Room Escape Artist

For the non-Midwesterners, the Wisconsin Dells is a popular family tourist destination and the self-proclaimed “Waterpark Capital of the World.” Nothing in the Dells is subtle and the town is built for tourists. 

Located on the town’s main drag, amid t-shirt shops and boat-tour kiosks, Wizard Quest takes up the better part of a block.

We had heard good things but, honestly, we were pretty skeptical. We knew that the place involved carrying around a tablet and interacting with some sort of tech, which honestly sounded like it could be less-than-immersive at best and janky at worst. 

Boy, was our pessimism misplaced. 

Overview

Wizard Quest is a labor of love. Designed and built by a single family, the place is a sprawling, three-floor, non-linear, narrative-and-exploration adventure. 

Structurally, Wizard Quest gave us two hours to explore the four elemental regions of air, fire, water, and earth by sending us on a series of quests.  Tablets installed throughout the attraction worked with our own tablet to let us interact with different characters who launched, advanced, or ended our quests. 

These quests varied in complexity and length. They were primarily scavenger hunt-style “find this thing” puzzles, but some involved hidden objects, secret locations, and/ or solving puzzles. (If you are an escape room enthusiast, most of the puzzles will be at a relatively simple difficulty level.) Many quests involved visiting more than one elemental plane. Sometimes we were also asked to make a choice that changed the narrative somewhat (and offered some element of replayability).

One quest’s track often caused us to pass through a new area on our way to somewhere else, and we’d get so excited to return to explore the new area as soon as our quest was done.

A Must-See for Scenery Enthusiasts of All Ages

Wizard Quest’s true magic, though, is in its gorgeous set design, its structural surprises in the form of secret doors, rooms, and passageways, and its imaginative whimsy. More than once, we rounded a corner or climbed a stairwell and gasped at what we found. It was all so… delightful. 

Also notable: while there were kids as young as 5 or 6 playing the game with their parents, our 11-year-old and 15-year-old loved it. Wizard Quest seems to have nailed the “all-ages attraction.”

Art Installation vs. Gameplay

We also recently visited Meow Wolf’s The Real Unreal in Grapevine, TX; Meow Wolf and Wizard Quest share some DNA, as both involve immersive environments with story and puzzle content. But while Meow Wolf is mainly an art installation with story undercurrents, Wizard Quest is primarily a game. Each quest is a self-contained storyline. That said, kids could run through solving puzzles while their parents take in the detailed sets, and everyone could walk out having had a great time.

Not Meant to be Completed

If we had one complaint, it’s that Wizard Quest lacks a satisfying ending.  It’s as if they don’t expect you to finish the whole thing, so they didn’t build in a big finish or endgame. (Apparently there was an endgame in an earlier iteration, but it has been phased out).  Also, we returned the next day to do some parts we had missed, and learned that they don’t save your progress if you return. This could bug an escape room fan for whom “escaping” is really important.

Conclusion

Wizard Quest is unique, which makes it hard to categorize. It’s not an escape room, it’s not Meow Wolf, it’s neither a kids’ game nor just for grown-ups. It is a fun excuse to explore lovingly crafted, delightful environments that can be engaged with on different levels to appeal to different ages. It is well worth skipping half a day at the water park to take your family to Wizard Quest.