Do you know a Brontosaurus from a Brachiosaurus? Or a Diplodocus from a Dilophosaurus? If your family loves dinosaurs and hands-on adventures, Jurassic Island at Escape Reality Escape Rooms Newcastle is a fun indoor activity for kids and adults alike.
Jurassic Island at Escape Reality in Newcastle has just opened, and Newy with Kids was one of the first to experience this dinosaur-themed escape room.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, an escape room is a fully immersive experience where teams of 2 to 6 players are “locked” in a room and must solve puzzles and clues to escape the room within 60 minutes.
To be honest, our escape room skills are a bit rusty. It’s been a few years since we last visited Escape Reality to test out their kid-friendly Tortuga Pirates escape room, but we were ready to tackle Jurassic Island. This experience involves challenges in three rooms, each more challenging than the one before.
Before our adventure begins, our host Robin explains the rules and sets the scene with the background story.
“Deep in the Pacific, shrouded by storm and shadow, lies Jurassic Island, a place where the past is alive and more dangerous than ever. Your mission is simple: infiltrate the island’s research facility and secure a priceless velociraptor egg before a rival team gets there first.”
With the story fresh in our minds, we step into the darkened Jurassic Island room.
Our first step is figuring out how to restore the power, so we can then start identifying and solving the challenges!
Without spoiling the surprise, this requires searching the room for clues (some of which aren’t immediately identifiable) and then using these to solve different puzzles.
Some puzzles involve identifying dinosaurs, counting, deciphering maps or arranging pieces in the correct order.
We manage to solve these with the help of teamwork, trial and error, and some wild guesses.
As you can imagine, there’s a lot of thinking to be done as team members try to wrap their heads around the different puzzles.
We soon learn to look carefully at everything in the room as many items play a part in solving the challenges.
Don’t be afraid to move things around as you search for clues, and try to determine if they have a role in solving the challenges.
Also, don’t hesitate to return to a previous room if you need to double-check dinosaur information.
Some challenges are easier than others, and others stump us, but they were all really fun.
And there’s a real sense of accomplishment when we make it through the three rooms and finally locate the egg.
Compared to our last escape room experience, we were blown away by Jurassic Island. We love the technology, themed rooms, costumes and the overall sense of immersion. It really did feel like we were on an island searching for a velociraptor egg.
In terms of age suitability for kids, Escape Reality advises that Jurassic Island is suitable for kids 4+ when accompanied by adults.
While there are some puzzles that younger kids could solve especially if they have dinosaur knowledge, you definitely need the skillset of older kids and adults to decipher the clues of more challenging puzzles.
From our experience, we’ve come up with some helpful hints for your family’s escape room adventure:
- Let the kids brainstorm a team name before you arrive.
- Familiarise kids with the background story as it creates a sense of adventure.
- When you enter the room, look at everything. Don’t be afraid to pick things up, move them around or look closely at something. It might just be a clue.
- When you find the clues, put them all together. Sometimes, seeing them all arranged in a particular way makes you notice the connections between them.
- Get the kids involved with searching for clues, solving puzzles and opening locks. Let the kids try to solve the different challenges. They surprised us a few times as they quickly understood a puzzle and how to solve it, while us adults were stumped.
- If you need help, ask the Escape Reality host for a hint.
- Have fun!
Thoughts from our Newy with Kids reviewers:
‘The room was very atmospheric. The design was well done and the challenges were engaging. All in all, it made for a great family experience – 4 and a half stars.’
‘The room was very VERY well decorated. Overall, the puzzles were very fun and not too difficult, the experience was very good.’
As well as Jurassic Island, there are other escape rooms on offer at Escape Reality Newcastle. There’s the family-friendly pirate-themed escape room suitable for players as young as 6. Tortuga Pirates is the room that Newy with Kids tested out when we last visited.
There are other escape rooms that are suitable for teenagers and adults. These are the ones to choose if you’re going out with a group of friends or want something for date night.
- Bank Job – An elite team of highly skilled and experienced bank robbers has been assembled. Assigned with the task of infiltrating the security at one of world’s most secure bank vaults, you must steal the world’s most valuable diamond.
- Alcatraz – The year is 1934 and the world-famous Alcatraz has transformed into a maximum high-security prison housing the most infamous and dangerous criminals. With the help of your team, your task is to break out of the world’s most secure prison!
- Enigmista – A Saw inspired horror room where you must escape a serial killer’s lair. You have suddenly awoken to discover that you have been locked and shackled inside a dark, dank room with no recollection of how you found yourself there. Your captor has devised a series of games to test how much strength you have in order to save your own life. This room is not for the faint-hearted!
Escape Reality also offers karaoke rooms and a trivia room, making it a great option for group outings and celebrations.
Good to Know
Website: Escape Reality website.
Cost: $43–$51pp depending on group size. Same rate for adults and children. Gift vouchers are also available.
Tip: Weekend sessions can book out, so it’s worth reserving ahead of time if there’s a specific date that you want.
Location: Escape Reality is located at 255 Hunter Street in Newcastle with the main entrance on Hunter Street. It’s conveniently located next to the Crown Street Light Rail stop.
Disclosure: Newy with Kids received complimentary admission to Escape Reality for review purposes. However, all opinions are our own.