Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys – Escape Room Review

Let me start off by saying, I wanted the nanners and boy did I get the nanners! Located at 160 N Gulph Rd in King of Prussia (right next to Yard house), the new Rugrats Escape Room had me thirsty for excitement. This means if you’re like me, you can have a trip down memory lane at the bar before you tap in for some good ole nostalgic 90s fun.

Dad jokes and beer metaphors aside, if you do decide to patronize the local watering hole before your game starts, be very mindful of your limits! Don’t let the playful theme of the room fool you, you will absolutely need to be on your A-game if you hope to escape within your assigned 1 hour time limit. Now let’s dive into my thrilling experience as if we were Tommy and the gang eyeing down a gigantic mud puddle, shall we? 

In today’s episode of “Opening the Time Capsule”, Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys comes off as a kid-friendly experience when in reality we all know it was absolutely created for the adults that were posting away messages or updating their top 8 on Myspace. Nothing says nostalgia more than creating a scene that captures the greatest era to this day – the 90s. I know, I’m very much “get off my lawn” when it comes to this period of time. Speaking of scenery, when you first approach the building, you are greeted by a GIGANTIC window display of the legendary dinosaur himself, Reptar! Not only is this just completely awesome, but it also makes the building incredibly easy to find; which is a very nice touch. Right off the bat, the staff is very attentive and accommodating – giving you a very detailed but easy-to-understand set of rules, regulations, and best practices to help maximize your experience. Like most things in life, this moment is better experienced with friends and family. You can play with a maximum of 12 players, but due to the tight spaces that require a lot of movement and cooperation (particularly in the final act of the room but more on that later,) I highly recommend limiting your roster. I had a team of 6 and felt that it was the perfect amount of people for the space provided. For the most part, we were not falling over one another and everyone had a part to play at all times.

Next up, we have the play area in which you are greeted by the familiar voices of some of your favorite Rugrats characters; setting the stage for the task at hand. Without spoiling too much, the goal of the room is to find and collect all of the lost toys for Tommy and his friends that have been hidden by none other than, Angelica. The thing that I enjoyed the most about the room is the fact that its not actually one room but rather three! All are equipped with their own unique themes and tasks that need to be completed in order to unlock the next area. As a whole, it is a recreation of the Pickles humble abode. With room 1 being the kitchen, room 2 is the backyard, and room 3 is Stu Pickles’ work office. And before you ask, once you unlock a new area you are not done with any of the previous rooms by a long shot! Another aspect I want to gush about is the sense of controlled freedom the three rooms give you. While there are portions that have to be done sequentially in order to move on, it does allow for just enough freestyling not to feel super structured. The room is rated a 6/10 on the difficulty scale, but don’t let that mislead you! I am proud to say that we did escape the room; however, it took almost every second of the 1-hour time limit to make it happen. 59 minutes and 51 seconds to be exact, but who’s counting?

The room’s final act is where the tension hits a fever pitch. It is here where you will need to utilize all three rooms to find the last lost toy. Avoiding spoilers as best as I can, the last task requires you to use quite a bit of three very particular things – communication, cardio, and balls (figuratively, of course). At the end of it all, I found myself sweaty, stimulated, and satisfied. I would highly recommend this to any and all, even if you’re not a fan of Rugrats, there is something for everybody to enjoy. The design of each room alone is enough to make the trip worthwhile. Overall, I give my experience a solid 9.9/10, with my one point of contention being a quantity mishap with a certain yellow fruit that stalled my team solving a riddle for a few minutes. But if I may paraphrase the immortal words of Mya and Blackstreet: Take you there, you wanna go there. Take you to that great place with wonder and wishes.

To book your own experience at Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys, check out The Escape Game’s website.