Universal has pulled back the curtain on both adventures inside Universal’s Great Movie Escape, and the most interesting reveal is how tightly the rooms connect to the movies—and to older Universal attractions.
The two experiences are not simple collections of franchise props. Jurassic World: Escape unfolds alongside the events of the 2015 film, while Back to the Future: OUTATIME continues the Institute of Future Technology story remembered from Universal Studios Florida’s retired ride.
Jurassic World: Escape Fits Inside the 2015 Film
The Jurassic adventure is set in 2015 as the island emergency develops. That choice lets the designers pull creatures and visual references from across the franchise into one connected mission without turning the rooms into a museum.
One crossover is Bravo, the Velociraptor guests encounter during the game. Bravo also appears in Universal’s Raptor Encounter, giving the CityWalk experience a direct link to a character visitors may meet inside Islands of Adventure.
The embryo-freezer challenge echoes Dennis Nedry’s theft in the original Jurassic Park. A later power-restoration sequence draws from Ellie Sattler’s tense effort to bring the park back online. These details give movie fans something to notice without requiring every player to know the references.
OUTATIME Continues a Retired Ride’s Story
Back to the Future: OUTATIME begins on November 15, 1993, when guests arrive for a museum opening at the Institute of Future Technology. The former Back to the Future ride was set at the same institute on May 2, 1991, so the CityWalk story works as a sequel rather than a reset.
Doc Brown’s assistant Nico is an original character created for OUTATIME, but her role was inspired by the institute employees who appeared in the old attraction’s queue videos. The rooms also reuse the institute’s hexagonal visual language across shelves, signs, wallpaper and the ceiling.
Biff Tannen receives an entire layer of jokes and alternate-history displays. Because the game keeps groups moving, the best strategy for fans is to divide their attention: let active puzzle-solvers handle the current task while another person scans labels, shelves and background displays.
What This Means Before You Book
Universal’s Great Movie Escape is a separately ticketed CityWalk experience, not a theme-park attraction. Both adventures use multiple connected challenges and can adjust to how quickly a team progresses, so success is not limited to escaping one locked room.
- Movie fans: slow down when the game allows; many of the best references sit outside the central puzzle.
- Mixed-experience groups: assign one person to watch story details while others work controls and clues.
- Repeat visitors: the two games have very different tones, so playing one does not make the other redundant.
Our Great Movie Escape opening overview explains the basic location and concept. Check Universal’s current booking page before visiting because prices and available times can change.
Which thread would you rather follow—the hidden history of the Institute of Future Technology or the Jurassic franchise connections? Tell us in the comments.
Source credit: blog.discoveruniversal.com
