Mystique Escape Room — Local services in Sanford

As with most of our escape room visits, this time was after a couple drinks over at F&D Cantina. Still in soft opening but with no short supply of energy, the staff greeted us quickly and cheerfully, drawing in the whole group. Eager to get us into a room and let us experience what they had to offer, they gave us the usual rundown (safety, don't tear off light fixtures, door is always open, etc) and set us to work escaping an Egyptian tomb.

Set design is my biggest joy in escape rooms, and Mystique absolutely killed it here. While the ultra dim lighting was rough on my old eyes, it really added to the feel, and the overall immersion was phenomenal in all areas of this escape. Obviously no pictures, but 10/10 on my scale.

Puzzles for the sake of puzzles - especially locks for the sake of locks - are my biggest killjoy in escape rooms, and this was my first or second room out of 20+ adventures that did not involve a single lock-and-key (or combo) puzzle. A most excellent deviation from the norm, though there are some puzzles you may argue are similar to a puzzle, and less frustrating than staring at a Masterlock that just sits there defiantly and smugly.

If you're a fan of escape rooms, I strongly recommend stopping by Mystique, whether you've had some margaritas beforehand or not. The staff seems excited about what they do, the room I experienced was top notch, and it's a local biz versus a national...

I've completed maybe two dozen escape rooms over the last few years. I've successfully escaped every room I've attempted, including this room.

Pro: The room was creative, and well done. The front desk person was helpful and nice. For a small "mom and pop" operation this room was one of the better setups I have seen. They have an immersive experience and the puzzles are nice without a padlock in sight (for the room we completed).

Con: My issue was with the person in charge of issuing clues for our room - while he was friendly, he kept interrupting us to offer unsolicited clues. Twice he interrupted to "help" with a puzzle that we had already figured out how to do, but took some time to actually read and get the pieces in place. Each time we were interrupted, it stopped others in our party from finishing puzzles they were in the middle of and set us back a considerable amount of time. This killed the experience and made me want to walk out on the spot. I try to beat the best time for a room whenever possible and with somebody like him in charge of giving clues, it would be impossible. I didn't catch his name, but if I do ever go back and get one glimpse of that guy, I'll just turn around and leave.

TL:DR- the rooms are well done, but ignore the overly helpful "clue giver" - he will ruin...

All I can say is "Wow!" The production and presentation displayed by Mystique Escape Room is truly amazing.

Our party of 10 consisted of individuals having 16 or so escape rooms under their belts, to some individuals having 0 escape room exposure. Luckily for us, the two members of our group that had completed 16 escape rooms had completed the London escape room here at Mystique Escape Room and stated it had been their all time favorite, making the decision to try the Wizards Tower over the other local escape rooms an easy one.

Mystique Escape Room lived up to the hype from the moment our attentive host, Phillip, showed us to our room. The details and work put into the room were incredible! If you are or someone in your party is a Harry Potter fan, this room is a must! The theme and challenges will not disappoint.

Without giving any specific details away, our party was able to escape the Wizards Tower room with 13 minutes remaining (I'm giving credit mainly to our escape room veterans I mentioned earlier).

Every member of our party wanted to sign up to try the other rooms instantly after we completed our room. This was an amazing experience for our entire group and we highly recommend Mystique Escape Room if you're looking for a high quality and entertaining...