help deliver a mysterious stranger to greener pastures.

Setting

Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow was a deliberately designed game. The aesthetic felt a bit like a 90s arcade with black walls and colorful neons glowing under blacklight.

Beyond the physical design of Galactic Beef, there was a shocking amount of content within the game’s many screens: a universe full of unique characters and witty banter. It’s impossible to disentangle the set from the contents of the screens in the best possible way.

Gameplay

Doldrick’s Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow was a narrative-driven escape room with tons of characters and a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around making connections and solving puzzles. The puzzles relied heavily on communication and teamwork.

Analysis

 Galactic Beef had more characters than any escape room we’ve ever played. It shouldn’t have been possible, yet we cared about them all. We were delighted each time a character appeared or re-appeared. Each was distinct, with their own personalities and motivations. They were memorable.

 Galactic Beef was marbled with a seemingly endless string of references, puns, and wordplay, and it still told a coherent and engaging story. Moreover, the story was easy to follow.

 Doldrick’s invested judiciously in Galactic Beef. The set was minimalist: black paint and neon tape. It was just enough detail to make us feel like we were on a spaceship. Doldrick’s saved the maximalist details for the animation that delivered the characters and story.

 The animation was out of this world.

 The set was packed with button-y buttons and switch-y switches. And we used them all. The set didn’t just give the facade of a spaceship. It was fully interactive. The hardware felt good and worked well.

 / Doldrick’s relied heavily on their animation skills, and most of these delivered. There was one specific instance where animation didn’t quite deliver on the video game-y interaction. This dissonance made the solve feel less satisfying than the tactile interaction should have felt.

 Galactic Beef didn’t give any feedback on wrong inputs. If we were wrong, nothing happened at all. We would have appreciated a thematic audio effect, just to let us know we’d done something, even if not quite the right thing. This type of non-responsiveness can slow momentum, especially early on. When one early input device had extra tight tolerances and we had the right answer, but just a hair off, we could easily have stalled. Notches or grooves would go a long way.

 There was an unusual cadence to Galactic Beef: a constant back-and-forth between story scenes and puzzle missions. With this flow, it was obvious where to focus our attention at any given time. The story didn’t compete with the puzzles. It was always clear (narratively and physically) what we needed to solve next. When we were solving puzzles, it was always the puzzles themselves and not figuring out what the game wanted from us. Furthermore, we had the option to parallel puzzle or solve linearly, but either way, we’d come together for the story beats before breaking out into puzzles again.

 During the story segments, we were standing on hard concrete watching a screen. Strange as this sounds, standing without moving can be more physically tiring than actively solving puzzles. Given this, while we loved the humor and the references, we can understand some players feeling that too much time was devoted to the story segments.

Galactic Beef culminated in a boss battle. This delivered the heroic moment our adventure demanded.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with Doldrick’s Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Doldrick’s provided a complimentary game.

For more about Doldrick’s listen to our interview with creators Mike Dold and Rick George on The Reality Escape Pod.

The post Doldrick’s Escape Room – Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

“Comedy and whimsy feel like the foundational principles of Doldrick’s.”

In Season 6, episode 12, we chat with Mike Dold and Rick George, two of the co-owners of Doldrick’s Escape Room in Orlando, Fl. Their games are fan favorites amongst enthusiasts, in particular because of their blend of humor, whimsy, beautiful sets, and fun gameplay. Every single REA review of the Doldrick’s escape rooms talks about how funny they were, with Theresa Wagner writing that Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard “had [her] laughing so hard [she] was in tears.”

In fact, their newest game, Crazy Train: The Ballad Of Skeemin’ Plotz inspired Lisa to write a review entirely in rhyme that David calls “her finest work” as an escape room reviewer. At this point, you’re probably thinking “these are crazy names for escape rooms” and I’d have to agree. My favorite is “Red Sled Redemption: Hollie Jolly Holiday Hubcap Repair,” which is an escape room title of epically insane proportions, but absolutely fits the Doldrick’s brand of madcap comedy.

Besides talking to us about their inspirations for their games, my favorite part is when Rick opens up about the difficulties of running an escape room while raising a young family. I really appreciated his willingness to be vulnerable, and I think it’s valuable for other escape room owners to know that everyone has the same struggles.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Morty App, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Morty

Morty is a free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.

Morty News:

• Morty now features haunt attractions!
• Morty for Android is here and in public beta.

Special Badge for REPOD listeners:

You can learn more at MortyApp.com/REPOD to sign up and get a special badge for our listeners. (This works for existing users too!)

Buzzshot

Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS.

Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:

REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.

COGS

COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when.

Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:

REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• 00:04 Sponsor Break: COGS by Clockwork Dog
• 01:48 Guest Introduction: Mike Dold and Rick George of Doldrick’s Escape Room
• 03:29 The Origin of the Name “Doldrick’s”
• 04:51 The Crazy Titles of Doldrick’s Escape Rooms
• 09:23 The Meaning of “Spoopy”

• 11:06 The Use of Crazy Characters
• 12:45 Doldrick’s Origin Story
• 18:13 Sponsor Break: Morty
• 20:02 The Making of Crazy Train
• 24:54 Sponsor Break: Buzzshot
• 29:32 The Comedy and Whimsy of Doldrick’s
• 30:55 The Importance of Humor in Doldrick’s Games
• 31:56 Designing Red Sled Redemption: A Single Room Escape Game
• 35:03 The Impact of Location on Game Design
• 36:09 The Growth of Escape Rooms in Central Florida
• 39:31 Balancing Work and Family Life as an Escape Room Owner
• 46:48 The Value Proposition of Escape Rooms
• 50:39 The Finer Points of Jackhammer Operation
• 52:56 The Future of Doldrick’s: Consultation and New Game Ideas
• 59:00 Bonus Story: Did We Win?

Leave us a voicemail

Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Doldrick’s Escape Room Website
• REA Reviews
  • Super Bomb Squad
  • Captain Spoopy Bones
  • Red Sled Redemption
  • Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Gameshow
  • Crazy Train
• REA Tours
• Disney Imagination Campus

About Rick George and Mike Dold

Social handles: @doldricks

Rick George

A native Floridian, Rick is a musician, husband, and father of 2. His passion for theming and design began a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, as he loved to arrange elaborate scenes and sets with his Star Wars toys. With a background in entertainment, music, and production, he’s always looking for something big and exciting. Notable background experience includes corporate and private recording studio work, show systems and control at theme parks, live venue mixing, music performance and instruction, post production design and development, and project management. Rick was ProTools certified for music in 2009. He was also a joint recipient of the Crystal Music Reel Award in 2011 by the Florida Motion Picture and Television Association for best Sound Mix for a cartoon show in which he composed the music. In his (limited) free time, Rick is with his kids playing video games, lego, and building things together. He enjoys themed experiences and loves being fully enveloped in his work and play. In turn, Rick relishes in creating experiences that excite and transport the audience.

Rick George and Mike Dold met in a recording studio in 2010, and from there spent time in AV and production. In 2012, Rick met his wife, Norissa, while working as a scareactor at Halloween Horror Nights. After working together recording and presenting youth programs at Disney, Rick and Mike set off to build something new together. After playing an escape room in 2016, they were instantly hooked. It wasn’t long until designs for their own venue and games began to take shape. Along with Norissa, the three have been running Doldrick’s Escape Room since opening in 2018.

Mike Dold

Mike Dold grew up in the Midwest in Kansas City, Missouri. From an early age, he had a fascination with puzzles and toys, playing The Legend of Zelda on the NES is one of his earliest childhood memories. It has always been his favorite game series. Even during preschool, when it came time to play, every single day Mike would get the big bucket of Legos out of the toy closet and use them to build the maps and dungeons from Zelda. Every. Single. Day. Most of his family would tell you that his favorite book as a kid, Puzzle Island, was the beginning of his road to owning and operating an escape room today. The joy of solving puzzles, looking at maps, and using his imagination to play definitely plays a big part in what he tries to recreate when designing games for Doldrick’s Escape Room. To Mike, the core of every Doldrick’s game is to make the guest feel like a kid who is playing imaginary. Giving them a tactile way of being immersed while having fun playing a game.

Mike moved to Florida in 2006 for school to get a degree in Recording Arts. His professional path has always been involved with technology and audio/ visual. Working at Apple for many years and teaching customers how to use creative applications built a very powerful skill set of being proficient with technology while also being able to provide great customer service. At the same time, Mike was a freelance audio engineer, working at several recording studios around Central Florida. He also worked in the AV industry all around Orlando, working with all the audio and visual equipment, honing another very vital skill set when it comes to building and operating an indoor attraction such as an escape game.

Mike played his first escape room in 2016 and instantly knew that this was it, this is what he was meant to create and do. It was a no-brainer for him to get his best friend, Rick George, on board with the crazy idea and they immediately jumped in and got the ball rolling. Rick told Mike that he would have to be in charge of puzzle design, and Mike being the person who loves puzzles, was very happy to be. Mike also self-taught himself every possible thing he could about woodworking and carpentry, to be able to build any idea that he and Rick dreamt up. Between the two of them, every aspect of the games, from concept to final implementation, comes from them. This is a big part of why every detail in their games is tightly integrated. They are both very hands-on with the entire creative process. Mike did a lot of the graphics, the website, and even the company logo itself. Everything in the company, along with Rick’s wife Norissa, is done by them. And while Doldrick’s has been up and running for several years now, this is only the beginning of something they hope to be very special in the entertainment industry.

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The post REPOD S6E12: Wood, Wire, & Whimsy— Mike Dold and Rick George of Doldrick’s appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Update 12/19/23: If you enjoyed this article, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Doldrick’s creators Mike Dold and Rick George on The Reality Escape Pod.

Zany, brainy, and entertain-y

Location:  Kissimmee, FL

Date Played: November 10, 2023

Team size: 2-5; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 75 minutes

Price: $37.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  Let your gamemaster know if strobe lights are an issue.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Crazy Train was a labor of love, and we can see why it took multiple years to deliver something so far above.

Doldricks’ earlier games showed talent and wit, but with Crazy Train they leveled up in technology, technique, and craft in each and every bit.

With integrated comedy, tech, story, and game, remarkably consistent as an experience, it became.

The aesthetic was perfect, with zero design hole, plus the screens and projection gave the cartooneyness a dominant role.

The gameplay was exciting throughout, but in the finale, it captured the frenzy and the antics of classic cartoons, no doubt.

Crazy Train was compact, with linear play, so bring a small group to send this baddie away.

While this review is in rhyme (because a game of this caliber was worth the extra time!), it doesn’t abide by meter… but Doldricks didn’t follow that either!

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Cartoon fans
• Any experience level
• Perfect for smaller teams

Why play?

• To be inside a cartoon land
• For a crazy character… and the boss battle to take the upper hand
• It’s a small set packed from floor to ceiling and wall to wall that you get to appreciate firsthand
• Because dinosaurs make everything extra grand

Story

Skeemin’ Plotz was a nefarious trickster on the loose.

Now it was up to us to ride this caboose.

Because we would not put up with his terrible abuse!

Setting

This long, narrow train was a little bit tight.

But it looked exactly like a cartoon, fully black and white.

And each hand-drawn detail was such a delight.

With projections and animation, the movement all felt right.

Gameplay

Doldricks’ Crazy Train was a standard escape room, and not too hard.

Gameplay required making connections, solving puzzles… and lots of detail not to disregard.

Analysis

 Doldricks’ humor was on full display, as this ridiculous character tried to get away.

Wow to cartoon set drawn in white and black, and especially how the windows moved us down the track.

 This set design does easily show wear, and Doldricks will need to be extra attentive with repair.

The world was made bigger with interactions from outside the train, in fact, we’d both offload and obtain.

 Each action and each solve furthered the story, as we continued on our quest for glory.

 One prop appeared too soon, and we tried to use it awkwardly before it fulfilled its purpose in this cartoon.

 Doldricks has a talent for animating a vid. With the intro and the commercials, Spoopy Bones, they outdid.

 At one point a character was distracting on the big screen; other times we were sad when afar animations went largely unseen.

Projection mapping was especially yay, like when it amped up anticipation, or just showed us the way.

At the end we got to battle the boss, in a high energy segment where across the train the whole team did crisscross!

The references and Easter eggs slipped right in, and recognizing these was an extra win.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• For dinner, Smokey Bones is a convenient spot.

Book your session with Doldrick’s Escape Room’s Crazy Train, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Doldrick’s Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.

The post Doldrick’s Escape Room – Crazy Train [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Update 12/19/23: If you enjoyed this article, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Doldrick’s creators Mike Dold and Rick George on The Reality Escape Pod.

Rice-A-Roni AND Moon Shoes!?

Location:  Kissimmee, FL

Date Played: February 27, 2022

Team Size: 2-5; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $36 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Gameshow was an absolute riot. Full of callbacks to 90’s game shows and terrible jokes, this game had me laughing so hard I was in tears. With beginner-friendly puzzles that were fun to manipulate, the room was just pure and goofy fun. You can see the designer’s personality oozing through in every inch of the space, with hilarious references and entertaining interactions. The immense detail put into every little set piece and puzzle item didn’t go unnoticed.

This game was originally designed to be a mobile game that could be set up temporarily in different spaces, complete with modular lighting and projectors. Doldrick’s went above and beyond integrating this game into its temporary space, so much so that we did not realize it could be packed up and moved so easily. Due to the portable nature of the game, it was lacking some polish and sturdiness that the rest of Doldrick’s rooms had, but was not by any means flimsy.

Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Gameshow was an experience that marries fun, friendly gameplay with exceptional interactions and charming puzzles for an impressive escape in a small space.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• 90’s game show fans
• Newbies

Why play?

• Hilarious customized character interactions
• A uniquely charming theme that’s sure to be fun for the whole family
• Beginner-friendly gameplay that’s still a joy for experienced folks

Story

We were the newest contestants on Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Games! Would we have what it takes to conquer Spoopy Bone’s tricks on stage in front of a live studio audience?

Setting

Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Gameshow was set in a small graveyard with tombstones, gargoyles, and gravesites galore. The legendary Spoopy Bones (made famous in Captain Spoopy Bones And The Magnificent Quest For Some Other Pirate’s Treasure) himself was there to guide us along our journey to win the grand prize: a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando Florida (cue crowd cheering)!

Gameplay

Doldrick’s Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Gameshow was a standard escape room with a low level of difficulty.

Gameplay revolved around making connections, solving puzzles, and interacting with Spoopy Bones.

Analysis

 Our (very dead) host interacted with the players frequently, customizing our experience and adding to the laughs and overall enjoyment.

 The humor in the game was spot-on. With a goofy talking skeleton who would react to the players, a laugh track playing in the background, and many adorable spooky references and puns, the experience was special.

 The game would benefit from additional lighting for some of the puzzles. Good lighting was provided only in specific areas, and we felt the need to bring elements from all the puzzles to the areas with bright light. Lanterns were provided, but were not convenient when solving puzzles on flat surfaces.

So many small, intricate details were integrated in the gameplay and props. While this didn’t necessarily enhance any puzzles mechanically, knowing they existed made us happy. Doldrick’s took every opportunity to add detail and this enhanced the overall storyline.

/ Considering the game was designed to be placed in any space, Doldrick’s did a fantastic job of making the game feel permanent. Without knowing this prior to the game, it felt less immersive than their full sets, yet still expertly designed.

 An early-game puzzle felt unnecessarily convoluted. With quite a lot more data than necessary to solve, we spent too much time overanalyzing the large amount of information present. Less experienced players may take this puzzle at face value, but overthinking seemed inevitable for experienced players.

The puzzles offered a wide variety of challenges to explore. Considering how small the space was, the puzzle elements were scattered and allowed our whole team to be busy at various points. All of the puzzle solves gave immediate feedback as we completed them.

Tips For Visiting

• There is ample parking onsite.
• We loved Smokey Bones for some great on-theme BBQ.

Book your hour with Doldrick’s Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Gameshow, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

The post Doldrick’s Escape Room – Spoopy’s Ghoulish Graveyard Gameshow [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Update 12/19/23: If you enjoyed this article, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Doldrick’s creators Mike Dold and Rick George on The Reality Escape Pod.

The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 of escape games.

Location:  Kissimmee, FL

Date Played: November 17, 2019

Team size: 2-8; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $33.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Super Bomb Squad was fast paced and frenetic. Doldrick’s Escape Room merged classic video game design with elements of laser tag and escape room gameplay to create a unique beast unlike anything else we’ve encountered.

The story was a riot and the music was fantastic. What really set this game apart, however, was how great it felt to play it quickly. In my experience, once you get past the thrill of setting your first couple of records, most great escape rooms aren’t better when you play them quickly, they are just shorter. Super Bomb Squad made speed feel engaging and necessary.

There were a few places where the puzzle and tech design threw some unnecessary and frustrating friction into the mix. It was not game breaking by any stretch of the imagination, but it did feel like there was some unrealized potential in this otherwise genius creation.

I loved this game. I really did. It sparked a child-like glee in me that few escape rooms ever even flirt with.

If you’re a fan of 8-bit and 16-bit-era video games, Super Bomb Squad is a must play. If you’re not so familiar with that era of video games, there’s still tons to love about this game – you just won’t be in on all of the jokes (sorry Lisa). I’d love to see other companies play with some of the ideas that Doldrick’s Escape Room introduced in Super Bomb Squad.

Captain Spoopy Bones is their creation that gets all of the attention and adoration from the escape room player community and that’s really well earned; Captain Spoopy Bones was freaking fantastic. But don’t ignore Super Bomb Squad. This game wasn’t as refined, but it was startlingly innovative.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Classic video game fans
• Players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Frenetic action
• Hilarious characters and story
• A unique twist on the laser maze
• There’s nothing else like it

Story

When a weapon of mass destruction must be eliminated, whom do you call? The elite group, Super Bomb Squad: Commandos Awesome!

Setting

Super Bomb Squad had us infiltrating an enemy base… so of course we began in the elevator. The beating heart of this experience was the crazy laser maze room that looked badass and felt unique from the many, many, many laser mazes we have traversed.

Overall, the quality of the set build was strong. Everything felt like it belonged and the parts that stood out really looked great.

Gameplay

Doldrick’s Escape Room’s Super Bomb Squad was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, puzzling, and shooting.

Analysis

Super Bomb Squad was a high-energy escape room. With its cheeky, comedic tone, chip tunes music, and video gaminess, we couldn’t help but rush from puzzle to puzzle.

 That music. Doldrick’s, pretty please put your music on Spotify.

The intro video was too damn funny. I loved the characters. Please sell merch!

 Doldrick’s modified a favorite relic of my childhood into the thing that my imagination always knew it was.

In Super Bomb Squad the majority of the puzzles required coordinated teamwork, often across different props, and even different gamespaces. This added to the excitement.

At the top of this review, I compared Super Bomb Squad to Sonic The Hedgehog 2, a game that was at its best when played as quick as possible. I don’t think that playing fast improves most escape rooms, but I wholeheartedly believe that it is true of Super Bomb Squad.

There were a couple of moments in this game that ground to a standstill. They didn’t add to the tension; they broke the intensity. I think that this game would be better with fewer points of heavy friction and a shorter game clock.

Doldrick’s Escape Room could cut down on unnecessary frustration by fixing a case sensitivity problem.

/ Super Bomb Squad had us dodging, searching, and shooting in a high-energy segment that brought video gameplay to life. However, without clear feedback, we spent time resolving where we’d succeeded instead of refocusing our efforts on the action. This sequence was at the same time a high point of play, and the point of our greatest frustration with the cluing, feedback, and pacing.

 Super Bomb Squad lacked a final boss fight. It wouldn’t take much for Doldrick’s Escape Room to transform the conclusion of this game into a masterpiece. Most of the elements are already in place.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with Doldrick’s Escape Room’s Super Bomb Squad, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Doldrick’s Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.

The post Doldrick’s Escape Room – Super Bomb Squad [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Update 12/19/23: If you enjoyed this article, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Doldrick’s creators Mike Dold and Rick George on The Reality Escape Pod.

When Santa crashed into New Joysey

Location:  Kissimmee, FL

Date Played: November 18, 2019

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 45 minutes

Price: $29.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Red Sled Redemption was the most genius inexpensive and small escape room build that we’ve ever seen.

It was small. 70% of the props were repurposed toys. We have to imagine that every escape room creator who plays it will walk out wondering why they didn’t build this game… and the answer to why they didn’t build it is because they aren’t Doldrick’s.

A unique blend of humor, storytelling, and craft goes into Doldrick’s productions… and it’s topped off with a dollop of insanity. They are making magic over there. In this case, it was Christmas magic.

If you’ve ever uttered “I hate single room games” or “I need more than a traditional puzzley escape room” go try Red Sled Redemption to see what this looks like at the top of the craft. Is this game as intense, innovative, or over-the-top as Captain Spoopy Bones or Super Bombsquad? No, but that’s a high bar. Is it a fantastic escape room? Absolutely.

If you’re anywhere near Orlando, Doldrick’s Escape Room is a must visit escape room company. As far as we’re concerned, if they’ve made it, you should play it. 3 games in, they’ve earned our trust.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• It was equal parts adorable and hilarious
• A fantastic take on the classic escape room format

Story

It was Christmas Eve and Santa had crash landed his sleigh into the The Holly Jolly Holiday Hubcap Repair.

We had to help Richie and Mikey, the world’s worst sleigh repair elves, get the big man airborne in time for him to complete his deliveries.

Setting

Red Sled Redemption was set within an auto sleigh repair shop run by lazy elves on Christmas Eve. The tools were toys… because of course the tools were toys.

Everything about the set was deliberate, silly, and spot-on.

This was a small single-room, old-school escape game done right. It had intrigue, character, and surprise born of the props.

Gameplay

Doldrick’s Escape Room’s Red Sled Redemption was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.

Analysis

 Red Sled Redemption was jovial, whimsical, and fun. It was ridiculous, and we jingled and laughed all the way.

 The intro video was bonkers and set the tone for the experience. We were fully engaged from the moment the video started.

 Doldrick’s Escape Room repurposed plastic toys into escape room props. They modified the toys, integrating tech and fitting them into a playful repair shop aesthetic. While the build materials were inexpensive, the overall experience was high quality.

The gameplay flowed well. Although there were a lot of puzzles within a small physical footprint, the signposting kept us on track.

One puzzle had us spinning around, struggling against a little too much precision.

Red Sled Redemption included many layered solves that required coordinated teamwork. One was especially scrumptious. Another jacked up our excitement. Doldrick’s Escape Rooms got a lot of mileage out of their main set piece, as we continued to unwrap fun interactions.

 The workshop lighting made it hard to read small fonts. We struggled when tight areas of the set were especially dim. Stringing up a few more lights would add more holiday cheer and improve the usability of the space.

One of the toy-based puzzles was an impressive feat of engineering. We’d love to know how they made it work consistently.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• At least one player needs to be relatively agile.

Book your hour with Doldrick’s Escape Room’s Red Sled Redemption, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Doldrick’s Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.

The post Doldrick’s Escape Room – Red Sled Redemption [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

And The Magnificent Quest For Some Other Pirate’s Treasure

Location:  Kissimmee, FL

Date Played: November 17, 2019

Team size: 2-12; we recommend 4-6

Duration: 75 minutes

Price: $39.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Captain Spoopy Bones at Doldrick’s Escape Room in Orlando has been the most requested review of 2019… and it lived up to the hype.

Captain Spoopy Bones was a riot. If you don’t laugh during the opening video, you’re dead inside. Consult a doctor.

The gameplay, set, and tech were refined and fantastic. Interestingly, from a gameplay standpoint, a few of the puzzles weren’t anything special… but the execution of those puzzles made them feel mighty.

And the ending was a ball.

Look, I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, but if you’re in Orlando, Doldrick’s should be in the mix with your visit to Disney and Universal. I’d encourage you to play all of their games, but if you only have time for one, make it Captain Spoopy Bones.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• Clean execution of escape room gameplay
• An exciting reveal
• The humor… especially in the intro video
• Highly polished

Story

Our comically cursed leader Captain Spoopy Bones needed help on his magnificent quest for some other pirate’s treasure.

Setting

Our adventure began within the brig of a cursed pirate ship. Our dearly departed and then delightfully undead Captain Spoopy Bones introduced us to our situation with hilarity… and then we were off to escape our cells and explore the old ship.

The ship was quite elegant. As things progressed, they also escalated in wonderful and childish ways.

This was one of those sets where I stopped puzzling at one point and just walked around taking everything in.

Gameplay

Doldrick’s Escape Room’s Captain Spoopy Bones was a standard escape room with a split team beginning and a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.

Analysis

The introduction was amazing. Captain Spoopy Bones was a strong and an entertaining character. It set quite the tone.

 The story of Captain Spoopy Bones was ridiculous, funny, and charming. Doldrick’s Escape Room combined the typical “jail cell” with the popular “pirate ship”… and then layered on comedy to chart an unusual course to a different adventure.

 There was a ton of content in Captain Spoopy Bones. With our team of 4 players, we were solving with all hands on deck. We needed to be observant and communicative to tackle the majority of the puzzles. When we did this, it was smooth sailing through solves.

/ Although the puzzles were funny, thematic, and enjoyable, there was room to make them more story-driven. Many of them didn’t have any narrative elements. That said, given the cheeky tone, the gameplay didn’t feel like puzzles for puzzles’ sake. It felt like a part of Captain Spoopy Bones’ odd world. We frequently got a chuckle out of how things came together.

Doldrick’s Escape Room used a lot of common puzzle types and props. The artistry was in their execution. One early puzzle was a type that we’ve long hated every other time that we’ve seen it, but Doldrick’s managed to make it fun. In another instance they took a pretty tired concept and executed it so perfectly that it was like it was the first time that we were seeing it.

We struggled with the UI for one more explosive puzzle. Additional feedback should clarify function. Another modification to the tech would improve solution input.

Captain Spoopy Bones had an impressive late-game reveal that added energy and set up the exciting finale.

The difficulty curve worked well, culminating in a fantastic conclusion.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Update 10/8/24: If you want to hear more about Captain Spoopybones, back us on Patreon at the “Search Win!” level to get access to a Spoilers Club Episode about this game. Reality Escape Pod co-hosts David and Peih-Gee talk all about it with the creators, spoilers and all.

Update 12/19/23: If you enjoyed this article, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Doldrick’s creators Mike Dold and Rick George on The Reality Escape Pod.

Book your hour with Doldrick’s Escape Room’s Captain Spoopy Bones, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Doldrick’s Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.

The post Doldrick’s Escape Room – Captain Spoopy Bones [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.