Drago’s Castle

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We’ve previously reviewed Drago’s Castle in Syracuse back in January 2016 (you can read the review here). We had the opportunity for a new group of ERA team members to experience the room and and while the overall score is lower than our first review, that difference is purely a reflection of reviewer perspective, not a suggestion that the quality has suffered at all. Drago’s Castle continues to be a fantastic adventure.

Like all 5-Wits rooms, we started our adventure by walking through a massive and amazingly decorated doorway. Drago’s Castle has an “iron” gate that raises to allow passage into the dragon’s lair… thankfully there isn’t a moat. The entryway is like nothing you’ve experienced in a standard escape room, however crossing through the gate doesn’t take you into the castle. Instead, you enter into what seems like the employee back entrance—a sparsely decorated open hallway with high ceilings, exposed ductwork, offices and cement floors. This is a big shock to the immersive experience, especially when you notice that all of the other 5-Wits rooms are here as well. However, when we arrived at the actual entrance to the castle we were pleased by the decorations and then our attentions turned to what may be the best pre-room video in the industry. If 5-Wits were to provide some seating in their lobby area and maybe some games to keep you occupied while you wait, then their above average pre-room would become awesome.

The room quality was mostly excellent in all of the stages of Drago’s Castle. The first part did have some noticeably worn down elements that made searching for buttons a bit easier than we would have liked, but this is a minor criticism. The materials are all top notch and we appreciated the Disney-like atmosphere. The puzzle quality was equally as impressive. The games all fit the theme and ranged from easy to moderate. Teamwork is essential throughout the castle, but there are a few times where only two or three people could participate. There are concurrent activities in a few sections of the castle and groups with more than four people may wish there were even more.

The beautiful and consistently designed rooms provide a solid base for an immersive experience. No part of the environment breaks from the theme—we felt like we progressed from a castle entry to a stately chamber to an open village square. But, the disjointed nature of the stages and the pre-recorded messages take away from the cohesiveness of the story. Then there is the matter of delays from slower groups ahead. While we appreciate that teams can start their room experience every 10 minutes, we don’t like that faster teams may have to stand around while they wait for others to finish. The narrative plays out from beginning to end, but there we often felt like we were viewers of the story rather than participants.

We would be surprised if any groups didn’t have fun with Drago’s Castle… even if this is your fourth room of the day at 5-Wits Syracuse. The adventure room experience is a wonderful date night, family outing, weekend hangout or team-building event. The pre-room multimedia introduction is phenomenal and the room quality is top notch. We highly recommend you stop by or make this your destination!