It’s the height of World War II and you’re in a submarine when suddenly the engines die. Pressure in the cabin is quickly increasing and there’s only 60 minutes of reserve oxygen left, you must find a way to repair the submarine before time runs out. This is the premise of one of Grand Prix Orange County’s new escape rooms.

Grand Prix Orange County is one of the newest entertainment facilities to grace the streets of Newburgh, having only been open since March. Grand Prix Orange County sits inside the Orange County Choppers building, taking up the back of the first floor and the upstairs area. Before Grand Prix Orange County existed, the building had a bowling alley along with some arcade games.

Grand Prix Orange County is run by Diamond Properties, which owns a number of different entertainment facilities. It was their idea to expand the arcade games and create an entertainment facility in a partnership with Orange County Choppers.

With the addition of new arcade games the facility also replaced the bowling alley with a new laser tag arena, which is what opened in March. Their newest addition are the escape rooms, run by the company Escapology, which opened two weeks ago.

Though the escape rooms opened after the laser tag arena, they actually were part of the original plan for the entertainment facility. The laser tag arena was the easy part of the renovations, and Grand Prix Orange County wanted it open as soon as possible, even if other aspects of the facility weren’t completed yet.

“The laser tag was always quick and easy, the company just comes in and builds it,” Derek DiMarzo, Grand Prix Orange County General Manager, said. “For the escape rooms our construction team had to do every little detail, it was a lot more hands on. Every little prop you see in those rooms we had to find, so we really wanted to get it perfect rather than rush it.”

As of now, there are two escape rooms upstairs, and two which will most likely be built in the future. The World War II room is called “Under Pressure,” which is a normal escape room where you have one hour to find clues around the room to help you find your way out of the room.

The second escape room, “Budapest Express,” is a game like Clue. You are on a train to Budapest when suddenly someone is murdered, and the train manager tells you there’s one hour until the next stop. You then have one hour to move through the cabins, gather evidence, and figure out who the murderer is before the train stops and they have a chance of getting away.

All of the room ideas were imagined by Escapology, but Grand Prix Orange County was in charge of executing the rooms.

“It was a very long process,” DiMarzo said. “It’s kind of amazing for me personally to see them all finally done. From just measuring out and sketching out something to seeing the architects and the construction team really bring everything together.”

With arcade games, escape rooms, laser tag, and a restaurant/bar all in one area, there’s something for the whole family to enjoy.

“It’s something different to do, especially for this area in Newburgh,” DiMarzo said.
The escape rooms are closed Monday through Wednesday, and open 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays. The price for the rooms is $25 per person, or take advantage of the different group deals on Groupon.