{"id":129526,"date":"2024-01-04T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roomescapeartist.com\/?p=129526"},"modified":"2024-01-04T10:28:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T15:28:24","slug":"top-escape-rooms-orlando-2023-tour-survey-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roomescapeartist.com\/2024\/01\/04\/top-escape-rooms-orlando-2023-tour-survey-results\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top Escape Rooms of Orlando 2023 [Tour Survey Results]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In November of 2023, we hosted Escape Immerse Explore: Orlando. On this escape room tour, we brought 60 escape room enthusiasts to Orlando. 60% of attendees completed the post-event survey, giving us feedback on the event and the escape rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tour featured 9 escape rooms, plus an addition 2 games for those who booked into the tour extension to The Exit Games in Clearwater, FL. Many players added a few more games to their schedules. The survey asked them to stack rank every game they played, and here are the results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Escape<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Top 5 by Ranking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Servants of Sleight<\/a><\/em> at The Exit Games FL<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Crazy Train<\/a><\/em> at Doldrick\u2019s<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor<\/a> <\/em>at The Exit Games FL<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Operation Arctic Storm<\/a><\/em> at The Escape Ventures<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Captain Spoopy Bones<\/a><\/em> at Doldrick\u2019s<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    With the individual stack rankings, we\u2019re able to assign weights to calculate how each escape room ranked in aggregate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Worth the Trip<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Even though The Exit Games was a challenge to get to, it was worth the trip. Only half the tour attendees visited The Exit Games (either with a tour extension, or on their own). However, they ranked it highly enough for these two games to take spots 1 and 3 in the stack rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Inverted Preferences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Those following the TERPECA rankings<\/a> might notice this ranking isn’t consistent with TERPECA, where Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor<\/em> (#29) outranked Servants of Sleight<\/em> (#41). Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor<\/em> is the newer game so, on the surface, the TERPECA ranking makes more sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, of note, Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor<\/em> is a game with a dark theme and harsh language. It’s rated R. It’s horror-ish. On Escape Immerse Explore tours many of our guests are a bit more bold and play games that are out of their comfort zones, something that escape room enthusiasts traveling on their own always don’t do. Those self-selecting into this theme are probably more likely to rank it higher. It still ranked exceptionally high, especially given it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the more thematically-comfortable game, Servants of Sleight, <\/em>took the top spot in the tour rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The tour ranking results are a testament to the strength of both the games at The Exit Games in Clearwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Worth the Wait<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The #2 spot went to Crazy Train<\/em> at Doldrick\u2019s. This game was overwhelmingly popular. Everyone on the tour played it. It finished the stack ranking with the most individual first place rankings, by a wide margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One player wrote in their survey, “Crazy Train is crazy good – so creative, different, fun, beautiful – pure delight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Consistency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Of all the companies on the tour, The Escape Ventures delivered the most experiences the most consistently. They are an up-and-coming company to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of their games, Operation Arctic Storm<\/em> ranked highest (#4). It’s their newest game, with the most impressive set in their facility. Bros for Life<\/em> and Neighborhood Watcher <\/em>ranked #6 and #7, respectively. These more modest games delighted tour attendees for their unusual themes and character-driven gameplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7 Favorites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    With each tour, we are reminded that “best” isn’t absolute. Favorites are a matter of taste… and also a matter of theme, team, gamemaster, maintenance, and other variables. Each of the following games was at least one person\u2019s favorite of the trip:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Crazy Train<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Operation Arctic Storm<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Servants of Sleight<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Captain Spoopy Bones<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Neighborhood Watcher<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Super Bomb Squad<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Conspicuously Absent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      One featured company was conspicuously absent from all of the lists above: The Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What went wrong? Maintenance. The games at The Bureau weren’t reliable. Major props were broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Of the 3 games we featured at the The Bureau, Puppet Heist: The Hand of Life<\/em> ranked above the other two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The Bureau had a lot of offer. They have a fun shtick, and a gorgeous, comfortable area to hang out in. They were a wonderful venue for our wrap up dinner. The staff were gracious hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      They have interesting games worth showcasing, but they didn’t deliver consistently enough to wow our tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The conclusion that we have drawn is that the best game at The Bureau is the one that works the best while you’re visiting. Your experience may vary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The Important of Gamemasters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      The gamemastering at The Escape Ventures was top tier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This was a common theme in the survey answers, including the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      “Escape Ventures was phenomenal in every way… their staff were great and went above and beyond to ensure we had a great time while at their company.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      “I ADORED Neighborhood Watcher,<\/em> because of the actor, Cierra. She was incredible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      “I want to give a shout out to both The Escape Ventures and The Exit Games FL for having some of the best interactive gamemasters that I\u2019ve had the pleasure to experience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A Market on the Rise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Orlando is an up and coming escape room market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It has its own humorous, theatrical flavor. The top of the market is really pushing creative boundaries. David and Peih-Gee explored this at length with Mike and Rick from Doldrick’s on Reality Escape Pod:<\/p>\n\n\n