SLO County adventure park known for ziplines adds space-themed escape room. What’s it like?
A San Luis Obispo County adventure park known for its ziplines and nature tours has a new attraction for fun seekers: escape rooms.
Escape! at Margarita Adventures recently opened its second escape room in Santa Margarita.
The new, science fiction-themed escape room takes place in an intergalactic research vessel. Participants have to crack a series of puzzles to fix the spaceship before time runs out.
“If you’ve never done a room, there’s a really, really good chance that that you’re going to get to the end of this room successful,” said Frank Rodgers, escape room inventor and creator at Escape! at Margarita Adventures.
Participants have one hour to figure out the clues and escape the room.
Why did SLO County adventure company add escape rooms?
Margarita Adventures decided to amp up its indoor options two years ago to contend with winter rains and scorching summer temperatures, according to escape room operator Ariel Jansen.
The popular adventure company opened its first escape room, Rita’s Relics, in November 2022.
That experience tasks players with unlocking the location of Rita, a librarian who’s gone missing.
“As you step into her library in search of clues, the riddles will only multiply,” Escape! at Margarita Adventures said on its website. “You have one hour to find her and solve the mystery.”
The room is scattered with “artifacts of antiquity to technologies from the future,” the site said, requiring players to use their hands, feet and minds.
What’s new Santa Margarita escape room like?
Escape! at Margarita Adventures’ newest escape room, titled Renegade: The Retrofit, opened to the public on Friday, Oct. 4.
Rodgers said he decided on a space-themed room because he wanted to incorporate lights and technology that were “extremely uncommon” in typical escape rooms.
“One of the biggest challenges of introducing any tech into a room is reliability,” Rodgers said. “So you always have to balance the risks with the rewards, and we really focused on a lot of rewards.”
Staff members at the adventure company spent more than a year building the immersive experience. All of the construction was completed in house.
The room has around 200 buttons players can press, as well as several television monitors, secret doors that pop open and nearly 10,000 multi-colored LED lights.
Escape! relied on some community support to visually enhance the spaceship.
Limotta Studio contributed 3D and digital animation expertise and drama students from Atascadero High School made short videos set in space.
How challenging is Margarita Adventures escape room?
The Renegade escape room is meant to be fairly straightforward to figure out, Rodgers said, adding the company’s goal was to create an escape room that was challenging and fun for participants without being too frustrating. that
Participants are provided a booklet that gives them a linear path to complete puzzles throughout the room.
If players do get stuck, the on-site escape room operator can give out clues upon request.
Rodgers said he would rate the escape room at seven out of 10 in terms of difficulty.
During opening weekend, around 60 visitors tried out the new room, with most groups making it out on time and leaving great feedback, Rodgers said.
“I love watching people come in and then get excited,” said Jansen. “They get that ‘I’m a kid again’ kind of feeling.”
When is science fiction-themed escape room open?
People can book time slots for the Renegade escape room on Margarita Adventures’ website.
One-hour time slots are available from 12:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Some entrance times may be available Monday through Wednesday, but people must call in advance to schedule, Rodgers said.
Is there an age limit? How much are ticket prices?
The recommended group size for both escape rooms — Rita’s Relics and Renegade: The Retrofit — is three to five people, but groups up to eight are allowed.
Participants must be at least 8 years old to play, and people under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
The cost of the hour-long escape room experience is $44 per person.
What’s next for Escape! at Margarita Adventures?
Escape! at Margarita Adventures plans to launch more cosmic adventures in the months ahead.
Renegade: The Retrofit is the first episode in a trilogy of interstellar escape rooms, Rodgers explained.
“We have planned episodes two and three, which will take place on the same ship, and there will be a continuation of the storyline,” Rodgers said. “So it’s allowing us to tell a bigger story.”
The sequels are expected to be up and running in the spring of 2025.
Once that happens, visitors could play multiple levels back-to-back, but levels two and three will be harder to escape, he said.
